The Shema and its surrounding blessings form the heart of the morning service. The Shema itself — 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One' — is the central declaration of Jewish faith. The full Hebrew text with English translation appears below.
In mercy He gives light to the earth and to those who dwell thereon, and in His goodness He renews each day, continuously, the work of Creation. How manifold are Your works, O Lord! You have made them all with wisdom; the earth is full of Your possessions. King, who alone is elevated from aforetime, extolled, glorified and exalted from the time of Creation; God of the universe, in Your abounding mercies have compassion on us, Master of our strength, Rock of our stronghold, Shield of our deliverance, a Refuge for us. The blessed God, great in knowledge, prepared and made the radiance of the sun; the Beneficent One created glory for His Name; He set the luminaries around His majesty; the chiefs of His hosts are holy beings that exalt the Omnipotent, continually recounting the glory of God and His holiness. Be blessed, Lord our God, in the heavens above and on the earth below, for all Your praiseworthy handiwork, and for the light-giving luminaries which You have created; they shall glorify You forever.
Be eternally blessed, our Rock, our King and our Redeemer, who creates holy beings; praised be Your Name forever, our King, who creates ministering angels, and whose ministering angels all stand in the heights of the universe and proclaim in awe, aloud in unison, the words of the living God and Sovereign of the universe. All of them are beloved, all are pure, all are mighty, all are holy, and all perform the will of their Maker with fear and awe. And all of them open their mouths in holiness and purity, with song and melody, and bless and adore, glorify and revere, hallow and ascribe sovereignty
The Name of the Almighty God, the great, powerful and awe-inspiring King; holy is He. They all take upon themselves the yoke of Heavenly kingship, one from the other, and with love grant permission to each other to sanctify their Maker with joyous spirit, with pure speech and sacred melody; all exclaiming in unison, with awe, and declaring in reverence:
They chant sweet melodies to the blessed God; they utter hymns and sing praises to the King, the living and eternal God. For He alone, exalted and holy, performs mighty deeds and makes new things; He is the master of battle, He sows righteousness, causes deliverance to sprout forth, creates healing; He is awesome in praise, master of wonders, who in His goodness renews each day, continuously, the work of Creation, as it is said: [Give thanks] to Him who makes the great lights, for His kindness is eternal. Blessed are You Lord, who creates the luminaries.
Gather the two front tzitzit into the right hand, then bring the back left tzitzit forward, then the back right tzitzit; hold all four tzitzit in the left hand near the heart.
Lord our God, You have loved us with everlasting love; You have bestowed upon us exceedingly abounding mercy. Our Father, our King, for the sake of Your great Name and for the sake of our forefathers who trusted in You, and whom You taught the laws that bring eternal life, to carry out Your will with a perfect heart, be gracious also to us and teach us. Our Father, merciful Father who is compassionate, have mercy on us, and grant our heart understanding to comprehend and to discern, to perceive, to learn and to teach, to observe, to practice, and to fulfill all the teachings of Your Torah with love. Enlighten our eyes in Your Torah, cause our hearts to cleave to Your commandments, and unite our hearts to love and fear Your Name; and may we never be put to shame, disgrace or stumbling. Because we trust in Your holy, great, and awesome Name, may we rejoice and exult in Your salvation. Lord our God, may Your mercy and Your abounding kindness never, ever forsake us. Hasten and speedily bring upon us blessing and peace; bring us in peace from the four corners of the earth, break the yoke of the nations from our neck, and speedily lead us upright to our land. For You are God who performs acts of deliverance, and You have chosen us from among all nations and tongues, and have, in love, brought us near, O our King, to Your great Name, that we may praise You, and proclaim Your Oneness and love Your Name. Blessed are You Lord, who chooses His people Israel with love.
Recite the first verse aloud, with intense concentration, while covering the eyes with the right hand.
שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְיָ | אֶחָד:
Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One.
Recite in an undertone.
בָּרוּךְ שֵׁם כְּבוֹד מַלְכוּתוֹ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד:
Blessed be the name of the glory of His kingdom for ever and ever.
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words which I command you today, shall be upon your heart. You shall teach them thoroughly to your children, and you shall speak of them when you sit in your house and when you walk on the road, when you lie down and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they shall be for a reminder between your eyes. And you shall write them upon the doorposts of your house and upon your gates.
And it will be, if you will diligently obey My commandments which I enjoin upon you this day, to love the Lord your God and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul: I will give rain for your land at the proper time, the early rain and the late rain, and you will gather in your grain, your wine and your oil. And I will give grass in your fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be sated. Take care lest your heart be lured away, and you turn astray and worship alien gods and bow down to them. For then the Lord’s wrath will flare up against you, and He will close the heavens so that there will be no rain and the earth will not yield its produce, and you will swiftly perish from the good land which the Lord gives you. Therefore, place these words of Mine upon your heart and upon your soul, and bind them for a sign on your hand, and they shall be for a reminder between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children, to speak of them when you sit in your house and when you walk on the road, when you lie down and when you rise. And you shall inscribe them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates—so that your days and the days of your children may be prolonged on the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give to them for as long as the heavens are above the earth.
Hold the tzitzit also in the right hand and look at them; pass them over the eyes and kiss them at each mention of the word tzitzit.
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the children of Israel and tell them to make for themselves fringes on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to attach a thread of blue on the fringe of each corner. They shall be to you as tzitzit, and you shall look upon them and remember all the commandments of the Lord and fulfill them, and you will not follow after your heart and after your eyes by which you go astray—so that you may remember and fulfill all My commandments, and be holy to your God. I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God; I, the Lord, am your God.
True and certain, established and enduring, right and faithful, beloved and cherished, delightful and sweet, awesome and mighty, correct and acceptable, good and beautiful is this to us for all eternity. Truly, the God of the universe is our King; the Stronghold of Jacob is the shield of our deliverance. He endures and His Name endures throughout all generations; His throne is firmly established, and His sovereignty and His truth abide forever. His words are living and eternal, faithful and pleasant, forever and to all eternity, for our fathers, for us, for our children and our descendants, and for all the generations of the progeny of Israel Your servants. For the first and the last generations, [Your] Word is good and eternal in truth and trustworthiness, a Law that will never be abrogated. Truly, You are the Lord our God and the God of our fathers, our King, the King of our fathers, our Redeemer, the Redeemer of our fathers, our Stronghold, the Stronghold of our salvation, our Deliverer and Rescuer which is Your name from of old; we have no other God besides You, ever.
You have always been the help of our fathers, a shield and a deliverer to them and to their children after them in every generation. Your habitation is in the heights of the universe, and Your judgments and justice extend to the ends of the earth. Truly, happy is the man who heeds Your commandments, and takes to heart Your Torah and Your Word. Truly, You are the Master of Your people, and a mighty King to wage their battle, for the fathers and sons. Truly, You are the first and You are the last, and besides You we have no King, Redeemer, and Deliverer. Truly, You redeemed us from Egypt, Lord our God; You freed us from the house of bondage, You slew all their firstborn, but You redeemed Israel Your firstborn; You split for them the Sea of Reeds, drowned the wicked, and took Your beloved people across; the waters engulfed their adversaries, not one of them remained. For this, the cherished people praised and exalted God; the beloved ones offered hymns, songs and praises, blessings and thanksgiving to the King, the living and eternal God. He is lofty and exalted, great and awesome; He humbles the haughty to the ground, and raises the lowly to supreme heights; He frees the captives, redeems the humble, helps the needy; it is He who answers His people Israel when they cry out to Him. They offered praises to the sublime God, their Redeemer, blessed be He and He is blessed; Moses and the children of Israel with great joy raised their voices in song to You, and they all proclaimed:
With a new song, the redeemed people extolled Your great Name at the seashore; all of them in unison gave thanks and acclaimed Your sovereignty, and said: The Lord shall reign forever and ever. And it is said: Our Redeemer, the Lord of hosts is His Name, the Holy One of Israel. Blessed are You, Lord, who delivered Israel.
Hebrew text follows the traditional vocalized siddur. Provided for personal prayer and study. Part of a family of free Jewish apps.