Va’eschanan 6:4 · unit 5

TT #30 · Parashas Va’eschanan · Passuk 6:4

The Complete Passuk

שְׁמַ֖ע יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵ֖ינוּ יְהֹוָ֥ה ׀ אֶחָֽד׃

Hear, O Israel: Hashem is our God, Hashem is One.

Chabad.org — 6:4

Source Citation

Torah Temimah points to the gezerah shavah “Shema / hasket u-shema” that requires kavanah of the heart for the first verse (Berachos 16a).

Sefaria — Berachos 16a

Core Text of Chazal

Core Text
תַּנְיָא, נֶאֱמַר כָּאן שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל וְנֶאֱמַר לְהַלָּן (דברים כ״ז:ט׳) הַסְכֵּת וּשְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל, מַה לְּהַלָּן בְּהַסְכֵּת אַף כָּאן בְּהַסְכֵּת — מִכָּאן שֶׁהַקּוֹרֵא אֶת שְׁמַע צָרִיךְ שֶׁיְּכַוֵּן אֶת לִבּוֹ.

English: It was taught: It is said here “Shema Yisrael” and it is said there “hasket u-shema Yisrael”; just as there it means attentive silence, so here it means attentive silence — from here that one who reads the Shema must direct his heart.

On the daf / in context: The gezerah shavah establishes that the first verse in particular requires focused intention of the heart for kabbalas ol malchus shamayim.

Type of Learning

R’ Yishmael #2 (gezerah shavah) — “Shema / hasket u-shema.”

What Is Learned

The first verse of Shema requires intentional concentration of the heart, derived by gezerah shavah from the parallel language in Ki Savo.