About LISTEN

Hebrew Name

שְׁמַע

English Name

LISTEN

Phonetic Spelling

SHEH-MAH

What does LISTEN mean?

Shema, Hebrew for “listen,” is the first word of Judaism’s most important and foundational prayer, “Listen, Israel!

שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהֹוָה אֶחָד׃
Hear, O Yisrael! Hashem is our God, Hashem alone.
sh'-MA yis-ra-AYL a-do-NAI e-lo-HAY-nu a-do-NAI e-KHAD
Deuteronomy 6:4

וַיִּקַּח סֵפֶר הַבְּרִית וַיִּקְרָא בְּאָזְנֵי הָעָם וַיֹּאמְרוּ כֹּל אֲשֶׁר־דִּבֶּר יְהֹוָה נַעֲשֶׂה וְנִשְׁמָע׃
Then he took the record of the covenant and read it aloud to the people. And they said, “All that Hashem has spoken we will faithfully do!”
Exodus 24:7

Description about LISTEN

Shema, Hebrew for “listen,” is the first word of Judaism’s most important and foundational prayer, “Listen, Israel! The Lord is our God, God is One” (Deuteronomy 6:4), which declares our faith in the one and only God. The Bible commands us to recite the Shema every morning and evening: “And these words, which I command you this day, shall be upon your heart… and you shall speak of them… when you lie down and when you get up” (Deuteronomy 6:6-7). By reciting the Shema prayer each day and night, we do not forget its powerful message. Rabbi Akiva was the leading rabbi of Israel during the 2nd century CE, a time of terrible Roman persecution. Among other rabbis, he was arrested by the Romans and tortured to death for teaching the Bible in public. As the Romans burned him to death, he cried out the words of the Shema. His students cried out, “Master, at a time like this you can say the Shema?” Rabbi Akiva responded, “All of my life I have strived to fulfill the verse ‘You shall love God with all your heart and all of your soul.’ Now I finally have the chance to do so.” With the words of the Shema on his lips, his soul left the world. Rabbi Akiva’s act of spiritual bravery is the source for the Jewish practice of reciting the Shema before death. Untold numbers of Jews recited the Shema in their final moments before being murdered by Nazis during the Holocaust. Upon receiving the Torah, the children of Israel proclaimed “we will do and we will listen,” committing themselves to live according to God’s word as written in the Bible, even before they heard what was written in it, an extraordinary commitment of faith.

Attribute of LISTEN

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