The Shema

Hear, O Israel: The LORD is our God, the LORD alone

שמצ ישראל יהוה אלהינך יהוה אחד

This poor approximation (my first attempt at Hebrew unicode) is the Shema (שמצ) of Isreal, the words bound on their hands and on their doorposts. The key to understanding the relationship between God and his people. Hear O Israel, The LORD is our God, the LORD alone.

It is a reprise of this ancient saying that Jesus gives as the Great Commandment. This statement of fact, that the LORD is God and that the LORD is one is the key to understanding the New Covenant - between God and man through the godman, Jesus of Nazareth.

Whether Jew of Christian the entreaty of Moses remains for us both, "Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."