Sh’ma and Its Blessings

k'ri-at sh'ma uvirchoteha

קריאת שמע וברכותיה

Israeli: ' marks a reduced vowel that Israeli speech drops (b'rachah); when the vowel is pronounced it is written e (lefanecha). - separates syllables that would otherwise run together.

How to read the transliterations

Second B’rakhah before the Sh’ma: God’s Great Love

Hebrew

אַהֲבָה רַבָּה אֲהַבְתָּנוּ, יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ,
חֶמְלָה גְדוֹלָה וִיתֵרָה חָמַלְתָּ עָלֵינוּ.
אָבִינוּ מַלְכֵּנוּ, בַּעֲבוּר אֲבוֹתֵינוּ [וְאִמּוֹתֵינוּ]
שֶׁבָּטְחוּ בְךָ וַתְּלַמְּדֵם חֻקֵּי חַיִּים,
כֵּן תְּחָנֵּנוּ וּתְלַמְּדֵנוּ.
אָבִינוּ, הָאָב הָרַחֲמָן, הַמְרַחֵם,
רַחֵם עָלֵינוּ וְתֵן בְּלִבֵּנוּ לְהָבִין וּלְהַשְׂכִּיל
לִשְׁמֹעַ, לִלְמֹד וּלְלַמֵּד, לִשְׁמֹר וְלַעֲשׂוֹת
וּלְקַיֵּם אֶת־כָּל־דִּבְרֵי תַלְמוּד תּוֹרָתֶךָ בְּאַהֲבָה.
וְהָאֵר עֵינֵינוּ בְּתוֹרָתֶךָ,
וְדַבֵּק לִבֵּנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתֶיךָ,
וְיַחֵד לְבָבֵנוּ לְאַהֲבָה וּלְיִרְאָה אֶת־שְׁמֶךָ,
וְלֹא נֵבוֹשׁ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד.
כִּי בְּשֵׁם קָדְשְׁךָ הַגָּדוֹל וְהַנּוֹרָא בָּטָחְנוּ,
נָגִילָה וְנִשְׂמְחָה בִּישׁוּעָתֶךָ.

Israeli

ahavah rabah ahavtanu, Adonai Eloheinu,
chemlah g'dolah viterah chamalta aleinu.
avinu malkenu, ba-avur avoteinu [ve-imoteinu]
shebatechu v'cha vatlamedem chukei chayim,
ken t'chanenu utlamedenu.
avinu, ha-av harachaman, hamerachem,
rachem aleinu veten b'libenu lehavin ulehaskil
lishmoa, lilmod ulelamed, lishmor vela-asot
ulekayem et-kol-divrei Talmud Toratecha be-ahavah.
veha-er eineinu b'Toratecha,
vedabek libenu b'mitzvotecha,
veyached levavenu le-ahavah uleyirah et-sh'mecha,
velo nevosh le-olam va-ed.
ki b'shem kodshcha hagadol vehanora batachnu,
nagilah venismechah bishu-atecha.

English

You have loved us deeply, Adonai our God, and showered us with boundless compassion. Avinu Malkeinu, for the sake of our ancestors who trusted in You and to whom You taught the laws of life, so may You be gracious to us and instruct us. Kind creator, have compassion for us, open our hearts so that we may understand and discern, hear and study, observe, perform, and fulfill all the teachings of Your Torah with love. Enlighten our eyes with Your Torah; attach our hearts to Your mitzvot; unify our hearts to love and revere Your name so that we never lose hope. As we trust in Your great, holy, awe-inspiring name, we will delight and rejoice in Your deliverance.

Some gather their tzitzit before reciting this line:

Hebrew

וַהֲבִיאֵנוּ לְשָׁלוֹם מֵאַרְבַּע כַּנְפוֹת הָאָרֶץ,
וְתוֹלִיכֵנוּ קוֹמְמִיּוּת לְאַרְצֵנוּ,
כִּי אֵל פּוֹעֵל יְשׁוּעוֹת אָתָּה,
וּבָנוּ בָחַרְתָּ מִכָּל־עַם וְלָשׁוֹן,
וְקֵרַבְתָּנוּ לְשִׁמְךָ הַגָּדוֹל סֶלָה בֶּאֱמֶת,
לְהוֹדוֹת לְךָ וּלְיַחֶדְךָ בְּאַהֲבָה.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהֹוָה, הַבּוֹחֵר בְּעַמּוֹ יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּאַהֲבָה.

Israeli

vahavi-enu leshalom me-arba kanfot ha-aretz,
vetolichenu komemiyut le-artzenu,
ki El po-el yeshu-ot atah,
uvanu vacharta mikol-am velashon,
vekeravtanu leshimcha hagadol selah be-emet,
lehodot lecha uleyachedcha be-ahavah.
baruch atah Adonai, habocher be-amo Yisra-el be-ahavah.

English

Bring us safely from the four corners of the earth, and lead us in dignity to our land, for You are the God who effects deliverance. You have chosen us from all other tongues and peoples, always drawing us nearer to Your name, that we may truly acknowledge You and lovingly proclaim Your oneness. Barukh atah Adonai, who lovingly cares for the people Israel.

Commentary

YOU HAVE LOVED US DEEPLY אַהֲבָה רַבָּה. The Hebrew root alef-hei-vet, meaning “love,” appears six times in this passage (both as the noun and a verb). Reuven Hammer points out that three of them speak of our love for God and three speak of God’s love for us. While reciting this b’rakhah, the worshipper can anticipate the seventh occurrence, which is found in the first paragraph of the Sh’ma: “You shall love Adonai your God.”

AVINU MALKEINU אָבִינוּ מַלְכֵּנוּ. Literally, “our father, our king.” The pairing of the two words emphasizes that God is at once both intimate as a close relation and distant as a monarch. The word av, “father,” suggests the image of God as source or progenitor, and therefore it may also be translated as “creator.”

LAWS OF LIFE חֻקֵּי חַיִּים. The word “Torah” encompasses many different meanings. In its most limited usage, it refers to the Five Books of Moses. But in a larger sense it refers to all of Scripture, and even to all of later Jewish teaching. Thus, the rabbis of the Talmud spoke of the “Written Torah” and the “Oral Torah,” the latter referring to the teachings of the Midrash, Mishnah, and Talmud—and even to “whatever new teaching a student of wisdom might impart until the end of time” (Leviticus Rabbah 22:1). In this prayer, “Torah” embraces the widest meaning: the laws of life—all those teachings that instruct us concerning a full ethical and religious life.

TO UNDERSTAND AND DISCERN . . . OBSERVE, FULFILL, AND PERFORM לְהָבִין וּלְהַשְׂכִּיל . . . לִשְׁמֹר וְלַעֲשׂוֹת וּלְקַיֵּם. This sequence implies that study is intimately linked with action—indeed, that study should lead to action.

GATHERING THE TZITZIT. Many observe the custom, originating in the late Middle Ages, of gathering the four tzitziyot (plural of tzitzit) of the tallit while reciting the words “bring us safely from the four corners of the earth,” thus symbolizing Israel’s unity and ingathering. The tzitziyot are then held through the third paragraph of the Sh’ma, and kissed when reciting the word tzitzit (which appears three times in that paragraph). By this practice, we indicate that we are lovingly undertaking to observe these words of Torah, and we hope that our commitment to strive for holiness will lead to greater unity. We are also gathering within us all our positive intentions.

The Blessings of the Priests before the Sh’ma The priests in the Temple would say the following b’rakhah before the Sh’ma: “May the one who dwells in this House always grant you love, harmony, peace, and friendship.” —TALMUD OF THE LAND OF ISRAEL …

You Have Loved Us Deeply With a great love (ahavah rabah) You have loved us (ahavtanu). The love of God for the people Israel is declared here just before the Sh’ma. It prepares us for the Sh’ma. Now you might expect a listing of gifts to us—God’s freeing us, feeding us, delivering us. Instead, we thank God for one gift: God’s teaching, God’s opening our minds and hearts to Torah. What You’ve given us is the ability to listen to You, so we can thank and draw close to You. Your compassion is expressed in teaching our hearts to know compassion, to love You, giving us not personal freedoms but, in fact, boundaries bringing us close to the Unbounded, the One. By giving us Torah, You’ve shown us how to live. We can now offer thanks and say: “Hear O Israel, Adonai is our God, Adonai is one.” —JOHN J. CLAYTON …