Parsha: Shema bears repeating

Parshat Va'Etchanan

by Rabbi Avi Billet

Issue of July 23, 2010/ 12 Av 5770

There is a story told of a Jew who bought a car from a very yeshivish mechanic. As he was about to drive away, the mechanic told him, "I tinkered with the car a little to make it more heimish. Instead of using a key, all you have to do is say 'Baruch Hashem' to make it start, and 'Shema Yisrael' when you want to turn it off."

One summer day, he took a wrong turn off a country road and found himself driving straight for a cliff! He tried to hit the brakes, turn off the ignition, but nothing worked. In his fright, he forgot the formula the mechanic told him. On the brink of death and with no other choice, he screamed "Shema Yisrael Hashem Elokeinu Hashem Echad!" And of course, the car stopped at the very edge of the cliff.

Unable to believe he actually survived, he started pinching himself all over, as he exclaimed, "Baruch Hashem!"

Putting the tinkering mechanic aside, why do we put so much stock into the verse and paragraph of Shema? Most Jews, regardless of education, are familiar with this verse. Rabbi Yaakov Skili (Torat Hamincha) includes Shema in his list of early "nourishment of the soul" given to a child who is at the developing stages of cognitive ability.

The idea of Shma being the last thing we say in our lives was emphasized in the Talmud by Rabbi Akiva 2,000 years ago (Brachot 61b). In our own time, this was most clearly emphasized by the story of Ro'i Klein, an IDF officer who fell on a grenade during the second Lebanon War to save the men around him.

The first sentence of Shema is arguably the highlight of Chapter 6 in Devarim, whose theme is so emblematic of what Judaism is meant to be and what role Judaism should have in a person's life.

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch asks: If the best form of testimony is to see something, why does the Torah use the term "Hear Israel?" Shouldn't it say "Look Israel and see that Hashem is our G-d, that Hashem is one?"

Our forefathers certainly saw G-d and experienced a unique knowledge and understanding of G-d through the miracles they witnessed at the end of Egyptian bondage and in the journey to Sinai. At the foot of the mountain, as they witnessed the ultimate vision of G-d permissible to humans, our forefathers heard G-d speak directly to them.

Rabbi Hirsch says "Only at one time [in history] did G-d enter the earthly present and reveal Himself there to His people: when laying the foundation for the creation of His people. Henceforth one generation shall tell another about G-d's revelation…"

In the absence of further revelations, knowledge of G-d is preserved through hearing, as each generation hears of the revelation and G-d's role in our lives from those who precede us.

The main message of the Shema rests in the word "v'shinantam," which means "you will review." Again and again and again. An "enlightened" person might call this brainwashing. But people of faith call it transmitting a heritage and a legacy.

The strength of Shema lies in that we are saying it two or three times every day. Love G-d completely, with everything you have. Remind yourself, over and over, that you must love G-d. That you have to say this again and again, and include your children in the conversation. Tell them why you love G-d. If you don't know why you love G-d, seek and find why you love G-d (4:29).

The Shema foments this belief. We prolong the last word, as we accept the yolk of heaven upon us, and the opportunity to serve G-d through fulfilling His commandments.

Some will view it as a burden, some will view it as a difficult task, some will passively or actively reject. As the song says, however, "Ain't no mountain high enough to keep me from getting to you." When you love something or someone and you want to do everything for that entity, there are no questions and there is no stopping you from achieving your objective.

This is the Shema, this is telling it to your children, this is transmitting a belief system through constant repetition. This is the first step in making the lifestyle we've chosen a lifestyle our children will want to maintain and strengthen.