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The Shema Incorporates the Core Values and Identity of Judaism
Reading from a Torah scroll in accordance with Sephardi tradition. Photo: Sagie Maoz via Wikimedia Commons.
Apart from the opening statements of the so-called Ten Commandments, there is very little that we would call theology in the Torah. Even descriptions of God are indirect, and there isn’t anything obvious about how to relate to God, other than pure obedience and loyalty.
The first paragraph of the Shema, which we read this week, is a unique and multi-faceted response.
Hear, Israel, HaShem is our God, HaShem is one.
You shall love your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
These things that I command you this day should always be close to your hearts.
And you should teach them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are traveling, when you lie down and when you get up.
And bind them as a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead.
This is often called an expression, or declaration, of faith. It is our commitment to the God of Israel.
The Shema is recited at least twice a day, morning and night. It was the defiant declaration of Jews martyred by the Romans, like Rabbi Akiva; those burnt at the stake by the Inquisition; and of Jews entering the Nazi jaws of hell. It is also the last declaration made on one’s death bed. It is probably the most significant and well-known part of Jewish liturgy, and the very core of our culture — even for those not particularly religious.
But it is not like a credo that you have to believe to be a Christian, or the Muslim Shahada, which both include other beliefs such as in human beings. Moses is not mentioned.
But it starts with the words “Hear [or understand] Israel.” The invitation to pay attention, to recognize the importance and significance of something is paramount, and “Israel” addresses the people — us. So far, no mention of God but of peoplehood, identity, belonging. And it is inclusive of everyone.
And then we come to God. Yet the words here still do not tell us much about God. It is often said that the Hebrew God is angry and vengeful. But such dishonest polemic ignores that a loving God, Ahavah, is mentioned more often than any other emotion. Although it is often paired with Yira, respect or even awe, here the word love stands out alone and emphasizes the emotional and mystical aspect of Jewish life, before turning to the practical.
It is the practical that truly differentiates Judaism from other religions. Yes, we do have important, fundamental concepts and ideas — but such ideas are very subjective and can be understood by different people with different minds and attitudes. Practice on the other hand is the same for everyone. And whereas in many religions there is a difference between priestly classes and regulations, in Judaism outside of Temple affairs, everyone was expected to adhere to the tradition. We are a nation of priests in that sense.
Perhaps the most important and universal element in the Shema, although mentioned recurring times elsewhere, is the obligation to teach our children. And we are instructed to do this by example, repetition, and showing them what matters in daily life. For this is what has ensured our continuity.
The statements about writing these ideas on the door posts of our homes and binding them to our arm and head have been understood symbolically or metaphorically by different groups such as Samaritans, Ka’arites, and Reform Judaism. The rabbinic oral interpretation was to take them literally. Hence the Mezuzot and Tefillin that play a significant part in Jewish identity.
This very important small paragraph, in its poetic form, incorporates the fundamentals and core ideas of Judaism.
The author is a writer and rabbi, currently based in New York.
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Israel to Issue 54,000 Call-Up Notices to Ultra-Orthodox Students
Haredi Jewish men look at the scene of an explosion at a bus stop in Jerusalem, Israel, on Nov. 23, 2022. Photo: Reuters/Ammar Awad
Israel’s military said it would issue 54,000 call-up notices to ultra-Orthodox Jewish seminary students following a Supreme Court ruling mandating their conscription and amid growing pressure from reservists stretched by extended deployments.
The Supreme Court ruling last year overturned a decades-old exemption for ultra-Orthodox students, a policy established when the community comprised a far smaller segment of the population than the 13 percent it represents today.
Military service is compulsory for most Israeli Jews from the age of 18, lasting 24-32 months, with additional reserve duty in subsequent years. Members of Israel’s 21 percent Arab population are mostly exempt, though some do serve.
A statement by the military spokesperson confirmed the orders on Sunday just as local media reported legislative efforts by two ultra-Orthodox parties in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition to craft a compromise.
The exemption issue has grown more contentious as Israel’s armed forces in recent years have faced strains from simultaneous engagements with Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Houthis in Yemen, and Iran.
Ultra-Orthodox leaders in Netanyahu’s brittle coalition have voiced concerns that integrating seminary students into military units alongside secular Israelis, including women, could jeopardize their religious identity.
The military statement promised to ensure conditions that respect the ultra-Orthodox way of life and to develop additional programs to support their integration into the military. It said the notices would go out this month.
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Influential Far-Right Minister Lashes out at Netanyahu Over Gaza War Policy
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attends an inauguration event for Israel’s new light rail line for the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, in Petah Tikva, Israel, Aug. 17, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich sharply criticized on Sunday a cabinet decision to allow some aid into Gaza as a “grave mistake” that he said would benefit the terrorist group Hamas.
Smotrich also accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of failing to ensure that Israel’s military is following government directives in prosecuting the war against Hamas in Gaza. He said he was considering his “next steps” but stopped short of explicitly threatening to quit the coalition.
Smotrich’s comments come a day before Netanyahu is due to hold talks in Washington with President Donald Trump on a US-backed proposal for a 60-day Gaza ceasefire.
“… the cabinet and the Prime Minister made a grave mistake yesterday in approving the entry of aid through a route that also benefits Hamas,” Smotrich said on X, arguing that the aid would ultimately reach the Islamist group and serve as “logistical support for the enemy during wartime”.
The Israeli government has not announced any changes to its aid policy in Gaza. Israeli media reported that the government had voted to allow additional aid to enter northern Gaza.
The prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The military declined to comment.
Israel accuses Hamas of stealing aid for its own fighters or to sell to finance its operations, an accusation Hamas denies. Gaza is in the grip of a humanitarian catastrophe, with conditions threatening to push nearly a half a million people into famine within months, according to U.N. estimates.
Israel in May partially lifted a nearly three-month blockade on aid. Two Israeli officials said on June 27 the government had temporarily stopped aid from entering north Gaza.
PRESSURE
Public pressure in Israel is mounting on Netanyahu to secure a permanent ceasefire, a move opposed by some hardline members of his right-wing coalition. An Israeli team left for Qatar on Sunday for talks on a possible Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal.
Smotrich, who in January threatened to withdraw his Religious Zionism party from the government if Israel agreed to a complete end to the war before having achieved its objectives, did not mention the ceasefire in his criticism of Netanyahu.
The right-wing coalition holds a slim parliamentary majority, although some opposition lawmakers have offered to support the government from collapsing if a ceasefire is agreed.
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Australia Police Charge Man Over Alleged Arson on Melbourne Synagogue
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks to the media during a press conference with New Zealand’s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon at the Australian Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, Aug. 16, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Tracey Nearmy
Australian police have charged a man in connection with an alleged arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue with worshippers in the building, the latest in a series of incidents targeting the nation’s Jewish community.
There were no injuries to the 20 people inside the East Melbourne Synagogue, who fled from the fire on Friday night. Firefighters extinguished the blaze in the capital of Victoria state.
Australia has experienced several antisemitic incidents since the start of the Israel-Gaza war in October 2023.
Counter-terrorism detectives late on Saturday arrested the 34-year-old resident of Sydney, capital of neighboring New South Wales, charging him with offenses including criminal damage by fire, police said.
“The man allegedly poured a flammable liquid on the front door of the building and set it on fire before fleeing the scene,” police said in a statement.
The suspect, whom the authorities declined to identify, was remanded in custody after his case was heard at Melbourne Magistrates Court on Sunday and no application was made for bail, the Australian Broadcasting Corp reported.
Authorities are investigating whether the synagogue fire was linked to a disturbance on Friday night at an Israeli restaurant in Melbourne, in which one person was arrested for hindering police.
The restaurant was extensively damaged, according to the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, an umbrella group for Australia’s Jews.
It said the fire at the synagogue, one of Melbourne’s oldest, was set as those inside sat down to Sabbath dinner.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog went on X to “condemn outright the vile arson attack targeting Jews in Melbourne’s historic and oldest synagogue on the Sabbath, and on an Israeli restaurant where people had come to enjoy a meal together”.
“This is not the first such attack in Australia in recent months. But it must be the last,” Herzog said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the incidents as “severe hate crimes” that he viewed “with utmost gravity.” “The State of Israel will continue to stand alongside the Australian Jewish community,” Netanyahu said on X.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese late on Saturday described the alleged arson, which comes seven months after another synagogue in Melbourne was targeted by arsonists, as shocking and said those responsible should face the law’s full force.
“My Government will provide all necessary support toward this effort,” Albanese posted on X.
Homes, schools, synagogues and vehicles in Australia have been targeted by antisemitic vandalism and arson. The incidents included a fake plan by organized crime to attack a Sydney synagogue using a caravan of explosives in order to divert police resources, police said in March.
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