The Shema — The Declaration of Divine Unity
The Shema ('Hear, O Israel: the Lord is our God, the Lord is One') is the central declaration of Jewish faith — affirming absolute divine unity and the obligation of total devotion to God.
Shema Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai Echad ('Hear, O Israel: the Lord is our God, the Lord is One') — Deuteronomy 6:4 — is the most fundamental affirmation in Judaism, recited twice daily, at the bedside, and with the last breath. It is the core of Jewish faith and the first prayer a Jewish child learns and the last prayer a Jew utters. The word 'Echad' (One) is written with an enlarged letter Dalet in the Torah scroll — because the Dalet equals 4 in gematria (numerology), representing the four directions and the divine unity that pervades all space. The following verse commands total devotion: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your might' — the triple 'all' requiring the entire person, without reservation. The martyrs who died sanctifying God's name (Kiddush Hashem) did so with the Shema on their lips — making it simultaneously the supreme statement of faith and the ultimate act of courage.
Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord is One.
Philosopher Hermann Cohen argued that the Shema's declaration of divine unity is the foundation of ethical monotheism — not merely a theological claim but a moral program: if God is One, then all human beings are equally before the One God and therefore equally dignified, with equal claims on justice.
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