JPS Deuteronomy 6:4-5 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our G-d is one. And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
Hmm, "Hear, O Israel..."
The first words of the Shema are so familiar to us. "Hear, O Israel..." how many times have we heard and spoken those words? Probably hundreds or times if we spent any time in Hebrew school, Sunday school and schul services. At my age, it could be in the thousands.
Did you know that "shema" means more than to perceive something through your ear.
Take a look at these scriptures...
JPS Exodus 19:5-6 Now therefore, if ye will "shema" unto My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then ye shall be Mine own treasure from among all peoples; for all the earth is Mine; and ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation.
JPS Exodus 23:21 Take heed of him, and "shema" unto his voice; be not rebellious against him; for he will not pardon your transgression; for My name is in him.
JPS Deuteronomy 11:26-28 Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if ye shall "shema" unto the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day; and the curse, if ye shall not "shema" unto the commandments of the LORD your God,
1 Samuel 15:22 Behold, to "shema" is better than sacrifice,
Just by reading the context, we see why the Jewish Publication Society's Tanakh of 1917 and 1985 sometime use words such as hearken, heed, and obey as the English translation of "shema".
So, what words of wisdom do I have for you today?
Obey, O Israel: The Lord our G-d is one. And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.