Passages for Meditation

The Torah

The Shema

Hear, O Israel,
the Lord our God, the Lord is one.
Blessed is his name,
whose glorious kingdom is forever.
 
And you shall love the Lord with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.
 
And these words, which I command you this day, shall be upon your heart: and you shall teach them always to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you arise.
 
And you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they will be seen as a badge between your eyes.
 
And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house, and upon your gates.

These segments of the Torah have been recited together since Biblical times as the central affirmation of the Jewish faith. Tradition prescribes that the Shema be spoken “with entire collection and concentration of heart and mind.” This translation is by Ellen Lehmann Beeler.