Wrestling with the Sh’ma

There are six Hebrew words that almost all Jews, no matter how rebellious, ignorant or God hating know: Sh’ma Yisrael Adonai Eloheynu Adonai Echad. We’ve heard or spoken this line almost every time we’ve been to a synagogue. Some of us have heard our grandmothers instinctively exclaim the first two words of the phrase whenever they hear something scary. Some of us love the ritual of closing or covering our eyes when we speak the words. Lots of…