A Double Header...Ten Commandments and the Shema

Today’s parasha is a double header.  It relates the 10 commandments and the Shema within its lines.  The Shema not only occurs in this week’s parasha, but we recite it during shacharit  in the morning and during maariv in the evening.  The 10 commandments on the other hand, although of utmost importance in Judaism is not recited during any service.  This was not always the case.  The 10 commandments was recited during the original Temple service by the Kohanim.

Why was this passage eliminated from our daily service if it is seen as a cornerstone of revelation in the Torah?  The reasoning for its elimination was as follows:  Giving the 10 commandments a central place in the service, could lead agitators to claim that “only these statements were Divine; the remainder of the Torah, which was not heard directly from G-d at Sinai….was merely a human invention and as such has no right to make any claim on our lives.”  (Y.Berachot 3c)

So, the Rabbinic response to this problem discussed during the Talmudic period was to eliminate the reading of the 10 commandments from the daily service and to let it be read publicly only in the two places it is mentioned in the Torah.

 

Did that stop individuals trying to reinstate it as a cornerstone of worship on a daily basis?  Of course not, but each time it was considered, a response was written suggesting that it could not be done.

During the 9^th century, Amram Gaom, who was the leader of the Torah academy in the city of Sura in Babylonia, took a compromise position on the inclusion of the 10 Commandments in the daily liturgy.  His position was that it could not be a part of the central portion of the service, only recited individually as a postscript to the service.

So as you are aware, the 10 commandments no longer has a place in our daily prayer service although it still serves as a core of belief for us as Jews and we even recognize that as we hear it twice a year, it is as if we too were standing at the base of Mt. Sinai.

The recitation of the Shema was also debated in terms of the appropriate way in which to recite it.  The School of Shammai instructed that it was to be read twice daily when lying down or reclining in the evening, and when arising or standing up in the morning.  The School of Hillel on the other hand, determined that there was no required posture for the recitation of the Shema.  Why?  Hillel said that based on the phrase “and when you walk along the way” everyone should read the Shema in whatever position they happen to be in.  It became normative Jewish practice to understand that whether we are lying down, rising up, or walking we can seek G-d and pronounce G-d’s oneness.  So although it may not be commonly understood, if you’re walking into shul when the Shema is being recited you should remain standing while joining in.  If you’re sitting when the Shema begins (which is our custom) you should remain sitting as you recite the Shema.  We don’t stand or sit as the House of Shammai suggested, because we hold that there is no time of the day that changes the way in which we seek G-d’s presence in our world.  G-d’s presence is everywhere at all times.

Let me share one last disagreement that concerned the recitation of the Shema.  In the Talmud it is discussed whether or not one should read the Shema aloud or silently to one’s self.  The answer given is that one should recite it aloud.  The first word which means, “hear,” sets the requirement for the entire passage. 

Why do I mention this at all?  Because after reading portions of a book called Relics for the Present written by Rabbi Levi Cooper who (you guessed it) is a Pardes instructor, our job is not to get bogged down in the minutiae of the laws pertaining to prayers.  However, knowing about the forms of prayer designed by the sages, should also lead us to try to understand why the rulings were made as they are. The rulings try to facilitate a sense of communal prayer while still caring about the engagement of the individuals within the group. They also are based on the intrinsic meaning of the prayers and try to convey that meaning through the suggested forms allowed for the recitation of the liturgy.