In obedience to the precept, “Thou shalt speak of them,” i.e., of “the
words which I command thee this day—when thou liest down and when thou
risest up,” three sections of the Law are read daily in the morning and
in the evening, viz., (1) Deut. vi. 4–9, beginning שמע “Hear;” (2)
Ibid. xi. 13–21, beginning והיה אם שמע תשמעו “And it shall be if ye
will diligently hearken;” (3) Num. xv. 37–41, beginning ויאמר יי “And
the Lord said.” The first section teaches the Unity of God, and our
duty to love this One God with all our heart, to make His Word the
subject of our constant meditation, and to instil it into the heart of
the young.—The second section contains the lesson of reward and
punishment: that our success depends on our obedience to the Will of
God. This important truth must constantly be kept before our eyes and
before the eyes of our children.—The third section contains the
commandment of tsitsith, the object of which is to remind us of God’s
precepts: “Ye shall see it and remember all the commandments of the
Lord and do them, and that ye seek not after your own heart and your
own eyes, after which ye use to go astray, that you remember and do all
my commandments, and be holy unto your God.”
The reading of the shema is preceded by two berachoth: (1) יוצר אור
Praise of the Creator for the regular sequence of day and night, light
and darkness; (2) אהבה רבה or אהבת עולם Praise of His goodness in
giving us the Torah, and prayer for His assistance in the study of the
Torah. The shema is followed by a berachah on the Redemption of Israel;
it contains a reflection on the last words of shema, “I am the Lord
your God,” an expression of our faith in the truth of these words,
which strengthen our belief in the future Redemption of Israel. [157]
In the Evening Service a second berachah follows, beginning השכיבנו,
and containing a prayer for protection during the night. [158]