Sh'ma Yisroel Prayer

“Hear O Israel The LORD our God is one LORD” (Numbers 6:4).

The most fundamental of all the verses in the bible for the Jewish faith, expressing the basic belief of the Jewish people in the one, single God. This verse is the opening of the Sh'ma Yisroel prayer (as seen below), a declaration of faith in the unity of the LORD, his love, the remembrance of his commandments and the acknowledgment in being rewarded for doing good and punished for doing evil.

The Sh'ma Yisroel prayer used to be read by the Jewish priests at the Temple, and these days it is read during the morning (Shacharit) and evening (Arvit) prayers. Some also read it before they retire to sleep. The first two paragraphs of the Sh'ma Yisroel prayer are written on the scroll that can found in the Mezuzah and the Phylacteries.