For thousand years, every morning and evening Jewish people have prayed these well-known words as the way of expressing their devotion to God. We can see Jewish Rabbis often wear a small box on their forehead which contains the Shema.
“HEAR O Israel, the LORD is our God, the LORD is one, and as for you, you shall LOVE the Lord our God with all of your HEART, with all your SOUL, and with all your STRENGTH.” – Deuteronomy 6:4-5
Artwork by Alex Levin.
The first word in Hebrew: אֶחָד׃ is pronounced “SHEMA” which means HEAR or LISTEN! “Ears that SHEMA and eyes that see, the Lord has made them both.” – Proverbs 20-12 But in the Bible, SHEMA does not only mean hear or listen, it also means many things else: 1: PAYING ATTENTION Leah said: “The Lord has SHEMA that I am unloved” – Genesis 29:31
2. RESPONDING TO WHAT YOU HEAR: to respond to a cry for help! “SHEMA my voice, when I call O Lord, be merciful and answer me.” – Psalm 27:7
3. KEEPING THE COVENANT: Listen and obey “If you SHEMA me fully and keep my covenant. Then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession.” Exodus 19:5
4. LISTEN AND DOING are two sides of the same coin. When Israel did not obey God, the prophet say: they have ears but they do not SHEMA. – Psalm 135:17, Jeremiah 5:21, Isaiah 6:10, Ezekiel 12:2, Matthew 13:15; Mark 8:18, Acts 28:27, Romans 11:8
In short, SHEMA brings a rich meaning of listening, paying attention to what you hear, responding to by doing what you listen. Hence, when you SHEMA, real listening takes efforts and action.
Little-pencil 