Shema Yisrael

שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד. בָּרוּךְ שֵׁם כְּבוֹד מַלְכוּתוֹ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד.

וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ. וְהָיוּ הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוְּךָ הַיּוֹם עַל-לְבָבֶךָ. וְשִׁנַּנְתָּם לְבָנֶיךָ וְדִבַּרְתָּ בָּם בְּשִׁבְתְּךָ בְּבֵיתֶךָ וּבְלֶכְתְּךָ בַדֶּרֶךְ וּבְשָׁכְבְּךָ וּבְקוּמֶךָ. וּקְשַׁרְתָּם לְאוֹת עַל יָדֶךָ וְהָיוּ לְטֹטָפֹת בֵּין עֵינֶיךָ. וּכְתַבְתָּם עַל מְזֻזוֹת בֵּיתֶךָ וּבִשְׁעָרֶיךָ.

Hear, O Israel, the L-rd is our G-d, the L-rd is One.

Blessed be the name of the glory of His kingdom forever and ever.

You shall love the L-rd your G-d with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words which I command you today shall be upon your heart. You shall teach them thoroughly to your children, and you shall speak of them when you sit in your house and when you walk on the road, when you lie down and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they shall be for a reminder between your eyes. And you shall write them upon the doorposts of your house and upon your gates.

When we say the Shema we declare,
That there is one Hashem who is everywhere,
We are commanded to love Hashem with all our heart, soul and might,
We teach this to our children morning noon and night,

In the Shema, the commandment for men to wrap Tefillin we find,
To Hashem, every Jew must bind their heart and mind,
We are commanded to place a Mezuzah on the door for all to see,
It shows that a Jew, we are proud to be!

During the Holocaust, there was a boy of four,
Who had to part from his mother because of the war.
When he said goodbye, there were tears on his mother's face,
These were her final words from their last embrace.

"Shema Yisrael, know that there is but one G-d above,
When you feel pain, when you rejoice,
Know how He longs to hear your voice,
Hashem Elokeinu, Hashem Echad."

Hidden in a monestary is how he survived,
But of his Jewish education he was deprived,
He tried not to forget his past, his home,
But he was so very young and all alone,
The visions of his childhood so vivid and clear,
Began to fade, and was about to disappear.

After the war, one Rabbi took on the task,
To bring the scattered Jewish children home at last,
He entered the fortress dark and cold,
You have 5 minutes to find the children he was told.

Hashem above, he whispered, "Please don't let me fail."
And he began to sing "Shema Yisrael!"
When the Shema prayer the children heard,
Their Neshama, G-dly soul, was awakened and to the Jewish people they returned.

Souvenir: #1 candle