The Shema Israel - The Most Important of all Jewish Prayers

The most important of all Jewish prayers is the Shema (or Sh'ma). The Shema Israel is a pledge of faith to One God, said upon arising in the morning and upon going to sleep at night; when praising God and when beseeching Him.

It is the first prayer that a Jewish child learns, and the last words a Jew says before death. It is recited when preparing to read the Torah on the Jewish Sabbath and festivals at the end of the holiest day, Yom Kippur. Judaism teaches that the name of God is not read aloud in the Shema; it is replaced with Adonai ("my Lord"):

The Shema Israel

The Shema is recited aloud as follows:

Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Echad.

Hear, O Israel, the Eternal is our God, the Eternal is One.

The V'ahavta

The next verse following the Shema is called the V'ahavta. The English translation is:

Blessed be God’s Name and glorious kingdom forever and ever. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words, which I [God] teach you this day, shall be upon your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, speak of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down and when you rise up. And you shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they shall be for a reminder before your eyes. And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and upon your gates.

The Shema is the prayer written on a scroll placed inside the mezuzah and in the tefillin that is bound to the arm and head.