Once upon a time, according to the Mishnah, it was the nusaḥ (liturgical tradition) of the Cohanim in the Bet Hamikdash[ref]Priests of the Temple in Jerusalem[/ref] for the Ten Commandments to be read prior to the Sh’ma. . . . Rabbi Isaiah Horowitz (1565-1630), known as the Shlah from the name of his chief work (Shnei Luḥot HaBrit – The Two Tablets of the Covenant), was a rabbi in Central and Eastern Europe and later Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi of Jerusalem. This text is an excerpt from his kabbalistic prayer book, Siddur Shaar haShamayim (Gate of Heaven), which deals with the Shma prayer. . . . “Schema Jisrael (Shema Yisrael)” is a hymn written by Moritz Mayer (1821-1867) and posthumously published in Hymns, for Divine Service in the Temple Emanu-El (1871), hymn №33, pp. 66-67. It may have been published earlier in the author’s lifetime. If you know of an earlier source for this hymn, please leave a comment or contact us. . . . Sh’sh’sh’ma Yisra’el — Listen, You Godwrestlers! Pause from your wrestling and hush’sh’sh To hear — YHWH/ Yahh Hear in the stillness the still silent voice, The silent breathing that intertwines life; YHWH/ Yahh elohenu Breath of life is our God, What unites all the varied forces creating all worlds into one-ness, Each breath unique, And all unified; YHWH / Yahh echad! Yahh is One. Listen, You Godwrestlers! No one people alone owns this Unify-force; YHWH / Yahh is One. . . . Tags: 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., Deuteronomy 11:13-21, Deuteronomy 6:4, eco-conscious, interpretation as prayer, Numbers 15:37-41, paraliturgical shema, Philadelphia, Pnai Ohr, Prayers as poems, והיה אם שמע v'haya im shemo'a A midrashic translation/ interpretation of the second paragraph of the Sh’ma. . . . Originally composed by Rabbi/Cantor Eva Robbins for her ordination at the Academy for Jewish Religion, California, in 2015, this responsive reading is intended to prepare oneself for a deeper connection before chanting the Shema. It can be used alone or in community. . . . A paraliturgical reflection of the second blessing prior to the Shema, the Birkat Ahavah, for a shame resilience practice. . . . A paraliturgical translation of the opening paragraph of the Shema. . . . This prayer/poem [‘Call of the Shema’] came out of Rabbi Greene’s (Rabbi of Cong. Har Hashem in Boulder, Colarado) sermon this past Friday and our Torah Study discussion Saturday morning on Parashat Eikev. . . . “Listen up, y’all: An interpretive rendering of V’haya im shamoa” by Rabbi Rachel Barenblat was originally published 1 February 2016 at her website, Velveteen Rabbi. There she provided the following description, “This is a creative rendering of the second paragraph of the shema, Deuteronomy 11:13-21. It was written for the service I’m leading this morning with Rabbi David [Evan Markus] at Rabbis Without Borders. (I offer deep thanks to David both for co-leading davvenen with me, and for reading an early draft of this poem and offering wise suggestions.)” . . . |
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