Introduction
Deuteronomy 6:6 has held significant importance in Jewish writing and culture due to the word Shema used in both private and public worship before the emergence of a written Talmud. Until today, the conservative Jews still recite the Shema twice daily in their evening and morning prayers. When Jewish children learn to read, they are taught to wear it on their foreheads and hands via phylacteries and tefillin. Besides, it is written on the doorposts of people’s private dwellings as a Mezuzah, and all these methods are used to ensure that they experience and visualize these great words daily. This study will analyze the Christian and Jewish explanations of the word Shema.
The Meaning of Shema in Jewish Tradition
Shema is a critical tradition and heritage to the Jews that even secular Jews practice. According to Kervin (122), an attack on Shema is an attack on Judaism, which shows that it is a highly respected ritual. During the times of the Rabbis, the oneness of God in Shema was perceived as a revolutionary challenge to the culture of Gentiles.
Additionally, Shema was seen as a challenge to the Christian Trinity and Zoroastrian Dualism (Kervin 123). However, excluding the Trinity from Christianity is not a strong argument because the word Echad was used in Genesis 2:24 to show that a husband and wife are one flesh (Kervin 124). Besides, it is still used in Numbers 13:23 to describe one cluster of grapes, providing the idea of various items bound together as a single element.
The last word of Shema is Echad, which is used in many translations to mean one or alone in other translations. Echad in Shema means only one Almighty God, the Heavenly Father, Yahweh (Kervin 125). Elohim in the Jewish culture is used to mean singularity, although the word itself is in plural form. Other plural concepts are presented to demonstrate singularities, such as compassion in Deutonomy 13:18, rachamim in Genesis 43:14, and youth in Psalms 127:4 (Kervin 126). This indicates that in Jewish culture, they believe God is a singular entity with no other forms or manifestations.
Christian Interpretations of Shema
In Christian culture, Shema has a different meaning: God does not belong to the Jews only, but to all people who accept and come to faith in Him. Shema was still important to Christians because the church emphasized that parents should pass on the faith. In the Christian world, the term Shema has a different meaning, as demonstrated by its association with the Trinity.
An example is Apostle Paul’s teaching in 1 Corinthians 8:6, where he affirms that God is one and his Trinitarian nature should be understood (Kervin 129). This means there is one God from whom all people and things exist, and Jesus Christ, through whom people exist and reach God. Although he does not affirm the existence of two divine creatures, his teachings help Christians understand the Lord, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Kervin 129).
Elohim was used in Genesis 1:1, stating, “In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth (Kervin 129).” In this case, Elohim is used in the plural to refer to gods, which, according to Trinitarians, implies that God is a plurality.
Conclusion
This study has revealed that Shema has the same meaning in both Jewish and Christian understandings. For the Jews, it means simply one God, the creator of all things on earth. The Jews show their respect by reciting it in the morning and evening, and by wearing it on their foreheads and hands. Christians use the term Shema to refer to the Holy Trinity, which consists of the Lord, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. However, Christians argue that they still refer to the same God in different forms.
Work Cited
Kervin, William S. “Dimensions of worship in the Shema: Resources for Christian liturgical theology.” Studies in Religion/Sciences Religieuses, vol. 48, no. 1. 2019, pp. 115–37. Web.