d’var torah
Listen, People
BY RABBI ABI WEBER
E Parshat Vaetchanan
very evening for the last 19
months, my wife and I have
completed the same ritual.

First, there is the poem: a simple bed-
time story that we recite responsively.

Th en, the song: a familiar and soothing
lullaby taken from summer camp.

Finally, the climactic moment: We
stand above our baby daughter’s crib
and ask, “Are you ready to say the
Shema?” A smile breaks out on her
small face as she brings her hand to her
eyes and burbles along.

Th e Shema is, perhaps, the most
iconic piece of liturgy in the Jewish
canon. So essential is this ritual to our
people that the Mishnah, the fi rst com-
pendium of rabbinic law, begins with
the question, “From what time do we
recite Shema in the evening?”
And this centrality has lasted
through the generations. A story is told
of Rabbi Yitzchak Halevi Herzog, later
the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel.

Aft er the Second World War, he set out
on a mission to locate the thousands of
Jewish children who had been hidden
in monasteries and Christian homes
during the war. Walking into one such
monastery in 1946, Herzog turned to
the Reverend Mother to thank her for
rescuing so many young people. “Of
course,” the nun replied, “but how will
you know which children are Jewish?
Th ere are so many children here, and
some of them came as infants.”
Herzog was undeterred. He gathered
all of the children together in a large
hall and cried out, “Shema Yisrael,
Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai Echad!”
Dozens of children instinctively lift ed
their hands to their eyes, then began
to weep and ask for their parents. Th e
ancient words of the Shema opened in
them the fl oodgates of memory.

Th is unbroken chain of memory
begins in this week’s parsha, shortly
aft er Moshe begins his recounting
of the Israelites’ time in the desert.

In Moshe’s retelling, God speaks
directly to the Israelites on Mount
Sinai, adjuring them to follow the Ten
Commandments. Overwhelmed by God’s thunder-
ous voice, though, the people beg for
Moshe to stand as an intermediary
between them and the Divine. Moshe
steps in, and among the fi rst words
that he transmits from God to the
people are those of the Shema. Hear,
Israel: Adonai is our God. Adonai is
one. Listen, people. God is One. God
is our One.

God’s transmission to Moshe
includes instructions on how we are
to continue this transmission for gen-
erations to come: Teach these words to
your children. Speak them when you
are at home and when you travel, when
you lie down and when you get up. Tie
them to your body. Write them on your
doorposts. Make them your six-word
mantra. Oft en, when I get into conversations
with non-Jews about Judaism, they ask
me about my “faith.” Th is word always
catches me off guard. I rarely think
of Judaism as a “faith.” Judaism, for
me, is a practice. It is making inten-
tional decisions every time I eat. It is
building a mindful and electronics-free
space every Shabbat. It is living in the
rhythms of the Jewish calendar, from
one holiday to the next. It is being in
community with fellow Jews, all of
us creating a deliberate alternative to
default everyday living in the United
States. Judaism is a way of being in the
world. Th e Shema is clearly a statement of
faith. And yet it is through its prac-
tice — its ritualized transmission
from generation to generation — that
the mantra gains its power. When we
consciously attend to the oneness and
unity of the Divine, we create unity
across time and space.

A baby in a crib in Philadelphia joins
with rescued children in European
monasteries and devout Jews in
shtiebels and temples and community
centers. We all stand again at Sinai,
listening to Moshe share his memories
with us. Listen, Israel, he says to us.

God is one. We are one. JE
at Temple Beth Zion-Beth Israel (BZBI)
in Center City Philadelphia. Th e Board
of Rabbis of Greater Philadelphia is
proud to provide diverse perspectives
on Torah commentary for the Jewish
Exponent. Th e opinions expressed in
this column are the author’s own and
do not refl ect the view of the Board of
Rabbis. BUSINESS / LEGAL DIRECTORIES
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Rabbi Abi Weber is the assistant rabbi
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