What is the Shema?
The Shema is Judaism's central declaration of faith: "Shema Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai Echad" — "Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One." Drawn from the Torah (Deuteronomy 6:4), it proclaims the oneness of God and the call to love and serve the Divine. Jews recite it morning and evening, and traditionally as the last words before sleep — and at life's final moment. In a single line it holds the heart of Jewish belief.
What does the Shema say?
The Shema's first line declares God's oneness; the paragraphs that follow (from Deuteronomy and Numbers) call on Jews to love God "with all your heart, all your soul, and all your might," to teach these words to their children, and to bind them as a sign — the source of mitzvot like tefillin and the mezuzah.
When and why is the Shema recited?
- Twice daily — in the morning and evening services, fulfilling the verse "when you lie down and when you rise up."
- At bedtime, and traditionally as a final affirmation of faith at the end of life.
- It functions as both a prayer and a creed — less a request than a declaration of who God is and what the Jewish people are called to.
In short: the Shema — "Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One" — is Judaism's core declaration of God's oneness, recited morning and evening.
Learn the Shema's meaning with Derekh Learning
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