The Shema — love the Lord with all your heart.
The verse Israel said every morning. The one Jesus called the greatest commandment.
The episode in a glance.
- 01Called the Shema after the Hebrew word for 'hear.'
- 02Recited twice daily by faithful Jews — Jesus would have grown up saying it.
- 03'With all' — heart, soul, might. Holding back nothing.
- 04Love is the original commandment, not an upgrade.
Read along.
'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.'
This is the Shema — named after the Hebrew word for 'hear.' Faithful Jews have recited it morning and evening for thousands of years. Jesus would have grown up saying it.
It starts with hearing. Before you act, listen. Before you love, hear who God is.
Then the claim — 'the Lord is one.' Not one of many gods. The one God. Singular allegiance to a singular God.
And then the response — love. With all your heart, soul, might. Not partial. Not divided. The whole of you, given to the whole of him.
When Jesus said this was the greatest commandment, he was honoring what Israel had always known. Love wasn't added to the Bible later. It was there from the start.