In this weeks Torah portion, we read one of the most famous pieces of biblical text in our Tradition.
שְׁמַ֖ע יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל ה׳ אֱלֹהֵ֖ינוּ ה׳ ׀ אֶחָֽד׃
Hear, O Israel! ה׳ is our God, ה׳ is one.
This text represents the closest thing to a core set of tenets in Judaism.
For a tradition that values action, we can find wisdom in how we actualize this sentence as ritual.
Customarily, we recite the Shema, the first line with our eyes covered. Focused and intentional with each word.
In the Talmud, we’re instructed:
It was taught in a baraita, Sumakhos says: One who extends their intonation of the word One [eḥad] while reciting Shema, is rewarded that their days and years are extended. Rav Aḥa bar Ya’akov said: This is only true if they extend the letter dalet, so the word eḥad is sounded in its entirety. Rav Ashi said: This is only so long as one does not pronounce the letter ḥet hurriedly.
The final word, echad, the word for one, is to be extended. I’ve read elsewhere that this is to make certain that we absorb the core idea: God’s oneness.
We are told to lengthen the dalet, a consonant that is difficult to expand. Generally, when I’ve heard folks try and manifest this idea, the dalet is pronounced loudly but not long. I think of how to lengthen my dalet every single time I recite the Shema.
But, we should be careful not to take it too far. Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba admonishes Rabbi Yirmeya:
The Gemara relates that Rabbi Yirmeya was seated before Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba. He saw that he was greatly extending his pronunciation of eḥad. He said to him: Once you have crowned God in your thoughts over everything above, in Heaven, below, on earth, and in the four corners of the heavens, you need not extend any further.
But it doesn’t stop there. It goes on to say:
Rav Natan bar Mar Ukva said that Rav Yehuda said: One must recite upon your heart, while standing in one place. The Gemara is perplexed: Does it enter your mind that upon your heart alone must be recited while standing in one place? What distinguishes that phrase from the rest of Shema? Rather, say: One must recite until upon your heart while standing in one place. From here on, one need not stand in one place. Rabbi Yoḥanan said: One must recite the entire first portion while standing in one place.
On its surface, this is a discussion of how and when to stand while reciting the Shema. But I want to offer another reading, connecting this with what came before.
Our task is to spiritually stand in one place, extending and expanding our awareness, recognizing the Divine, and conceptualizing our interconnected nature.
We are all fundamentally connected. All of us.
The Shema grounds us to that fundamental truth every day.