This week’s Torah portion covers Deuteronomy 3:23–7:11. It is called Va’etchanan, which translates to “I pleaded,” because it begins with Moses pleading with God for permission to cross the Jordan River. 

This week’s Torah portion also includes the most important proclamation in all of Judaism. As Moses contemplates the preservation of the Israelite faith and how best parents can impress the teachings upon their children, he pronounces: 

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. (Deut. 6:4)

This verse is known in Hebrew as the Shema. It is considered the most critical piece of liturgy in all of Judaism, the great declaration of God’s oneness and his kingship. Jewish morning prayers and evening prayers include the Shema. The Shema is also part of the Shabbat prayers. On Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, the service climaxes with the communal recitation of the Shema.

According to tradition, if a Jewish person believes their death is imminent, they should recite the Shema so that it can be the last words on their lips. I have read stories of soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces in wartime reciting the Shema together in their tanks and from their lookouts.

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