Sign In Forgot Password

Va'etchanan 2016: Guest Speaker Ken Cliffer

The Meaning of the Sh'ma

.שמע ישראל יהוה אלהינו יהוה אחד [Sh’ma Yisra’el Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Echad]

What do you think when you hear the Sh'ma, which we read in this morning’s Torah portion? What do you mean when you say the Sh'ma? For those not familiar with it, if you are visiting, it's considered one of the most important prayers or statements in Judaism, to be said at least twice daily. You'll get the idea as I proceed.

Here are some conventional translations: (1) Traditional: Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One. (2) Sinai (1969): Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God; the Lord is One. (3) JPS (Jewish Publication Society; new in 1962), the version in Etz Hayim, the red books you have containing the Torah: Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.

To me, the differences between these translations are in emphasis - differences that can be seen as important, but not fundamentally very different. I won’t dwell on the differences, but note that all start with a hearkening to the people Israel to hear the main message about God and God’s singularity and, in the newer versions, supremacy.

You may know about a book called "Eats, Shoots & Leaves." A picture of a panda is on the cover. A panda eats shoots and leaves of bamboo. But with commas, this has a different meaning. Eats, shoots, and leaves. We would not want that a person goes into a restaurant, and then eats, [comma] shoots, [comma] and leaves.

The Torah has no punctuation, so we can consider what the meaning might be with alternative ideas of what the punctuation and emphasis would be.

Before considering some alternative meanings of the Sh’ma, let’s consider its words and structure. It has a total of six words, one of which appears twice. The first word, שמע [Sh’ma], means "hear" or "listen." The next, ישראל [Yisra’el], means "Israel," the people of Israel, the Jewish people – it also has a literal meaning we'll explore in a moment. So the first of three word pairs is שמע ישראל [Sh’ma Yisra’el], Hear O Israel in the conventional translations. Next, Adonai, a word we use for "the Lord," is said in place of the name of God, which we do not pronounce. The following word, אלהינו [Eloheinu], translates as "our God." So the second part is יהוה אלהינו [Adonai Eloheinu], the Lord our God or the Lord is our God. Adonai, the Lord, repeats. Then, אחד [echad] means "one" or "singular." יהוה אחד [Adonai Echad], the Lord is One, or the Lord alone.

Now consider some alternative interpretations. The literal meaning of ישראל [Yisra’el], Israel, is connected with its origin in the Torah. Jacob got the name ישראל [Yisra’el] after wrestling[i] with a man. From then on, instead of יעקוב [Ya’acov = Jacob], he would now, instead, be called ישראל [Yisra’el], as he had "striven with beings divine and human, and prevailed."[ii] The word translated as "striven," שָֹרִיתָ [sarita], has the root of שר [sar], which translates as “to minister,” “to rule,” and “to struggle” - possibly all associated with the same meaning.[iii] So, linguistically and in its Torah origin, ישראל [Yisra’el] connotes a struggle and striving with God, or associated with the rule of God. So if we say שמע ישראל [Sh’ma Yisra’el], we could mean not only "Hear O Israel," as in "listen, people of Israel," but, alternatively, using “hear” in its transitive sense, with what to hear: "hear a struggle with God" or "associated with the rule of God." Instead of a subordinate, albeit important, hearkening, שמע ישראל [Sh’ma Yisra’el] becomes a main message of an appeal to hear a striving struggle with God.

When I first thought of this variation on the meaning of שמע ישראל [Sh’ma Yisra’el], I had the idea that the entire Sh'ma could be a prayer to God - saying to God, "hear our struggle with God, Lord, our God, singular Lord." The striving struggle with God can mean the struggle to be true to the מצוות [mits’vot] - the commandments/ laws/ principles of the Torah and its teachings - the primary ten of which are in today's reading. Thinking of the Sh'ma this way, as a foundation of our faith and heritage, opened up for me a new view of virtually all Torah stories and prayers, as well as how to relate them to my own striving to better myself. It in effect summarized the tensions in the Torah stories, the struggles of the participants to identify and do the right thing, in light of their essential humanity and the מצוות [mits’vot] - the commandments. This struggle is reflected incisively even in the very opening to today's Torah portion (a part we did not read today), where Moses appeals to God to let him pass over into the promised land, but does not prevail, due to a previous struggle even (or especially) of this great leader. The placement of the Sh'ma in juxtaposition to the Ten Commandments and to the immediately following stipulation to honor and love God in all ways also is a fitting place to emphasize the striving struggle.

This interpretation of the Sh'ma is both demanding and forgiving. It's demanding because if we're struggling with how to be true to the teachings, and declaring our struggle, we are taking it seriously, and making a sincere effort to know and do what is right. It's forgiving because it recognizes that to do it well is inherently a struggle, and that if we don't succeed in the way we or someone thinks we should or might, the reason includes that it's inherently not easy. Should I give money to the homeless person begging at the Metro? If the situation arises, would I risk my life for another? שמע ישראל [Sh’ma Yisra’el]

Another variation can take the latter part of the Sh’ma, rather than as addressing God, to be a statement that the struggle is inherent in the Lord being our singular God. "Hear the striving struggle with God, in that the Lord is our God and the Lord is singular." Now the two latter parts elaborate on, embody, and deepen the main message of the striving struggle, rather than being the main message themselves. They’re the content of the struggle. Thinking of it this way stimulated more thought about the words we use to characterize God, the Lord, the One. Part of the struggle, my struggle, is itself to understand what God, the Lord, the One means.

The written "name" of God is not to be said - it is a form of the word "to be," without tense, referring to timeless being-ness, existence. Saying it cannot do justice to the nature and magnitude of its meaning. The Hebrew words we use to refer to God, including in the Sh'ma, are collective nouns with plural grammatical forms, to express a singular God that is the sum of all being. We talk about something hard to talk about and understand, in a singular collective unity of all, and hard to deal with as stipulated in the Torah -- our struggle. The Sh’ma can be seen as a mission statement - our mission is to hear and engage the struggle of understanding and being true to God.

Let's consider whether the form of this interpretation fits in the context of the Torah's language. Before the Sh’ma,[iv] the words of its first two parts appear in what Moses says introducing the ten command­ments. First, "Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the ordinances ... [etc.]," and then, in the next sentence, "The Lord our God made a covenant with us ... [etc.]." Here, שמע ישראל [Sh’ma Yisra’el] is not a hearkening, but rather an appeal to hear the statutes and ordinances – the laws. "Hear" is transitive, the direct objects are statutes and ordinances," and the statement is addressed to the people Israel. I have suggested a different version of a transitive "hear," with the direct object being ישראל [Yisra’el], the struggle with God. This preview suggests, in its form, another meaning, addressed to Israel, with an object to “hear,” but this time whom to hear, rather than what: "Israel, hear the Lord our God, the one Lord."[v] Another variation could be, “Israel, hear the Lord our God, with this message: the Lord is One.”

In summary, I have suggested a number of unconventional interpretations of the Sh'ma: (1) as a prayer to God to hear our struggle; (2) as a reminder, Moses to us and us to ourselves, of the struggle to understand God; and (3) as an appeal to hear the singular Lord, or the Lord stating the singularity. While sitting in services this morning, I realized another angle on the Sh’ma that I have not emphasized here, which I’ll present briefly for your further consideration. Besides meaning a struggle with God or associated with God’s rule, on our part, ישראל [Yisra’el] can also be translated as God’s rule itself, along with its associated struggle. With this translation, the Sh’ma can be read “Hear the rule of God, with its associated struggle (for God), in that the Lord is our God and the Lord is One.[vi]

In addition, one can imbue the Sh'ma with these meanings, and the conventional ones as well, all at once. It is like a drawing of a stairway that can look like it’s viewed from the top or from underneath, and the drawing’s the same either way you see it – it contains both views at once. It’s like collective nouns and ways we refer to God being singular references to something that is much more, while being unitary. The struggle is to be true to the challenge, not only in seeing meaning, but in behavior, in action that honors the unity of God and nature.

It is a central challenge, inherent in the name of our people, ישראל [Yisra’el], and embodied in virtually every part of the Torah. A midrash of the Babylonian Talmud[vii] tells of Jacob, on his deathbed, having concerns about his children, thinking of his ancestors' challenges. His sons answered with the Sh'ma, addressing Jacob by his name ישראל [Yisra’el], stating the unity of the Lord our God. They assured Jacob they would keep only One (God) in their hearts as he had in his. This story can fit with the alternative interpretation, in which these sons literally of ישראל [Yisra’el] would be hearing and engaging the striving, challenging, struggle inherent in the name of their father and our people, ישראל [Yisra’el], and inherent in recognition of the singular collective nature of all being as one.[viii] The conclusion of this week’s Torah portion[ix] describes God’s choice of the Jewish people, to have a covenant with God. Our end of this is that we have a special characteristic of striving, challenged, and struggling to realize God in ourselves, with wisdom and guidance of Torah, but inevitably, requiring our action to hear and engage that struggle.

So, I repeat: What do you think or mean when you hear or say שמע ישראל יהוה אלהינו יהוה אחד [Sh’ma Yisra’el Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Echad]?

שבת שלום [Shabbat Shalom]

 


[i]  יֵאָבֵק [yei’a’beik] – In Genesis 32:25, in the Torah portion וישלח [Va-yishlach]

[ii] From the Etz Hayim translation (the translation used at Beth Emeth). Jacob’s name changes from one that means a "follower" (on the heel of his twin brother Esau, who was born first), to one that means a successful striver.

[iii] As those who rule or minister can be seen as striving and having a struggle to do so.

[iv] At the beginning of chapter V of דברים [D’varim], Deuteronomy, which was at the beginning of the reading for the date of this d’rash, in the triennial cycle followed at Beth Emeth.

[v] One could question whether either ישראל [Yisra’el] or יהוה אלהינו [Adonai Eloheinu] could be the direct object of שמע [Sh’ma], given that the Hebrew word denoting a direct object, את [et], is not used to do so, even though it is used in the “preview” I refer to here, where the object is the proclamations of God. One could consider that using את [et] is not appropriate when the object is God, as it is used to point out a particular object, distinct from all others. As God is not to be so objectified in a limited way, the more indefinite lack of “את” [et] is more appropriate (or, the only appropriate way). Similarly, ישראל [Yisra’el], when referring to the generic struggle with God, can be considered not to be definite as is a particular object.

[vi] In this translation, God rules and struggles with ruling or ministering to us, the flip side of our struggling with God and God’s rule. Combining the meanings, we may consider the struggle a joint struggle, each with the other and together, to realize the meaning of the Torah. Insofar as God is not separate from us, these meanings can be seen as equivalent.

[vii] Attributed to R. Shimon ben Lakish. Thanks to Rabbi Steve Glazer and Rabbi Mina Goldsmith for calling my attention to this and facilitating its inclusion.

[viii] We learn that when a student asked Hillel to teach him the Torah while the student stood on one foot, Hillel answered with the Jewish version of the “golden rule” – “What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. That is the whole Torah; the rest is explanation--go study!" The challenges of living up to Hillel’s answer can be seen as expressed in the striving and struggle included in the alternative interpretations of the Sh’ma presented here. An alternative answer to the student could be the Sh'ma: Hear and engage the striving, challenging, struggle inherent in the name of our people, ישראל [Yisra’el], and embodied in recognition of the singular collective nature of all being as one.

[ix] Read at the end of the reading for the date of this d’rash, in the triennial cycle followed at Beth Emeth.

Note: This blog entry © 2016 Ken Cliffer, published with author's permission.

Thu, March 28 2024 18 Adar II 5784