LEY DE PROTECCIÓN Y DEFENSA AL USUARIO DE SERVICIOS FINANCIEROS:

In this paper, Levi Meier explores the central declaration of Jewish faith, the ‘Hear, O Israel.’ In addition to an in-depth analysis of the concept of the Oneness of God, he analyses the six words of the Shema prayer in detail. Essentially, he has written a modern psychological Midrash, i.e. utilizing his active imagination to suggest the feelings and thought processes of Jacob and the Children of Israel.

INTRODUCTION: THE CENTRALITY OF THE ‘HEAR, O ISRAEL’ On Jacob’s deathbed, he thinks of his grandfather, Abraham, who spread the message of monotheism to all peoples of the world. He envisions the entire history of the Jewish people and humanity, from the ancient past until the future arrival of the Messiah. Jacob gathers together all of his sons, the founders of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, and through divine prophecy, foretells their destinies.

Jacob is well aware, however, that the past will be interpreted and the future will be experienced by what he says on his deathbed. He is worried that all the trials and tribulations of his grandfather, Abraham, and his father, Isaac, as well as his own turbulent life, may lead to disunity and divisiveness among his children, and may affect their belief in one God. Among Jacob’s concerns about potential conflict among his children is the fact that he has four ‘firstborns’ from four different wives—Leah, Rachel, Bilhah and Zilpah. However, he is careful to recognize each child’s individuality and different maturational processes as he prepares to bless them.

Jacob has already become whole (Genesis 33:18), healed from his limping, partly through his reconciliation with Esau, and partly through having attributed positive meanings to the adversities of his life, such as being deceived by Laban. But the resolution of one remaining issue would grant Jacob the ultimate meaning in his life. He yearns for the certainty that his

children, the Twelve Tribes of Israel, the future of the Jewish people, will believe and experience the oneness of God that has always been with him, with his father, Isaac, and with his grandfather, Abraham.

The Midrash and Talmud state (Genesis Rabbah 98:3; Talmud, Pesahim 56a):

At the time that Jacob, our father, departed from this world, he gathered together his twelve sons and said to them: ‘Perhaps there is a doubt in your heart about the existence and essence of the oneness of the Holy One Blessed Be He.’ They said to him, in unison: ‘Hear, Israel, our Father, just as your heart is complete and one with the Holy One Blessed Be He, so in our hearts there is total accord that the Eternal our God, the Eternal

is One’ Upon hearing these beautiful, true sentiments, Jacob’s doubts were

assuaged and he declared: ‘Blessed be the Name of the Glorious Majesty of God forever and ever.’

Based on this epic event in the lives of our patriarchs and matriarchs, the Jewish declaration of faith is expressd in the ‘Hear, O Israel.’ This declara- tion is formulated in the Torah as ‘Hear, O Israel, the Eternal our God, the Eternal is One’ (Deuteronomy 6:4).

The centrality of the ‘Hear, O Israel’ declaration is demonstrated in a number of ways. For example, it is the first prayer that Jewish parents teach their children, and the last prayer that a Jew recites before dying. Through- out life, Jews, old and young, recite this prayer at least twice a day, in the morning and evening, and before retiring at night.

Jacob and Jewish belief

Jacob sees himself as the essential link between his grandfather, Abraham, who spread monotheism, and the era of the Messiah, when such knowledge and recognition will be universal. Through the continuing daily recitation of the ‘Hear, O Israel’ Jacob is the focus not only of a core belief, but also of an ethical framework by which to live, based on monotheism.

The most striking aspect of the Midrash quoted above is that the children of Jacob addressed him in unison, with one voice, indicating their common understanding and belief. Furthermore, the way that they addressed their father is meaningful to us and to all succeeding generations of Jews. After they began with ‘Hear…’, they paused and considered whether they should address their father as Jacob or Israel. The same divine spirit came over all of the sons, as they instinctively knew what to say. They chose their father’s alternative name, ‘Israel’, representing a person who had struggled and had undergone transformation in his life. Israel’s children understood their father’s struggles. Perhaps even more importantly, they understood their own, ranging from sibling rivalries to searches for ultimate meaning in their individual encounters with the changing images of God.

Similarly, all Jewish people throughout the generations continue to go through their own episodes of struggle and transformation. Our struggles in our relationship with God and with our opposites and ourselves lead to the realization that we are all ‘Israel’. What keeps us together is the belief that God is with us, as promised to our forefather, Jacob/Israel, during his dream about the Ladder of Ascension (Genesis 28:12–15).