These six words begin the Shema (pronounced “shmah”), three sections of Scripture repeated twice daily to remind each Jewish person of his or her commitment to God (Deuteronomy 6:4–9; 11:13–21; Numbers 15:37–41; see pages 195–96 for the text). For thousands of years, observant Jewish parents have taught their children the words of the Shema as soon as they could speak. Jesus likely learned it on Joseph’s knee when he was a youngster too. These same lines have been central to Jewish prayer life since centuries before Jesus was born.3
