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DESCRIPTION
“Hear O Israel, the Eternal is Our God,
the Eternal is One!”
There is arguably no more important statement in Judaism than the Sh’ma. Its words—calling us to hear, to listen, to pay attention—defy direct translation and have meant different things throughout history.
In a deeply personal exploration of this sacred proclamation, command and prayer, Rabbi Joseph B. Meszler delves into the spiritual history of the Sh’ma, inspiring you to claim your own personal meaning in these enduring words.
By examining how the Sh’ma has been commented upon by ancient sages and contemporary thinkers, he opens the doors between each generation that has found a different dimension of truth in the Sh’ma.
Each chapter focuses on a major historical figure and includes a sacred story, an exploration into the story’s many meanings and a suggestion for a new way of “hearing” the voice in the story.
Experience the Sh’ma through the lives of:
• Moses—Fighting Idolatry
• Akiba ben Joseph—The Sages Offer Their Lives
• Saadia Gaon—Proving the One
• Moses Maimonides—Nothing Like God
• Haim Vital—Communing with the One
• Moses Haim Luzzatto— “Master of the Universe”
• Abraham Isaac Kook—A Nation Reborn
• Leo Baeck—One Moral Standard
• Abraham Joshua Heschel—A Prophecy: “One World or No World”
PRAISE FOR
“Insightful and engaging…. A creative and thoughtful exploration of the spiritual depth contained in this most familiar and beloved reflection of Jewish belief.”
—Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman, editor, My People’s Prayer Book: Traditional Prayers, Modern Commentaries series
“An inspiring meditation on the Sh’ma, filled with the resonances of Jewish history and thought.… Will arouse readers to experience new dimensions of God’s presence.”
—Professor Susannah Heschel, Dartmouth College
“A thoughtful reading of Judaism and its history through the prism of this single verse. Inspiring.”
—Dr. Arthur Green, author, Seek My Face: A Jewish Mystical Theology
“A fine presentation of our most important statement of faith.… Confronts the deepest issues of life in the mirror of the Sh’ma.”
—Tamar Frankiel, PhD, coauthor, Entering the Temple of Dreams: Jewish Prayers, Movements and Meditations for the End of the Day
“An illuminating study of the life and thought of the pillars of Jewish spirituality…. Rabbi Meszler has a great deal to teach us and he does it very well.”
—Dr. Neil Gillman, Aaron Rabinowitz and Simon H. Rifkind Professor of Jewish Philosophy, The Jewish Theological Seminary of America; author, Traces of God: Seeing God in Torah, History and Everyday Life
“A beautifully written tapestry of story, history and spirit. With each chapter we are drawn into the magical awareness of our tradition.”
—Rabbi Karyn D. Kedar, author, Our Dance with God: Finding Prayer, Perspective and Meaning in the Stories of Our Lives
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Reader Comments:
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"I love being able to see old traditions or words in new ways, and this book definitely helped me do that. Through this book, I learned to hear again."
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RABBI JOSEPH B. MESZLER BIO
Rabbi Joseph B. Meszler is a noted educator in Jewish adult education, recognized for his ability to connect the importance of Jewish tradition with everyday life. Translator of Gifts for the Poor: Moses Maimonides’ Treatise on Tzedakah and formerly an instructor at the Smithsonian Institution, Meszler is the rabbi at Temple Sinai in Sharon, Massachusetts, where he lives with his wife, Rabbi Julie Zupan, and their two children, Samantha and Justin.
Q&A WITH RABBI JOSEPH B. MESZLER
Why did you want to write about the Sh’ma?
The Sh’ma is a great place to start if anyone is at all curious about what Jews believe about God. It is the cornerstone of Jewish spirituality, and the first prayer we learn in Hebrew school. It is the declaration converts make as they enter Judaism, and the word that many Jews aspire to say before they die. It is powerful, but it is also basic enough so that many Jewish people know it. If people want to explore the spiritual history of Judaism, then understanding the words of the Sh’ma is the first step.
If the Sh’ma is so basic, what is there to learn about it?
The six Hebrew words of the Sh’ma have been interpreted to mean different things at different times in history. On a most basic level, “Hear O Israel, the Eternal is our God, the Eternal is One” is a simple declaration of monotheism, the belief that there is only one God. But people have understood “oneness” to mean very different things, depending upon the refractions of time and place. What Moses meant when he said the Sh’ma is different from what subsequent generations meant. In the book, I present nine different thinkers and what they meant when they said the Sh’ma, beginning with a story about each of them and the world they lived in.
If the Sh’ma has meant so many things to so many people, how can anyone know which is the correct interpretation?
Judaism is not about having one right answer or one correct interpretation. We do not have to have absolute certainty in our faith to be good Jews. Instead, we are supposed to question and have the freedom of conscience to change our minds. Judaism demands that we think seriously about the words we are saying, such as when we say the Sh’ma during prayer services, and struggle with what the oneness of God might mean to us. What we believed as children might be different than what we believe now as adults, and it will most likely change in the future. We can pick and choose from among numerous people’s interpretations, including from the figures I present in this book, in an effort to find our own.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
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- What are the different possible meanings of the word hear?
- Why is it important to try to understand what we are saying when we recite the Sh’ma?
- Discuss the original meaning of the Sh’ma as said by Moses. In what ways does his interpretation resonate with you today?
- What does it mean to say the Sh’ma as a protest to idolatry or oppression, like Akiba ben Joseph and others did? How is saying the Sh’ma related to facing death?
- How is the idea of God as Creator linked to the Sh’ma’s statement that God is One?
- How is God being One related to God being Unique (as Maimonides states)? Infinite (Haim Vital)? All-knowing (Moses Haim Luzzatto)?
- How can the Zionist belief in the oneness of the people Israel on one land be reconciled with the oneness of God?
- Leo Baeck felt that one God meant one moral standard for everyone, and Abraham Joshua Heschel once said, “There will either be one world or no world.” How does the oneness of God imply the oneness of humanity?
- Which figures presented in this book are most meaningful to you? Why? Who, historically, has been missing from the writing of Jewish theology?
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Witnesses to the One
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