In short
These are the most important two verses in the entire Old Testament, even the whole Bible. I will dare to say there is not a Jew past or present who would disagree.
Why it is important
Jesus said so.
I mean, His EXACT words in Mark 12:28-30 are “The most important is” and then He recites this poem.
Faithful Jews recite this twice every day and on special occasions also.
I’m not kidding – you need to know this.
What is in this poem
First of all, “Shema” is pronounced “sheh-MAH”; it is the first Hebrew word of the poem. This is how Jews refer to it and you should know it by this name.
The poem itself is short:
The next verses (Deut 6:6-9) explain the importance of the poem:
“And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
Jews today (and for centuries), when they recite this, will say* :
- The Shema itself
- Plus the following verses that I just mentioned
- Plus Deuteronomy 11:13-21 (which has a similar refrain of “teach them to your children”)
- Plus Numbers 15:37-41
Theology and doctrine
I didn’t have time to verify this thoroughly, but every source I looked at felt obligated to say that these passages are what the Jews put in their phylacteries, which is to say they took the commands very literally where it says, “You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes” (Deut 6:8).
You should know the word “phylacteries” from all one of its mentions in the Bible, “…For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long,” (Matt 23:5). I’m not sure, but “fringes,” I would think that’s the tassels from Num 15:38-39.
And as I alluded to at the beginning, Jesus is asked in Mark 12:28, “Which commandment is the most important of all?”
Even though we are shy to proclaim one scripture more important than another, Jesus does not demur here, but offers,
“The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’”
Mark 12:29-30
And I’ll end there, since I am scheduled to discuss the rest of Jesus’ answer in November.
Footnote
* https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-shema/ and https://bibleproject.com/blog/what-is-the-shema/ and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shema_Yisrael for example
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