Liturgy and public prayer is a huge part of modern day Judaism.
Of all the formulas and prayers that are recited each day, the Shema is recited the most.
The Shema is from Deuteronomy 6:4, which says, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God the Lord is one.”
The context of this passage from scripture is Moses giving the law once again just before the people of Israel enter into the promised land to inherit what was promised to them through their forefather Abraham.
A few observations on this:
1. The Shema, which is just as much a declaration as it is a prayer, addresses Israel, not God. This means that prayer often times functions as a self reminder of who God is. This tells us that it’s crucial for us to be intentional about reminding ourselves of God and his faithfulness.
2. The Shema is not only prayer without a context, the Shema recalls the context of Israel’s covenant with Yahweh. The concept of covenant has sadly and dangerously fallen out of the vision of mainstream Christianity today. Covenant thinking reminds us that we are to keep promises, as God keeps promises, even when it’s hard, uncomfortable, and against our desires of the moment at times. Christianity, as it flows from a Jewish heritage, is one of stable, consistent, persistent, enduring, and faithful faith. We are in a covenant with God and he is in a covenant with us. The best way to determine how much a culture values covenant is by looking at divorce rates in that culture. If divorce rates are high, then the culture probably doesn’t highly value covenant.
3. The Shema reminds us that our covenant God is The God of the universe. This is the idea behind, the Lord your God, the Lord is one. This was a earth shattering statement at the time. Israel is hearing this coming out of Egypt which epitomized the ancient Near Eastern polytheistic thinking of the day. This is entirely new stuff. God isn’t many, God is One. There is only One true God and that One True God is YOUR God.
Let us remember our OT theological heritage and learn from the Shema today.
