Origin, meaning and inheritance of Shema Israel
Temple
The oral traditions evoke the use of this proclamation from the time of the first temple of Jerusalem. The crowd of the faithful responds to the priest with another proclamation: “Blessed be the name whose glory of the kingdom is forever. »»
And Jesus?
In the Gospel, Jesus in turn questioned (MC 12, 29-30; LC 10, 27; Mt 22,37) or questioning others (LC 10, 27), dialogue with a scribe about the proclamation of “Chemah Yisra’ël”. A dialogue that creates a rapprochement with another pillar of Jewish faith: “You will love your neighbor as yourself. (LV 19, 18). A pillar that Jesus will light by the parable of the good Samaritan.
5th book
This declaration is in the book of Deuteronomy, the 5th book of the Jewish Torah. In chapter 6, the author – the tradition says that it is Moses himself – invites the faithful to receive the “commandments, the laws and the ordinances” of the single God encountered in Sinai, to put them into practice on the promised land. The first of them offers a striking summary of the original Jewish faith.
“Listen, Israel: Yahweh is our God and the only God. You will love your God, with all your heart, with all your soul and all your mind. »»
Prayer of “Chemah Yisra’ël”
A personal prayer
For a faithful of Judaism, this prayer, which is also a profession of faith, is recited by getting up, while going to bed, traveling or at home, for oneself and for your children.
“Listen, Israel”
It is almost the keyword that replaces the “I believe” of the Christian creed. In Hebrew, this prayer of “Chemah Yisra’ël” became the central prayer of the morning and evening offices in Judaism, proclaiming the uniqueness of God in time and in time. And therefore faith in an exclusive monotheism.
And also
Other texts from the Old Testament act as an essential profession of faith, starting with the Decalogue which evokes the alliance of a God who releases his people from Egypt (ex 20, 1-18 and DT 5, 6-21). The memory of Holy Jewish history – the departure of Abraham, the exit from Egypt – often serves as a common profession of faith (DT 26, 5-11; PS 105; PS 136).
