The Blessings of the Shema: Discussions on Prayer, Lesson 27
The third section of prayer consists of the Shema and its preceding and following blessings. They correspond to the third rung on the ladder of prayer—the realm of intelligence, which is higher than the previous two rungs of action and emotion.
| Related Text: | Online Siddur with Commentary: Yotzeir Or |
| Podcast: | Subscribe to Shmuel Kaplan - Discussions on Prayer |
| Switch to Video |
Rabbi Shmuel Kaplan is a noted Torah scholar and lecturer. He is the director of Chabad-Lubavitch of the Maryland Region, a board member of Merkos L’Inyonei Chinuch, the international educational arm of Chabad-Lubavitch, and of the Jewish Learning Institute. Rabbi Kaplan serves as the spiritual leader of The Shul at the Lubavitch Center in Baltimore, Md., and has hosted radio and television shows for more than 35 years, including hosting the acclaimed weekly radio show, "Awake, Alive, and Jewish," and co-hosting the weekly cable program, "Diana, Mike, and the Rabbi."
© Copyright, all rights reserved. If you enjoyed this article, we encourage you to distribute it further, provided that you comply with Chabad.org's copyright policy.
More in this section
-
32:36The Shema Blessing of "Yotzer Ohr"
-
29:35He Created All with Wisdom
-
28:41The Heavenly Bodies
Join the Discussion
Anonymous
USA
June 18, 2015
Blessings of the Shema Thank you Rabbi Kaplan for your teaching. I always cry when I say the Shema, later to ask Hashem, blessed be He, to forgive me for crying when I know that we are supposed to be happy most of the time in our life, but as a woman that I am, I tell Him that we women cry when we are happy as well as when we are sad. If that is unfortunate, I do not really know, all I know is that I truly believe that He understand. Getting emotional about him is something in me that I cannot help. B"H Reply
James
Miami
June 17, 2015
Shema blessings
Could not prayer also include praising Him for His Creation not just asking Him for things and complying with rules.
שמע ישראל את-יהוה אלהינו הוא אחד
אהיה אשר אהיה
Thank you Rabbi, very enlightening.
Reply
Thank you Rabbi Kaplan. One question - you say it is a fundamental jewish belief that Hashem creates the universe from 'nothing'. Doesn't the very word 'no-thing' imply the absence of God? This cannot be if God is part of everything. Wouldn't it be more accurate to say that Hashem creates the Universe from His eternal essence (which may well appear to be 'nothing' from man's standpoint but in reality is not...)? Alternately to clarify that the word 'nothing' means no 'material' thing. Thanks again!