Of special historical interest is the observation of Abbahu in regard to the benediction " Baruk Shem Kebod Malkuto " ( Blessed be the Name of His glorious Kingdom ) after the " Shema ' Yisrael ," that in Palestine, where the Christians look for points of controversy, the words should be recited aloud ( lest the Jews be accused of tampering with the unity of God proclaimed in the Shema '), whereas in the Babylonian city of Nehardea, where there are no Christians, the words are recited with a low voice ( Pesahim 56a ).

Although some say Judaism is noncreedal in nature, others say it recognizes a single creed, the Shema Yisrael, which begins: " Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD is one.

" Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One " (; transliterated Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Echad.

Whereas the written Torah has a fixed form, the Oral Torah is a living tradition that includes not only specific supplements to the written Torah ( for instance, what is the proper manner of shechita and what is meant by " Frontlets " in the Shema ), but also procedures for understanding and talking about the written Torah ( thus, the Oral Torah revealed at Sinai includes debates among rabbis who lived long after Moses ).

The quintessential verbal expression of Judaism is the Shema Yisrael, the statement that the God of the Bible is their God, and that this God is unique and one.

One of its most significant verses is, the Shema, which has become the definitive statement of Jewish identity: " Hear, O Israel: the

* Jesus cites the Shema Yisrael: " Hear O Israel ..." (); in the parallels of and the first part of the Shema () is absent.

Another key prayer in many services is the declaration of faith, the Shema Yisrael ( or Shema ).

For example, the Mishnah mentions that the Shema need not be said in Hebrew A list of prayers that must be said in Hebrew is given in the Mishna, and among these only the Priestly Blessing is in use today, as the others are prayers that are to be said only in a Temple in Jerusalem, by a priest, or by a reigning King.

Along with the Shema and Amidah, the Kaddish is one of the most important and central prayers in the Jewish liturgy.

The Half Kaddish is used to punctuate divisions within the service: for example, before Barekhu, between the Shema and the Amidah and following readings from the Torah.

The Shema Yisrael, one of the most important Jewish prayers, encapsulates the monotheistic nature of Judaism: "" Hear, O Israel: the is our God, the is one.

" This liturgy included the twice-daily recitation of the Shema, the Amidah, or Shmoneh Esrei, including 18 blessings recited several times daily, and the public recitation of the Torah in installments.

Yom Kippur comes to an end with a recitation of Shema Yisrael and the blowing of the shofar, which marks the conclusion of the fast.

Observant Jews consider the Shema to be the most important part of the prayer service in Judaism, and its twice-daily recitation as a mitzvah ( religious commandment ).

The recitation of the Shema in the liturgy, however, consists of three portions:,, and Numbers.

The idea thus conveyed is that through the recitation or proclamation of the Shema one is a living witness testifying to the truth of its message.

The third section of the Shema formally ends at Numbers 15: 41, but in fact traditionally Jews end the recitation of the Shema with the following word from the next verse, Emet, or " Truth ", as the end of the prayer.

The Mishna connects the time of recitation with details of the rhythm of the life of the Temple in Jerusalem, saying that the Shema should be recited in the evening when the Kohanim ( Jewish priests ) who were Tamei ( ritually impure ) ( and had been unable to serve ) enter to eat their Terumah ( heave offerings ).

However, the recitation of the Shema does not meet this requirement, even thought it is composed of verses from the Torah.

Originally, the Shema consisted only of one verse: ( see Talmud Sukkot 42a and Berachot 13b ).

This first verse of the Shema relates to the kingship of God.

The following verses, commonly referred to by the first word of the verse immediately following the Shema as the V ' ahavta, or in Classical Hebrew W ' ahav ' ta meaning " And you shall love ...", contain the commands to love God ( the Talmud emphasizes that you will, at some point, whether you choose to or not therefore " shall " future tense, love God ), with all one's heart, soul, and might ; then the verse goes on to remind you to remember all commandments and " teach them diligently to your children and speak of them when you sit down and when you walk, when you lie down and when you rise " ( Deut 6: 7 ); to recite the words of God when retiring or rising ; to bind those words " on thy arm and thy head " ( classically Jewish oral tradition interprets as tefillin ), and to inscribe them on the door-posts of your house and on your gates ( referring to mezuzah ).

The Shema, or as much of the first verse of it as can be said under the circumstances, is traditionally recited by a dying person as part of an affirmation of faith upon death.

The reciting of the first verse of the Shema is called " the acceptance of the yoke of the kingship of God " ( kabalat ol malchut shamayim ) ( Mishnah Berachot 2: 5 ).

Judah ha-Nasi, who spent all day involved with his studies and teaching, said just the first verse of the Shema in the morning ( Talmud Berachot 13b ) " as he passed his hands over his eyes " which appears to be the origin of the Jewish custom to cover the eyes with the right hand whilst reciting the first verse.

The first verse of the Shema is recited aloud, simultaneously by the hazzan and the congregation, which responds with the rabbinically instituted Baruch Shem (" Blessed be the Name ") in silence before continuing the rest of Shema.

The main text of Kabbalah, the Zohar, describes the first verse of the Shema (" Hear Israel, the Lord is God, the Lord is One ") as the " Upper level Unity ", and the second line (" Blessed be the Name of the Glory of His Kingdom forever ") as the " Lower level Unity ".

* Verse 53 is the first verse of Baruch Hashem L ' Olam in Pesukei Dezimra and Baruch Hashem L ' Olam after the Shema in weekday Maariv.

The oldest extant manuscripts of the Masoretic Text date from approximately the 9th century CE, and the Aleppo Codex ( once the oldest complete copy of the Masoretic Text, but now missing its Torah section ) dates from the 10th century. The Nash Papyrus ( 2nd century BCE ) contains a portion of a pre-Masoretic Text, specifically the Ten Commandments and the Shema Yisrael prayer.

This is evident in the practice of reciting the Shema, a prayer composed of select verses from the Torah, at the Temple and in synagogues ; the Shema begins with the verses, " Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God ; the Lord is one.

Many of Bronner's references came from Jewish and Christian sources, such as the Shema and the Beatitudes ; others from poets such as Rudyard Kipling.

As the Ten Commandments were removed from daily prayer in the Mishnaic period ( 70-200 CE ), the Shema is seen as an opportunity to commemorate the Ten Commandments.

In Orthodox Judaism, women are not required to recite the Shema ( as a command from the Torah ), as with other time-bound requirements which might impinge on their traditional familial obligations, although they are obligated to pray at least once daily without a specific liturgy requirement and many discharge that obligation through prayers like the Shema.

Directly following from the events of the first game, the newly-proclaimed Hero of Spielburg travels by flying carpet with his friends Abdulla Doo, Shameen and Shema to the desert city of Shapeir.

Jesus ' first commandment is actually the second line of the Shema, a passage from the Torah that priests recited in the Temple, and that other Jews recited in their prayers, twice a day ; the Pharisees considered this to be the most important principle in Judaism.

Shema Yisrael offers distance-learning classes in a variety of topics in halakha ranging from introductory level classes to advanced classes to aid in preparation for semicha examinations.

Ahava rabbah is recited immediately before the Shema because its recital brings on the obligation to immediately learn, or at the very least, recite verses from the Torah.

Since the Shema is composed of verses from the Torah, its recital fulfills that obligation.

As to why there are few full sources, the Jewish view is reflected as in this excerpt from the Shema Yisrael Torah Network website:

The Septuagint also interpolates before Deuteronomy the preamble to the Shema found in the papyrus, and additionally agrees with a couple of the other variant readings where the papyrus departs from the standard Hebrew Masoretic text.

* Love of God: " You shall love the Lord your God with all of your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind " ( an excerpt from the Shema ,-Matthew 22: 37