This series explores the spiritual discipline at the heart of the Shema: listening. In Hebrew, sh’ma means more than hearing words—it means listening attentively and responding faithfully. Across thirty short reflections, this devotional journey considers how listening shapes our relationship with God, our communities, and our own conscience. Drawing on biblical texts, Jewish tradition, and the wisdom of other faiths, the series explores how attentive listening can lead to humility, justice, reconciliation, and hope in a noisy and polarized world.

Devotion 1 — Sh’ma: Listening for Three Voices

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One.” — Deuteronomy 6:4

The word sh’ma is often translated as “hear,” but in Hebrew it means far more than simply hearing sound. Sh’ma means to listen in a way that obligates response. To sh’ma is to receive, weigh, and then align your life accordingly.

Listening, in the biblical sense, is never passive. It requires attention, discernment, and the courage to respond faithfully.

One way to understand sh’ma is to imagine listening for three voices: the voice of the community, the voice of the self, and the voice of the Divine. When these voices are held in conversation with one another, they form a mature spiritual practice—one that resists both extreme individualism and blind conformity.

The Voice of the........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)