Shema Yisrael . . .

This week’s Torah portion contains, perhaps, the most well known Jewish prayer: “Shema Yisrael – Hear O Israel, the Lord is our G‑d, the Lord is One”

It is the first prayer that a Jewish child is taught to say and it is the last words a Jew says prior to death. But why?

In April of 2002 I was one of the 300,000 participants in the Washington D.C. rally for Israel. At the rally, Seth Mandel, the father of 13-year-old Koby Mandel who was bludgeoned to death in a cave by Arab terrorists, told the following story:

A 4-year-old boy named Avraham was one of the 15 people killed in the Sbarro Pizza bombing in Jerusalem. In the last moments of Avraham’s life, as he lay on the ground, he said to his father, "Abba, please help me. Save me." His father reached over and held his hand. Together they said the words of the Shema.

Seth Mandel told the Washington D.C. crowd:

"My son Koby died alone. I didn't have the chance to say the Shema with him. So now I want you to help me say the Shema for the hundreds of Jews who have been killed in acts of terror. Say the Shema with me in the merit of the boy in Sbarro's. And say the Shema with me in the merit of my son Koby." He then led the crowd of 300,000 in reciting the Shema together.

The Shema, on the most basic of levels, expresses our inherent Jewish impulse - it is G‑d who truly runs the world. And therefore, in the midst of tragedy and misfortune, when so many would divorce themselves of a G‑d who allows such evil to exist, the Jew musters his last strengths to acknowledge his unwavering commitment and faith in G‑d.

One of the more striking scenes of Jewish life is witnessing the family who has lost a loved one, recite the traditional blessing at the funeral. In many cases this individual’s passing was, in our eyes, untimely and tragic. And yet, the family, while the coffin lies in front of them, firmly recites the following blessing: Blessed are You, Lord our G‑d, King of the universe, the True Judge.

Yes, it is G‑d who runs the world.

And yet, while accepting His sovereignty, we the Jewish People, must raise our eyes to heaven and cry out for an end to our suffering and exile. We have the G‑d given ‘right’ to demand the ingathering of our people and the arrival of the final redemption – Moshiach, a perfect world.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Raleigh Resnick