“Hear, Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4) – halakha: If a person of Israel recited Keriat Shema but was not precise in enunciating its letters, has he fulfilled his obligation? So taught the Sages: If one recited [Shema] and was not precise in his enunciation of its letters, Rabbi Yosei says: He fulfilled his obligation. Rabbi Yehuda says: He did not fulfill his obligation.
What is precise enunciation of the letters? Our Rabbis taught us: “Bekhol levavkhem” (Deuteronomy 11:13) – one must separate between one lamed and the other lamed.68Since one word ends with a lamed and the next word begins with a lamed, one must be careful to separate them so that they will not sound like one word. “Vaavadtem mehera” (Deuteronomy 11:17) – one must separate between one mem and the other mem.
Rav Yehuda said in the name of Rav: If one is reciting Shema and walking, he must stand still while accepting the kingdom of Heaven. What is [the acceptance of] the kingdom of Heaven? “The Lord is our God, the Lord is one.” From when did Israel merit to recite Shema?
Rabbi Pinḥas bar Ḥama said: Israel merited to recite Shema from the giving of the Torah. How so? You find that the Holy One blessed be He began [to speak] at Sinai only with this matter. He said to them: “Hear Israel” (Deuteronomy 6:4), “I am the Lord your God” (Exodus 20:2).69The expression “hear Israel” does not appear in the passage of the giving of the Torah, but it is derived from the verses in Psalms that relate this event, where it states: “Hear, My people.… I am the Lord your God” (Psalms 81:9–11).
All of them answered and said: “The Lord is our God, the Lord is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4). Moses said: Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever. The Rabbis say: The Holy One blessed be He said to Israel: My children, everything that I created, I created in pairs. The heavens and the earth are a pair; the sun and moon are a pair; Adam and Eve are a pair; this world and the World to Come are a pair.
But My glory is singular and unique in the world. From where is this derived? From what we read regarding this matter: “Hear, Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord is one.”