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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.
The post The Shema Incorporates the Core Values and Identity of Judaism first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.