14 Jan Parshas Vayechi; Yaakov, Yoseph, Unity and the Shema

The Shema is the most central prayer of unity of Judaism.  

 

According to the commentaries (midrash), the Shema was said by Jacob’s sons to him on his deathbed, (The Shema appears explicitly in its three main verses in; Deuteronomy 6:4–9, Deuteronomy 11:13–21, and Numbers 15:37–41)  

 

The Talmud teaches (Pesachim 56a) when Jacob (also called Yisrael) was close to death, he gathered his twelve sons concerned that after he died, they might not remain faithful to the belief in one G-d.

 

His sons, unified in their faith, responded as one with the words that would become the first verse of the Shema prayer: “Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Echad” (“Hear, O Israel: the Lord is our God, the Lord is One”).

 

Upon hearing their declaration of faith, Jacob responded with the second line of the Shema, which is traditionally recited quietly: “Baruch shem k’vod malchuto l’olam va’ed” (“Blessed be the name of the glory of His kingdom forever and ever”).

 

Commentaries refer to the following  as containing the verses of ‘The Redemption Code’…

 “And Joseph said to his brothers, ‘I am dying, and G-d will deeply remember (pakod yifkod) you and he will bring you up from this land He swore to Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov ’…And Joseph took an oath with the sons of Israel saying, ‘G-d will deeply remember (pakod yifkod) you..’. We should therefore deeply remember how G-d brought us out of  Egypt.

 

The power of the tshuvah and transformation of ‘pakod yifkod’ is  also brought forward where we remember our enslavement  in Mitzrayim;  we were slaves and it was G-d who redeemed us out of slavery to the freedom to serve HIM  through the mitzvoth. We slaves… then we were free.

 

If G-d deeply remembers us, we may think that we have no role to play in life and  we can sink into a deep slumber. But that is not true. Our actions, awakening from below, awaken G-d to act from Above. This is a main principle, in the words of the Zohar: “With awakening from below, awakening from Above is enabled.”  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brief Insights of the introductory verse of the Meditation of the Shema inspired by Rabbi Arye Kaplan …

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leib Getzel (Lawrence) Lax
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