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The Pulitzer Prize winning playwright David Mamet comments on the meaning of the Shema in this weeks' parasha:
In my youth, Reform Judaism translated the Shema, "Here, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One."
We were taught that Judaism deserves great merit for being the first monotheism. This raises, on reflection, two questions: (1) Was Judaism really the first monotheistic religion? (2) Is this worthy of praise?
The first answer, to one neither a historian nor a zealot, must be open to argument. Different experts will hold differing views, and there is always the possibility of new historical information.
As to the second, we Reform Jews of that day were, I believe, presented with a tautology: Jews are worthy of praise because we worship, and were the first to worship one god, which operation is more praise-worthy than polytheism because we Jews say so.
One must consider possible Jewish ethnocentrism. And, perhaps another question presents itself: Are Jews, in fact, monotheistic?
I believe one could argue the contrary.
Just as Christianity elaborates God into three entities, and, further, into saints; just as Buddhism speaks of different aspects of the Buddha, we Jews (at least exegetically) choose between the different names of God, and the differing qualities of each name. We have God and the Shehina - HaMakom (the Place), and HaMakor (the Source), HaRahaman (the Merciful), and so on.
It is the nature of any organism (and observance must be classed as such) to expand and elaborate.
We differentiate further between the non-Biblical cognomens of God (HaMakom, HaMakor, HaRahaman), and the distinct "powers" of each name and attribute. And, of course, we have the conundrum of the plural, Elohim.
It is human nature to create a cosmogony (it is no accident that there are twelve tribes of Israel and twelve major Roman deities, and twelve months of the year - what is Jacob's laboured arithmetic in the matter of Ephraim and Manasseh other than the desire to maintain the constant number?). Perhaps our self-awarded satisfaction at the pedigrees of our monotheism is both specious and unnecessary.
To me, the Shema, the profession of Jewish faith is not that God is One, but, putting the verb earlier, that Adonai is our God, that Adonai - whatever God's nature may be - is, finally, beyond knowing, beyond male or female, beyond the artificial construct "single or multiple," beyond our power to denominate - not that God is one, but that God is whole.
From Kushner and Mamet, Five Cities of Refuge: Weekly Reflections on Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy (New York: Schocken Books, 2003), p. 141-142.
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The Shema is the central dogmatic statement that stands at the very heart of the Jewish religion. Often referred to as the "watchword of our faith," it is the creed in a religion which is often described as being more about "deed than creed". These are the words which Jews are to say each day first thing when they awake and last thing before they sleep. They are to be the final words on the lips of a Jew when passing from this world to the next. Traditional Jews say these words sitting, eyes covered blocking out all distractions, focusing the entire soul on each of the six little words. Liberal Jews stand for the recitation of the Shema, emphasizing its importance, proclaiming each word loudly and clearly. A seemingly simple statement, these powerful words articulate a sense of radical amazement that the One true God, Creator of all the Universe, is OUR God, the God of the people of Israel. How could we get so lucky?
For Jews who grew up going to synagogue and Hebrew school, the Shema follows you around virtually from birth. If you know no other Jewish prayers or texts, you probably know of the Shema. Even if you know little Hebrew and butcher the sounds of the words ("SHEMA IS FOR REAL!," as Joel Grishaver famously titled his first book on the prayer service, or even the English "HERO ISRAEL," bringing to mind a comic book figure who swoops in to save the day for the Jewish people), you know that there is something hugely important and serious about these words. They represent what Judaism is all about. But what is that? What do these words really mean?
We can take this statement apart word by word. Shema means, emphatically, "listen!" We say these words, but the words we are saying are commanding us to listen. Even if we don't complete the sentence, there is still much to be learned by this one word. We are being commanded by God to listen. In a world which is filled with so much sound, so much noise, and when most people have so much to say, we need to remember to listen, and to listen actively and deeply; to listen with kavanah. We need to listen to one another, and we need to listen to ourselves, to the "still small voice" inside. And, most certainly, we need to listen to God. Listening is not always an easy thing to do. In the biblical context, the word Shema also carries the meaning of "to understand". That's the difference between hearing and listening: to truly listen, one comes to hear on a much more fundamental level, on the level of understand, drawing meaning from that which was heard. If we are not willing to truly listen, then there is no point in even trying to hear.
Israel is us - the Jewish people. But that is not an exclusive club. Anyone who sincerely wants to become a member of the Jewish people, to embrace Jewish traditional and enter into the covenantal relationship between God and the Jewish people, is welcome to do so. The word Israel means "one who wrestles with God" and anyone who engages in such a spiritual struggle; anyone who seeks deeper connection with the Eternal One, is certainly a candidate to become a member of the people of Israel. Therefore the clause that follows applies to all such people: Adonai Eloheinu - Adonai is OUR God - the God of all people who follow God's commandments. Here Rashi explains the progression from the particular to the universal understanding of OUR. Adonai is the God of Israel, as established through the Brit - the covenant that was originally established with Abraham and then affirmed collectively some 500 years later by all the People of Israel at Sinai. This is the covenant that stipulated, "I will be your God and you will be my people." At this time, Rashi concludes, Adonai is exclusively the God of Israel, "and not the God of the other peoples". This is not a statement of arrogance, however, rather it is one of sadness. But there is hope for the other peoples. Referring to teaching from the prophets Zephaniah and Zechariah, Rashi notes that at some future time, Adonai will become the God of all people, who will recognize the authority of the One Creator God. This is the universal messianic hope: not that the other peoples will evaporate from the face of the earth and only Israel will remain, but that all the peoples will come to have faith in Adonai. Then, not only will God be One, but all humanity will be one as well.
The text continues with a description of God: Adonai Echad. As David Mamet explains, this has traditionally been understood as the essentially statement of monotheism: there is only one God, who is Adonai. Judaism has usually identified itself as the first monotheistic religion, although, as Mamet challenges, that assertion is arguable. Even up to the time of the exodus from Egypt, Jews were not necessarily uniform is their acceptance of the existence of only one God. To this day we still repeat in our worship the words of the Song at the Sea (Exodus 15:11): Mi chamocha ba-elim, Adonai? - "who is like you, Adonai, among the elim - the other gods?" While Israel may be swearing their loyalty to their patron god who is the greatest of all, this statement seems to have Israel recognizing that other gods do exist. This is not pure monotheism, but rather monolotry, faith in the superiority of one god among many. Israel did not become purely monotheistic until later, and perhaps the appearance of the Shema at the end of Israel's wanderings in the wilderness is set to counter the sentiments of the Mi Chamocha sung 40 years earlier at the beginning of Israel's collective relationship with God.
As Mamet also questions, what is the difference between a trinitarian or polytheistic view of divinity, and a monotheistic view of God that recognizes many different types of "names" or "attributes" of God? Isn't it really just a matter of semantics? The answer, I believe, and what Mamet concludes, is that there really is a significant difference. Each of us has many "names" or "faces"; each of us is known in very different ways by the many different people we encounter or with whom we have relationships. Think about all the different significant relationships you maintain in your own life: parents, siblings, friends, lovers, children - do each of these different people see you in exactly the same way? Of course not. We reveal very different aspects of ourselves to the different people in our lives. It is the same way with God. There is only one God, but, like the other important relationships we maintain, God may be known very differently by all those who enter into a relationship with God. There is nothing we can know empirically about God, but we can always know the nature of our own personal relationship with God. The word Echad means "one" meaning numerically singular, but it also means "one" in the sense of unified. And it is that unity that God brings into our world. As Mamet concludes, it is not that God is one, but that God is whole. It is that wholeness - shelamut - that brings peace into our lives, and into our world.
Lessons for Today
This is the final parasha commentary that I write as "Reb on the Web" for Kolel's web site. As I move on personally to new opportunities to teach and learn, it seems appropriate that I conclude with the Shema and with Rashi's teachings about it. Rashi is the commentator who stands before all others. His generous world view and unimpeachable hopefullness never fails to inspire me. He always seems to make room for other views, and for other people. He always wants to learn more. And he maintained an expansive view of God. That's important to me. Adonai Eloheinu - God is our God, but each and every human being has the potential to be a part of the "our". God is the very model of that inclusiveness - Adonai Echad - Adonai is the One Unified God, who is the Creator of all. We will only achieve shelamut - Shalom - when all people are unified under God. That is the challenge for all living beings.
Thank you for the opportunity to share my thoughts and teachings with you over these past three years. I have learned and enjoyed the process immensely. And thank you for all the kind comments and challenging questions that have kept me on my toes. Kolel's parasha commentaries will continue in August with a new Reb on the Web, who will have all kinds of new teaching for you. If you would like to access my teaching in the future, you can find me at www.theorchardcentre.ca, beginning in September. It is the greatest privilege to be able to study and teach Torah. I hope you always be blessed to find meaning in the teachings of our tradition.
L'Shalom,
Rabbi Jordan D. Cohen
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