“Hear, O Israel. The LORD our God. The LORD is one.”
Tucked inconspicuously within Deuteronomy 6 is, arguably, the Torah’s most famous paragraph, as it is
recited twice daily in Jewish liturgy: “Hear, O Israel. The LORD our God. The LORD is one. And you shall
love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might…”
The importance of Hear, O Israel following last chapter’s Ten Commandments is not, of course, random.
In fact, for Abravanel, the Decalogue has numerous offshoots. Large swathes of the commandments
found in Deuteronomy have a direct relationship with the Ten Commandments, really ten columns of
divine directives. We’ll explain, focusing here on the connection between the first commandment (“I am
God your Almighty…”) and Hear, O Israel.
Moses attached foremost importance to proving to the people that the commandments they just heard
from him were (Deuteronomy 5), indeed, divine. Their divineness differed not one bit from the quality
characterized by the Ten Commandments conveyed by the Holy One, delivered at Sinai.
Additionally, Moses wanted to thoughtfully review the Ten Commandments, one by one, to make sure
that their import and offshoot applications were well understood.
"I am God your Almighty Who took you out of the land of Egypt" needed to be fleshed out, especially “I
am God.” Consequently, the prophet paused to talk about God. Hear, O Israel, Moses said. Three points
emerged:
- God’s perfect unity – “The LORD our God”
- God’s “hands-on” or direct rulership of the universe – “The LORD is one”
- God has no replica – “The LORD is one”
The first point of information concerned God's perfect unity. “The LORD our God” implies that He is
utterly devoid of being "many" – in any respect. Testament to His oneness is explicit: "Hear, O Israel. The
LORD our God. The LORD is one." The verse instructs Hebrews to take note and listen well. All this is
implicit in the verb's imperative: "Hear." Pulsating within the verse (the three short units are considered
one verse) is a poignant lesson, a religious cornerstone. Namely,"The LORD our God" – the same divine
being Who gave the Ten Commandments the first time beginning with "I am God your Almighty…" – be
mindful that He is one.
Abravanel elucidates. God’s make-up, per se, encompasses two aspects of His unity or oneness. First, He
is of quintessentially simple make-up, meaning that there are no sub-parts to Him. Consequently, things
don't "happen" to Him. Nor can He be described in any definitive way. Second, there is an absence of
any duality regarding Him. That is, after we accept His ultimate simplicity, we must then accept that
there is no other like Him; God has no doppelgänger, so to speak. Dispelling any doubt about this, our
verse concludes,"The LORD is one." Two references to God in the verse allude to these two aspects of
His oneness.
God, as in, “The LORD is God” bespeaks His direct rulership over the world. When combined "The LORD
our God" implies that the first aspect of His oneness – His perfect simplicity – sets a backdrop from
where Jews may then experience His providence over them. Next, "The LORD is one" stands alone;
“God” is not in the phrase. As stated, “The LORD is one” alludes to the second aspect of His singularity
(He has no replica.). "One" concluding the verse applies to both aspects (perfect simplicity and no
double).
Abravanel digs deeper on the meaning or nature of God. Observation about the way the universe
operates aids in grasping His perfect simplicity. All existence is composed of interconnecting parts that
form a whole. Think about man's anatomy, specifically how he comprises the sum total of all his parts.
This whole person, in turn, is influenced by the outside forces of the celestials. At root, the celestials and
heavens themselves are driven by something whose existence is an absolute, a constant. Axiom: nothing
that is composed of multiple parts must necessarily exist. Hence, the ultimate Commander of the
universe must be of perfect unity; He cannot made of divisible parts.
This illustration of God’s oneness and unity from the natural world, to be upfront, has shortcomings.
Why? Its line of reasoning does not preclude a possibility of there being another perfectly simple entity
"out there" one that remains aloof and apart from the universe, one who keeps to himself. Thus, the
Torah writes "The LORD is our God", an unqualified statement expressing certainty that there must be a
single indivisible being. His sovereignty over the universe dictates as much, for "our God" refers to His
providence. "The LORD is one" provides that there exists no other comparable likeness, as it were, no
replica indivisible being.
Hear, O Israel’s insights into God, as we have been discussing, are intimated in "I am" if we but scratch
the surface of the first commandment. The fact that "I am God, your Almighty, Who took you out of the
land of Egypt" – is written in the singular – suggests God's unity. Crucially, it is the first commandment
rather than Hear, O Israel that establishes the Torah's source for the obligation to believe that the
Maker is one.
Besides the two aspects of God's unity already considered, Abravanel adds a third one. "One" as applied
to God also connotes His perfect wholeness. Ancient philosophers, too, have articulated this description
of the Divine. So when we apply "One" to Him, we are saying that He is perfect in every way. From this
perspective, His unity and kingship amount to the same quality, for kingship connotes His possessing
every exalted quality. This equation (unity=kingship) has been formulated by Zecharia.
This third application of unity (God's wholeness) allows us to gain a deeper glimpse into a parallel topic
covered in the Torah: the Tabernacle. "And the Tabernacle was one" describes the hallowed compound
as whole, completely self-contained. From that perspective of wholeness, so too does “one” aptly
capture the Maker's infinite capaciousness. He epitomizes the very definition of completeness.
Having delineated three aspects of the Divine: (a) His unity, (b) He has no double, and (c) His kingship,
we note that each individual’s comprehension of all three is uneven. Jewry's rank and file can wrap their
heads around His unity and being non-duplicable. The third aspect, on the other hand, requires super
sophisticated mental prowess, seeing that it's the most marvelous, enigmatic, and exalted. Beyond the
ken of most folks, apprehending His completeness and kingship belongs to the province of kabbalists,
men schooled in the workings of the heavenly realms. Practically, Jewish law takes into account the
varying levels of comprehension of these three aspects of God. That answers why Jews recite aloud
Hear, O Israel, but "blessed is the name of the glory of His kingship eternally" is said under one's breath.
