THE SHEMA: A TRANSCENDENT THEOLOGY

OUTLINE

I. Historical Relevance

A. Creedal Primacy

B. Religious Expression

II. Doctrinal Significance

A. Historical Context

B. Synopsis of Theological Interpretations

C. Uniqueness of God

D. Sovereignty of God

E. Redemptive Plan of God

III. Conclusion

IV. Bibliography

THE SHEMA: A TRANSCENDENT THEOLOGY

Historical Relevance

Creedal Primacy

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD. This short expressive decree of Deuteronomy 6:4 has become recognized as the key verse in the most important Jewish prayer and benediction. Designated as the “Shema” after the Hebrew word for hear, it has traditionally been ascribed as Israel’s declaration of faith and pledge of allegiance to One God.[1] History has heard the continuous echo of its words as the Hebrew people have tried to preserve their monotheistic traditions, especially whenever they have been displaced from their ancestral land, such as during the Exile and Diaspora. [PC1] Often the Jews have experienced tenuous relationships with various cultures as they emigrated throughout the world. Volumes of literature have been written documenting both governmental and ecclesiastical sanctioning of racial and religious persecution targeting anyone with Jewish lineage. Yet, despite the intense opposition, the Shema stalwartly served as a mnemonic creed sustaining the heart of Judaism.

Since its message inculcates the central issues of the Jewish faith, the historical creedal application is an extension of the Shema’s theological paradigm. This one sentence, chosen out of the 4875 verses of the Torah, has been called the “fundamental dogma of the Old Testament”.[2] It stands not only as a bridge between the Decalogue and the body of statues and ordinances within the book of Deuteronomy, the Shema is the pivot point around which the entire Old Testament revolves.

Religious Expression

Originally, the Shema consisted of only one verse, Deuteronomy 6:4, according to Hebraic commentaries [Sukkah 42a; Berakot 13b].[3] Gradually the liturgy of the Shema was expanded to consist of three portions of the Torah: Deuteronomy 6:4-9, Deuteronomy 11: 13-21, and Numbers 15:37-41. Israel incorporated its creedal words into a daily ritual that included its repetition in both morning and evening prayers. Eventually, the Jewish men took Deuteronomy 6:8-9 literally by writing the Shema on strips of parchment, which were put into small leather boxes called phylacteries and tied to their left arms and foreheads. A further practice developed that involved the enclosing of the Shema passages in a small container known as the Mezuzah and attaching it to the door post of the home.

From the end of the first century A.D., the Shema became the ultimate statement of faith, encapsulating the fundamental doctrines of Judaist monotheism in its brevity. The Shema’s spiritual impact was so strong, historical narratives record the invocation of its words by many faithful Jews during times of intense persecution and martyrdom. In fact, Rabbi Norman Lamm, former president of Yeshiva University, claims the Shema was so inextricably “tied to Jewish identity that even assimilated Jews, whose relationship to their Jewish heritage is almost completely attenuated, recognize in it their residual link to their people and ancestral faith.”[4]

The Shema is a significant part of the contemporary Jewish worship experience since it is included in several sections of the prayer book (Siddur) used by most synagogues during the evening (Ma'ariv) and morning (Shacharit) services. Its words are recited when the scrolls are taken from the Ark for the reading of the Law and in the musaf Amidah service in honor of Shabbat and Festivals. According to Jewish custom, worshipers wearing a tallit, a prayer shawl with special twined and knotted "fringes" (tzitzit) of about six inches in length attached to its four corners, should hold the four fringes in the left hand while reciting the Shema. Additionally, the Shema is used as a bedtime prayer and as part of the deathbed confessional.

DOCTRINAL SIGNIFICANCE

Historical Context

Couched within the book of Deuteronomy, the Shema was an integral part of the larger treatise that recorded the final words of Moses spoken to the Israelites before they entered the Promise Land, an exhortation that challenged them to obey the Lord faithfully and reject all forms of idolatry.[5] Addressing a new generation, who were not witnesses to the giving of the commandments, Moses restated the Law that was given approximately forty years earlier. The people were about to transition from being wandering pilgrims to a settled nation and Moses wanted them to remember God’s sovereignty and faithfulness. Thus, the primary emphasis on the final book of the Pentateuch was the historical continuity of God’s rule over Israel by defining its national identity in terms of a covenant, a familiar political format for most middle-eastern societies during this era.

Recognizing its role as a covenant document, Deuteronomy is often compared by most scholars to the format of a Hittite suzerain-vassal treaty by which a vassal state would pledge its allegiance to the conquering overlord (suzerain). The covenant had both political and judicial implications and its tenets were rooted in the affirmation of the identity and character of the one who established it.[6] Thus, for biblical expositors “this means that God’s revelation of Himself and of other matters must be understood within the covenant context because it is His purpose in the document to represent Himself in a particularized role—Sovereign, Redeemer, covenant-maker, and benefactor.”[7] The political structure of the covenant made at Sinai emphasized the seriousness of the relationship between God and Israel and eliminated the possibility of foreign alliances (also ref. Isaiah. 31:1-3; Jeremiah. 2:18, 36), while the judicial element was manifested in the stipulations, which were the law of the nation. Contextually, therefore, the Shema was a transcendent reminder to Israel of the preeminence of God and the obligation to serve Him faithfully.

Synopsis of Theological Interpretations

A great amount of exegetical work on the Shema has concentrated on Deuteronomy 6.4, especially analyzing its declarative emphasis on the oneness of God. Viewed as the interpretative key, numerous expositions have been written over the ages espousing a variety of theological motifs. Accordingly, even rabbinic sources acquiesce several distinct--yet congruent--connotations for this portion of the Shema, which underscore the tension between the spiritual and legal dimensions under girding the Jewish religious experience.[8]

       The Shema as written by Moses said, "Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Echad." The word “echad” had several distinct meanings in the Hebrew language; thus scholars have debated its contexual meaning for centuries. Among the variant translations, however, the verse was traditionally translated in two primary ways:
          “Listen, Israel! YHWH is our God! YHWH is One!" and
          "Listen, Israel! The LORD is our God - the LORD alone."[9]
Three themes from the two principal translations that embody the most space in the commentary from both classical and contemporary scholars are God’s sovereignty, uniqueness, and redemptive plan.

The Shema was initially understood as a declaration exhorting Israel to serve Yahweh exclusively and a summons to reaffirm the covenantal oath of undivided allegiance. The entire Mosaic system was based on an established theocracy with Israel as the loyal subjects (vassals) of God and the Hebrew people already knew their existence as an autonomous community was dependent upon their fidelity to God’s regulations and rituals (ref. Exodus chapter 23). As increased knowledge about God’s nature was given through His Word, the Shema came to be seen as a proclamation of God as the divine ruler who effects a single-minded (“oneness”) design of will and action (ref. Psalm 33:11 and Proverbs 19:21). In other words, the whole history of the world narrated the uninterrupted process of a divine plan of salvation and it could not be altered or circumvented. Accordingly, the only acceptable response for the Hebrew people, as servants of Yahweh, was to confess His kingship and receive “the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven” (Berakot 2.2).[10]

Secondly, the Shema was the heart of Israel’s confession that Yahweh was not one of a pantheon of gods, which saturated the religions of other Middle-Eastern societies.[11] However, the difference was not only in the number of gods, but also in the very nature of God. The Hebrew tetragrammaton YWYH (or Yahweh) was God’s personal name by which He was known to Israel and testified to His distinctive self-existence. This signature self-disclosure appeared over two hundred times in Deuteronomy alone. Thus, the Shema was clear in its proclamation that He is the one absolute God, to whom alone the name Yahweh uniquely belongs, precluding comparison to any other “god.”[12]

However, the full essence of the Shema was not only in the expression of the kingship and uniqueness of God alone. The demanding servitude and rituals God expressed through the Law was in a theological sense also a pledge of redemption and a revelation of His grace. The covenanting God was not merely the divine ruler of a single nation. He was recognized as the ultimate source of all life. Yet, while He was “the God of all flesh” (Jeremiah 32.27), He was also uniquely the “Lord of Israel” (Deuteronomy 21.8; Joshua 24.23) because He had conferred His name on a particular nation that He alone chose by His grace (ref. Ezekiel 20.5).[13] Thus, the heartbeat of the Shema emanated from the desire of God “to summon from out of the human mass a unique community established in His name and the desire of that community to serve God in love and obedience by responding to His call.”[14] This divine intention prompted many rabbinic scholars to view the Shema as a redemptive marker announcing the unification of His people under His name.[15]

Uniqueness of God

Throughout the Torah, God expressively revealed Himself as unique in all of His presence, power, and perfections (Genesis 17:11; 35:11; Exodus 6:8; Leviticus 11:44; etc.). The Shema encapsulated this theology through its claim that there is “only one ultimate or absolute—the power that under girds all reality is one and not multiple, faithful and not capricious, a whole and not divided, and therefore capable of purpose and power because this one is not controlled and limited by other forces.”[16] His uniqueness intimated His oneness and unity. Thus, the clear meaning to Israel through the Shema was that Yahweh was “the Eternally Existing One is our God and He is the unique and only Eternally Existing One.”[17]

The Shema also implicitly addressed numerous deviant forms of deity that most false religions postulated. All of the cultures occupying Canaan were polytheistic and a majority of worshippers honored some manifestation of a fertility god known as Baal. Deuteronomy 6:4 tacitly contrasted the oneness of God with the multiple manifestations of Baal that were prevalent in Canaan’s culture, thereby serving as the focal point for the “dominant deuteronomic concern that Israel’s worship should be confined to one sanctuary.”[18] Under its unconditional preclusion of all polytheistic structures, the Shema banned other aberrant religious expressions such as monolatry, the polytheistic practice of worshipping one god while recognizing the existence of other gods. The primary god was often expressed as a national entity such as the Canaanite god “El,” who was the officially sanctioned "head" or "state" god.

The Shema’s clause of uniqueness renounced not only polytheism, but also syncretism. It served as a proactive admonition against the Israelites’ natural inclination to harmonize the monotheism of Judaism with the idolatrous practices of their neighbors. Even more significantly, the Shema was relevant to every point of the nation’s spiritual timeline as it transcended its historical context through an implicit refutation of every other form of “ism”, “which creates for itself a supreme god according to philosophical abstractions and ideas.”[19]

Sovereignty of God

The theological significance of God’s ethos as codified in the Shema did not just merely rest upon a descriptive statement of His characteristics, but also attested to His exclusive sovereignty as the Great King who is the loyal and faithful covenant-initiator Lord of Israel.[20] Therefore, the grand design of all the institutions prescribed to Israel was to form a religious people, whose national character would be distinguished by their divine observance of His worship and their steadfast obedience to His will.[21] Mann expands this concept:

Ancient Israel’s identity was rooted in the story of liberation, of being set free from bondage to Pharaoh. But the story of the exodus is only half the story that shapes Israel’s identity. The other half begins with the formation of the covenant community and the gift of the Ten Commandments.”[22]

Due to its covenantal nature, the Shema specifically invited Israel to respond to Yahweh, their unique personal God, with the same fullness of love that He displayed toward His people by devoting themselves wholeheartedly to God. However, the language of love as articulated in the Shema was intended to be interpreted within the covenantal relationship between a king and his vassal, intimating a meaning as virtually synonymous with ‘obedience’ (Deuteronomy 10:12, 11:1, 11:13, 11:22).[23] Obedience was to be expressed in the forms of loyalty, commitment, and responsibility with the Mosaic Law as the primary mechanism for its actualization. The Ten Commandments were the heart of the biblical law. They were moral imperatives that acted as a manifestation of God’s character and proclaimed the only standard of righteousness acceptable to Him. Since He was the only Lord God, Israel was to obey, serve, and love Him supremely.

This primary interpretation has also been traditionally emphasized in the Siddur (prayer book). Often, the last letter of the first and last words of the Shema verse were written in larger print because these letters form the word "ed" (witness). This served as mnemonic reminder of the Jewish duty to serve as witnesses to God's sovereignty by leading exemplary lives.

Redemptive Plan of God

One of the classical rabbinic phrases associated with Shema was “The unification of His name,” which provided its hearers a message of assurance and hope.[24] God testified through Isaiah (48:9-11) and Ezekiel (36:21-22) that the redemption and restoration of the Hebrew community was for His name’s sake. God purposely opened each of these great sections (separated in the modern era by chapter numbers) with the same exhortation of shema as Deuteronomy 6:4 (ref. Isaiah 48:1 and Ezekiel 36:1). Thus, using the revelation of the prophets to expand upon the soteriological essence of the Shema, God’s oneness was interpreted as the unity between intention and execution such that God’s redemptive plan could not be deflected or turned from its completion (Isaiah 45:7).[25] Declaring Himself to be the master of creation (Isaiah 45:12), God affirmed He was the hope of all mankind (Isaiah 45:17, 22).

God’s theocracy over the Hebrew nation was designed as a living testimony of God’s redemptive grace. The Israelites were supposed to be the channel by which the world would hear the message of reconciliation. Thus, the Shema’s affirmation of the uniqueness of God was also an implicit reference to His redemptive plan for the entire world. Bouquet clarifies this by defining monotheism, “True monotheism is not simply the affirmation that God is one, but that the world is all God’s by reconciliation to His meaning in it and His purpose beyond it.”[26] Israel was to be a missionary nation. God would bless all the families of the earth through Israel (Genesis 12:3).

The Sinai covenant specified that Israel would only be blessed for serving God as His representatives if they continued striving for unity, holiness, and justice. The second part of the traditional recitation of the Shema (Deuteronomy 11:13-21) emphasized that God would give prosperity if the Israelites followed His commandments. The section also detailed the consequences if they chose to follow their own will. Additionally, after the public recitation of the three paragraphs of the Shema, a blessing of redemption is given. This blessing recalls God merciful deliverance during the Exodus and Exile experiences.

The miraculous events experienced by the fledging Hebrew community as it escaped Egyptian servitude and prepared to enter an extremely hostile territory provided permanent historical markers attesting to God’s redemption. Canaan constituted the sphere of grace where His people would live in perpetual blessedness. While it was true Israel’s preservation of its national identity according to the Mosaic Covenant in the ‘land of milk and honey’ and the redemptive benefits of their salvation from foreign indenture depended upon their faithfulness to His decrees, God’s promises in the Abrahamic Covenant could not be thwarted or endangered by their lack of obedience. The liturgical third part of the Shema (Numbers 15:37-41) was added to emphasize this important theme of redemption.

Finally, as more revelation was given, Jewish scholars derived an eschatological redemptive interpretation of Deuteronomy 6:4 by reading it in light of Zechariah 14:9. This verse gave the prophecy explaining the kingdom of God shall be a universal and united kingdom in which all will worship the one true God. All false gods and idolatrous ways of worship would be abolished. God’s plan included all of the nations and His effectual Will permeating the hearts of every citizen. God then would be the One and only God in the hearts of all mankind.

CONCLUSION

There is no doubt that the Shema is a theological portal that illuminates and magnifies the sovereignty and uniqueness of God. However, the Shema also communicated, “true monotheism is not simply the affirmation that God is one but that the world is all God’s by reconciliation to His meaning in it and His purpose beyond it.”[27] As a covenant instrument, it defines who the Sovereign is and condenses the obligation to Him to one of love manifested through obedience. Thus, it is clearly evident that the basic Shema exemplifies the very essence of what God requires of men, “so much so that all other biblical revelation is actually a commentary on it.”[28]

[1]Thomas Mann. Deuteronomy. (Louisville: John Knox Press, 1995.), 53.

[2]Herbert Wolf. An Introduction to the Old Testament Pentateuch. (Chicago: Moody Press, 1991.), 216.

[3] Kaufmann Kohler and Judah Eisenstein. Shema’. (Internet: http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=599&letter=S&search=shema, 2002. Accessed 3/18/2005) Single document.

[4]Norman Lamm. The Shema: Spirituality and Law in Judaism. (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society of America, 2000.), 5.

[5]The Quest Study Bible: New International Version. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994.) 235.

[6]Gerald J. Janzen. “On the Most Important Word in the Shema” (Vestus Testamentum July 1987), 281.

[7]Roy B. Zuck, ed. A Biblical Theology of the Old Testament. (Chicago: Moody Press, 1999), 62.

[8]Lamm, 6.

[9]Martin S. Jaffee. “One God, One Revelation, One People: on the Symbolic Structure of Elective Monotheism” (Journal of the American Academy of Religion. Dec 2001), 755.

[10]Samuel Dean McBride. “Yoke of the Kingdom: an Exposition of Deuteronomy 6:4-5”(Interpretation July 1973), 276.

       [11]J.A. Thompson. Deuteronomy: An Introduction and Commentary. (Leicester: Intervarsity Press, 1974.) 121.

[12]F. Delitzsch and C.F. Keil. Commentary on the Old Testament in Ten Volumes: Volume 1 The Pentateuch. (Grand Rapids: Eerdman’s, 1975.) 323.

[13]Samuel S. Cohon. “The Unity of God: a Study in Hellenistic and Rabbinic Theology” (Hebrew Union College Annual, 26 1955), 442.

[14]Jaffee, 760.

[15]McBride, 276.

[16]Patrick D. Miller. Deuteronomy. (Louisville: John Knox Press, 1990.) 103.

[17]Merrill F. Unger. The New Unger’s Bible Handbook. (Chicago: Moody Press, 1984. 111.

[18]A. Mayes. New Century Bible Commentary: Deuteronomy.(Grand Rapids: Eerdman’s, 1981) 176.

[19]Delitzsch, 323.

[20]Zuck, 62.

[21]Jamieson, Robert. Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible. (CD: E-Sword, 2003.) Section on Deut 6:1-9.

[22]Thomas W. Mann. Deuteronomy. (Louisville: John Knox Press, 1995), 53.

[23]Mayes, 176.

[24]Lamm, 48.

[25]Janzen, 287.

[26]Alan Bouquet, Comparative Religion 5^th ed. (Middlesex: Penguin Books, Ltd., 1956), 222.

       [27]Bouquet, 222.

[28]Zuck, 78.