(4) Hear, O Israel! יהוה is our God, יהוה alone.

(35) It has been clearly demonstrated to you that יהוה alone is God; there is none else.

(39) Know therefore this day and keep in mind that יהוה alone is God in heaven above and on earth below; there is no other.

(4) This is implied by the prophet's statement [Jeremiah 10:10]: "And God, your Lord, is true" - i.e., He alone is true and no other entity possesses truth that compares to His truth. This is what [is meant by] the Torah's statement [Deuteronomy 4:35]: "There is nothing else aside from Him" - i.e., aside from Him, there is no true existence like His.

(7) This God is one. He is not two or more, but one, unified in a manner which [surpasses] any unity that is found in the world; i.e., He is not one in the manner of a general category which includes many individual entities, nor one in the way that the body is divided into different portions and dimensions. Rather, He is unified, and there exists no unity similar to His in this world.
If there were many gods, they would have body and form, because like entities are separated from each other only through the circumstances associated with body and form.
Were the Creator to have body and form, He would have limitation and definition, because it is impossible for a body not to be limited. And any entity which itself is limited and defined [possesses] only limited and defined power. Since our God, blessed be His name, possesses unlimited power, as evidenced by the continuous revolution of the sphere, we see that His power is not the power of a body. Since He is not a body, the circumstances associated with bodies that produce division and separation are not relevant to Him. Therefore, it is impossible for Him to be anything other than one.
The knowledge of this concept fulfills a positive commandment, as [implied by Deuteronomy 6:4]: "[Hear, Israel,] God is our Lord, God is one."

(8) Behold, it is explicitly stated in the Torah and [the works of] the prophets that the Holy One, blessed be He, is not [confined to] a body or physical form, as [Deuteronomy 4:39, Joshua 2:11] states: "Because God, your Lord, is the Lord in the heavens above and the earth below," and a body cannot exist in two places [simultaneously].
Also, [Deuteronomy 4:15] states: "For you did not see any image," and [Isaiah 40:25] states: "To whom can you liken Me, with whom I will be equal." Were He [confined to] a body, He would resemble other bodies.

(1) It is a mitzvah to love and fear this glorious and awesome God, as [Deuteronomy 6:5] states: "And you shall love God, your Lord" and, as [Deuteronomy 6:13] states: "Fear God, your Lord."

(2) What is the path [to attain] love and fear of Him? When a person contemplates His wondrous and great deeds and creations and appreciates His infinite wisdom that surpasses all comparison, he will immediately love, praise, and glorify [Him], yearning with tremendous desire to know [God's] great name, as David stated: "My soul thirsts for the Lord, for the living God" [Psalms 42:3].
When he [continues] to reflect on these same matters, he will immediately recoil in awe and fear, appreciating how he is a tiny, lowly, and dark creature, standing with his flimsy, limited, wisdom before He who is of perfect knowledge, as David stated: "When I see Your heavens, the work of Your fingers... [I wonder] what is man that You should recall Him" [Psalms 8:4-5].
Based on these concepts, I will explain important principles regarding the deeds of the Master of the worlds to provide a foothold for a person of understanding to [develop] love for God, as our Sages said regarding love: "In this manner, you will recognize He who spoke and [thus,] brought the world into being."

(1) During the times of Enosh, mankind made a great mistake, and the wise men of that generation gave thoughtless counsel. Enosh himself was one of those who erred.
Their mistake was as follows: They said God created stars and spheres with which to control the world. He placed them on high and treated them with honor, making them servants who minister before Him. Accordingly, it is fitting to praise and glorify them and to treat them with honor. [They perceived] this to be the will of God, blessed be He, that they magnify and honor those whom He magnified and honored, just as a king desires that the servants who stand before him be honored. Indeed, doing so is an expression of honor to the king.
After conceiving of this notion, they began to construct temples to the stars and offer sacrifices to them. They would praise and glorify them with words, and prostrate themselves before them, because by doing so, they would - according to their false conception - be fulfilling the will of God.
This was the essence of the worship of false gods, and this was the rationale of those who worshiped them. They would not say that there is no other god except for this star.
This message was conveyed by Jeremiah, who declared (10:7-8): "Who will not fear You, King of the nations, for to You it is fitting. Among all the wise men of the nations and in all their kingdoms, there is none like You. They have one foolish and senseless [notion. They conceive of their] empty teachings as wood;" i.e., all know that You alone are God. Their foolish error consists of conceiving of this emptiness as Your will.

(2) After many years passed, there arose people - false prophets - who told [their nations] that God had commanded them to say: Serve this star - or all the stars - sacrifice to it, offer libations to it, build a temple for it and make an image of it so that all people - including the women, the children, and the common people - could bow to it.
He would inform them of a form that he had conceived, and tell them that this is the image of the particular star, claiming that this was revealed to him in a prophetic vision. In this manner, the people began to make images in temples, under trees, and on the tops of mountains and hills.
People would gather together and bow down to them and the [false prophets] would say: This image is the source of benefit or harm. It is appropriate to serve it and fear it. Their priests would tell them: This service will enable you to multiply and be successful. Do this and this, or do not do this or this.
Subsequently, other deceivers arose and declared that a specific star, sphere, or angel had spoken to them and commanded them: Serve me in this manner. He would then relate a mode of service [telling them:] Do this, do not do this.
Thus, these practices spread throughout the world. People would serve images with strange practices - one more distorted than the other - offer sacrifices to them, and bow down to them. As the years passed, [God's] glorious and awesome name was forgotten by the entire population. [It was no longer part of] their speech or thought, and they no longer knew Him. Thus, all the common people, the women, and the children would know only the image of wood or stone and the temples of stone to which they were trained from their childhood to bow down and serve, and in whose name they swore.
The wise men among them would think that there is no God other than the stars and spheres for whose sake, and in resemblance of which, they had made these images. The Eternal Rock was not recognized or known by anyone in the world, with the exception of a [few] individuals: for example, Chanoch, Metushelach, Noach, Shem, and Ever. The world continued in this fashion until the pillar of the world - the Patriarch Abraham - was born.

(3) After this mighty man was weaned, he began to explore and think. Though he was a child, he began to think [incessantly] throughout the day and night, wondering: How is it possible for the sphere to continue to revolve without having anyone controlling it? Who is causing it to revolve? Surely, it does not cause itself to revolve.
He had no teacher, nor was there anyone to inform him. Rather, he was mired in Ur Kasdim among the foolish idolaters. His father, mother, and all the people [around him] were idol worshipers, and he would worship with them. [However,] his heart was exploring and [gaining] understanding.
Ultimately, he appreciated the way of truth and understood the path of righteousness through his accurate comprehension. He realized that there was one God who controlled the sphere, that He created everything, and that there is no other God among all the other entities. He knew that the entire world was making a mistake. What caused them to err was their service of the stars and images, which made them lose awareness of the truth.
Abraham was forty years old when he became aware of his Creator. When he recognized and knew Him, he began to formulate replies to the inhabitants of Ur Kasdim and debate with them, telling them that they were not following a proper path.
He broke their idols and began to teach the people that it is fitting to serve only the God of the world. To Him [alone] is it fitting to bow down, sacrifice, and offer libations, so that the people of future [generations] would recognize Him. [Conversely,] it is fitting to destroy and break all the images, lest all the people err concerning them, like those people who thought that there are no other gods besides these [images].
When he overcame them through the strength of his arguments, the king desired to kill him. He was [saved through] a miracle and left for Charan. [There,] he began to call in a loud voice to all people and inform them that there is one God in the entire world and it is proper to serve Him. He would go out and call to the people, gathering them in city after city and country after country, until he came to the land of Canaan - proclaiming [God's existence the entire time] - as [Genesis 21:33] states: "And He called there in the name of the Lord, the eternal God."
When the people would gather around him and ask him about his statements, he would explain [them] to each one of them according to their understanding, until they turned to the path of truth. Ultimately, thousands and myriads gathered around him. These are the men of the house of Abraham.
He planted in their hearts this great fundamental principle, composed texts about it, and taught it to Isaac, his son. Isaac also taught others and turned [their hearts to God]. He also taught Jacob and appointed him as a teacher.
[Jacob] taught others and turned [the hearts] of all those who gathered around him [to God]. He also taught all of his children. He selected Levi and appointed him as the leader. He established him [as the head of] the academy to teach them the way of God and observe the mitzvot of Abraham.
[Jacob] commanded his sons that the leadership should not depart from the descendants of Levi, so that the teachings would not be forgotten. This concept proceeded and gathered strength among the descendants of Jacob and those who collected around them, until there became a nation within the world which knew God.
When the Jews extended their stay in Egypt, however, they learned from the [Egyptians'] deeds and began worshiping the stars as they did, with the exception of the tribe of Levi, who clung to the mitzvot of the patriarchs - the tribe of Levi never served false gods.
Within a short time, the fundamental principle that Abraham had planted would have been uprooted, and the descendants of Jacob would have returned to the errors of the world and their crookedness. Because of God's love for us, and to uphold the oath He made to Abraham, our patriarch, He brought forth Moses, our teacher, the master of all prophets, and sent him [to redeem the Jews]. After Moses, our teacher, prophesied, and God chose Israel as His inheritance, He crowned them with mitzvot and informed them of the path to serve Him, [teaching them] the judgement prescribed for idol worshiper and all those who stray after it.

(1)The commandment of the unification of God: That we were commanded to believe that God, may He be blessed — Who is the Mover of all existence, the Master of everything — is one without any combination, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 6:4), “Hear, Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one.” And this is a positive commandment, not [just] a statement. But the understanding of “Hear” is, “Accept from me this thing, and know it and believe in it — that the Lord, Who is our God, is one. And the proof that this is a positive commandment is their, may their memory be blessed, constantly saying in Midrash, “On the condition of unifying His name”; “in order to accept the yoke of the kingdom of Heaven upon himself” — meaning to say, the acknowledgement of unity and faith.

(2) The root of this commandment is well-known, as it is the foundation of the faith of all people in the world and it is the strong pillar that every intelligent person relies upon.

(3) From the laws of the commandment is that which they, may their memory be blessed, said (Berakhot 61b) that every Israelite is obligated about the commandment of unification; since anyone who does not acknowledge His unity, blessed be He, is as if he denies a fundamental principle [of faith] — as there is no complete [Divine] rulership and majesty without total unity, and the heart of every wise man will distinguish this. And if so, behold, this commandment is included in the prohibition of idolatry, about which we are commanded to be killed in every place and at any time. [This] and the rest of its details are scattered in the Midrash and in [various] places in the Gemara. And there, [there are also] many stories of several Israelites — big and small — may all their memory be blessed, who were killed for the sanctification of His unity, blessed be He.

(4) And this commandment is practiced in every place and at all times by males and females. And one who transgresses it and does not believe in His unity, blessed be He, has violated this positive commandment [as well as] all of the other commandments of the Torah, since they are all dependent upon the belief in His divinity and unity. And he is called a denier of a fundamental principle [of faith], and he is not in the category of the Children of Israel, but rather in the category of sectarians. And God has separated him out for evil, but the one who believes in God and trusts in Him will be raised up. And this is one of the commandments that we said at the beginning of the book that a person is constantly obligated about, meaning to say that the obligation upon him never ceases, not even [for] a small instant.

(1)Laws of the blessings for the recitation of the Shema and whether it needs intention - containing 5 sections: The second blessing is 'Ahavat Olam'. Rem"a: There are those who say 'Ahavah Rabbah' (and this is in fact the custom in all [lands of] Ashkenaz). And it does not start with the word 'Baruch', since it immediately follows the 'Yotzer Ohr' blessing. As to whether it counts for the [obligation of] the blessing for [studying] Torah, see above, Siman 47.

(2) If one recited the Shema without a blessing, one has fulfilled the obligation of reciting the Shema. [Nonetheless,] one [later] goes back and recites the blessings without the Shema; however, it seems to me that it is proper to go back and recite the [entire] Shema with the blessings.

(3) The [wrong] order of the blessings does not hold one back [from fulfilling the commandment], therefore, if one recites the second [blessing] before the first, one has fulfilled one's obligation of [reciting the] blessings.

(4) There are those who hold that the commandments do not require intention, and there are those who hold that they do need intention in order to fulfill the doing of that commandment - and such [i.e. the latter] is the [correct] halacha.

(5) One who recites the Shema, but did not have the [proper] intention during the first verse, which is 'Shema Yisrael' - [in this case,] one did not fulfill one's obligation. As for the rest, if one did not have the [proper] intention, and even if one was simply reciting [the verses of the Shema] from the Torah or checking over these sections [of text - i.e. the ones used in the Shema] during the time [one is obligated in the] recitation of the Shema - in this case, one fulfilled [one's obligation], as long as one had intention during the first verse.

(1)Laws of how much one needs to be precise and have intention during the Recitation of the Sh'ma; contain 26 se-ifim
One should recite the Sh'ma with intention, awe, fear, shaking and trembling.

(2) [The verse states:] "Which I have commanded you today," (Deuteronomy 6:6) - which teaches that every day it should appear in your eyes as if it was new, and not like someone who already heard it many times and is [therefore] not precious to him.

(3) The Recitation of the Sh'ma has 245 words, and in order to bring the number up to 248, which corresponds to the number of limbs of the human body, the prayer leader ends by saying "the Lord Your God - Truth!", and then repeats this aloud, and says: "the Lord Your God - Truth!" Rem"a: By doing so, each person [in the congregation] fulfills their obligation since they hear these three additional words from the mouth of the prayer leader (Beit Yosef in the name of Orchot Chaim). And if one wishes to say these words individually along with the leader, it is not forbidden. And if one is reading [the Sh'ma] individually, he should have in mind regarding the fifteen vavs in the [prayer] 'Emet V'yatziv' (each of which have the gematria value of 6), that their value adds up to 90 (ie. 15x6=90) - and this corresponds to three Tetragrammatons... for each name has a value of 26 and [adding one for each of] its four letters brings it to 30 (ie. 26+4=30; 30x3=90). Rem"a: There is another reason for doing so, since the fifteen vavs add up to 90, and the reading [of the entire text] counts as one, this is then 91, which is the value of the God's name as it is pronounced and written, and it is then as if one is said "Hashem (ie. YKVK) Adon-ai, Truth" (Mahari"k, Root 42 and the Agur). There are those who wrote that anyone who recites the Sh'ma by themselves should say "Kel Melekh Ne-eman" before [saying] Sh'ma, etc., since these three words bring the count up to 248, and this comes in the place of the Amen (ie. the initial letters of "Kel Melekh Ne-eman"spell out 'Amen') that one is required to answer after [the blessing of] "Blessed... Who chooses His nation Israel with love". And this is our custom. It seems to me that, nevertheless, when one recites [Sh'ma] with the congregation, one should not say "Kel Melekh Ne-eman", but [rather] only say Amen after the leader concludes the blessing - this is our custom, and it is correct.

(4) The custom is to recite the first verse out loud in order to awaken the intention [we need].

(5) The custom is to place one's hands over their faces during the recitation of the first verse in order that one will not look at something else that will prevent him from intending [his heart].

(6) It is necessary to extend [the pronunciation of] the [letter] chet of [the word] echad (one) in order to declare the Holy One, blessed be He's, sovereignty in the Heavens and the Earth (i.e. seven heavens + Earth = chet (8)), for this is alluded to by the humps in the middle of the roof of the chet. One should [also] extend [the pronunciation of] the letter dalet of [the word] echad (one) the amount [of time it takes] to contemplate that the Holy One, blessed be He, is One in His world and rules in the four directions of the world. But he should not extend more than this amount. There are those who have the custom to turn the head in accordance with the thought: up, down, and to the four directions.

(7) One should accentuate the dalet so that it does not [sound] like a resh.

(8) One should not contract/rush [the pronunciation of] the chet, nor extend the aleph.

(9) It is forbidden to say "Sh'ma" two times, whether doubling the words such that one says "sh'ma, sh'ma" or doubling the first verse.

(10) When one recites the Recitation of the Sh'ma on one's bed (ie. before going to sleep), it is permitted to recite the entire passage and to [then] repeat it. And there are those that say that also with this, one needs to be careful about saying the first verse Rem"a: two times.

(11) Those who say the verse "Sh'ma Yisrael" two times in the early morning during Se'lichot or during Yom Kippur during the Ne'ilah prayer - they should be taught to not to say it.

(12) [Regarding saying] "Adon-ai hu haElo-him" seven times on Yom Kippur during the Ne'ilah prayer - this is a legitimate custom. Rem"a: There are those who say that one should be careful to not answer "amen" two times to any blessing (Beit Yosef in the name of Ohel Moed)

(13) After the first verse [of Shema], one needs to say, "Blessed is the Name of His glorious Kingdom forever and ever" in an undertone.

(14) One needs to pause a little between “forever and ever” and “and you shall love” in order to pause between acceptance of the kingship of Heaven to other commandments. Rem"a: and one should pause in the first verse between "Israel" and "YHVH" and between "our God" and the second "YHVH" so that it should sound as [if one is saying] "Hear O Israel because YHVH who is our God, He is YHVH who is One (Rokeach). And one should pause a little between "one" and "blessed" because the main acceptance of the kingdom of Heaven is the first verse (Abudarham).

(15) One should pause between "today" and "upon your heart" and between "today" and "to love" so it should not appear [as if he is saying] "today, but not tomorrow"

(16) One should pause between "was sworn" and "YHVH" in order to pronounce the ayin well so that it does not sound like a hey.

(17) One should distinctly pronounce the zayin in "tizkeru" so that it does not sound like "tishkeru" (lying) or "tiskeru" (reward) and then he would be [considered] like slaves working only for reward. Similarly, one should distinctly pronounce the zayin in "u'zchartem."

(18) One should accentuate the yud of "Sh'ma Yisrael" so that it is not swallowed up and it does not seem like an aleph. And similarly the yud of "v'hayu" so that it does not sound like "v'ha-oo"

(19) One should put a gap between "charah" and "af" so that it does not sound like "charaf"

(20) One should put a gap between a word whose beginning [letter] is like the end [letter] of its predecessor, for example: "b'chol l'vav'kha", "al l'vav'khem", "eisev b'sad'kha", "v'avdem m'heira", "hakanaf p'til", "etkhem meieretz"

(21) One must, with every aleph [that comes] after a mem, break between them. For example: "v'limad'tem otam", "ukshartem otam", "v'samtem et", "uritem oto", ("uzkhartem et", "v'asitem et") so that it does not seem like one is reading "motam" [or] "meit" (death)

(22) Even in P'sukei D'zimrah (Verses of Song) and the Prayer ("Amidah"), one needs to be exact with this. Rem"a: and similarly, the one who reads from the Torah, Prophets, and Writings needs to be careful [Beit Yosef in the name of Radak]

(23) One needs to be precise not to weaken the strong [letters with a dagesh] or strengthen the weak [letters without a dagesh] and not rest the moving [sh'va] and move the resting [sh'va].

(24) One needs to recite Sh'ma with the cantillation (trop/ta'amim), just like they are [written when reading] in the Torah. Rem"a: But the custom is not like this in these lands. And in any case, those who are precise [in general regarding mitzvot] are strict about this.

(25) When one says "ukshartam l'ot al yadekha" ("and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand"), one should touch the arm tefillin. When one says "v'hayu l'totafot bein einekha" ("and they shall be frontlets between your eyes"), one should touch the head tefillin. When one says "uritem oto" ("and you shall look at it"), one should touch the two tzitzit that are in front of one (See above: Siman 24, S'if 5).

(26) There are those who practice to recite the Recitation of the Sh'ma in a loud voice and there are those who apractice to recite it in a whisper. Gloss: And in any case, they say the first verse in a loud voice, and this [is what we] how we practice (Kol Bo).

(1)[The Laws of] one who is not precise with the recitation of the Shema or did not make it heard to his [own] ears, and it contains 5 se'ifim
Even though it is a mitzvah to be precise regarding the letters [of the Sh'ma], one who has recited it without being precise with them has [nonetheless] fulfilled their obligation.

(2) One may read [the Sh'ma] in any language, and they should be careful to avoid word mispronunciations in that language, and one should be precise in it just as in Hebrew [lit. "the Holy tongue"].

(3) [When reading the Shema,] one must hear with their ears what comes out of their mouth, but if one did not hear it, they [still] fulfilled their obligation as long as they brought it out of their lips (i.e. articulated it with their mouth).

(4) If, due to illness or some other unavoidable circumstance, one recited the recitation of the Sh'ma in their heart [i.e. silently], they fulfilled their obligation. Rem"a: And even optimally one may do this if they are in a place which is not completely clean and they are not able to clean it up due to unavoidable circumstances, [in such a case,] one may think [it] in their heart (i.e. recite it silently to themselves) as long as the place is not completely soiled [e.g. with excrement] since it is forbidden to think a matter of Torah in a soiled place. (Beit Yosef, Siman 85)

(5) The prayer-leader needs to make his voice heard with "Sh'ma Yisrael" so that the congregation will hear and declare the kingship of the Heavenly Name together.

(1)[The Laws regarding the requirement] to sit at the time of the recitation of the Shema and to not sleep [during it] - and it contains 9 se'ifim
One may recite it [i.e. the Sh'ma] walking, standing, lying, riding on the back of an animal, or sitting, but not "p'rakdan", that is, with one's face into the ground or cast on one's back with one's face upwards, but one may recite while lying on their side. Rem"a: Since one was already lying and it is troublesome to stand up [Ri on the chapter "one whose dead" (B'rakhot 3)] And if one was very heavyset and not able to turn over onto their side or was sick, then they [should] incline a little towards their side and recite [the Sh'ma].

(2) One who wants to be stringent to stand when one is sitting [in order to] to recite it standing is called a sinner.

(3) If one was walking on the way and needs to recite the Recitation of the Sh'ma, they must stand [still] during the first verse.

(4) The main part during which one should have focus is the first verse. Therefore, if one recited [it] and did not focus one's heart during the first verse, they did not fulfill their obligation, and must go back and recite it [again]. And even according to the one whose opinion is that mitzvot do not require focus, agrees here.

(5) If one was sleeping, we bother him and wake him up until he recites the first verse while fully awake. From here onwards, we do not bother him in order to recite while fully awake, for even though he reads it drowsy, he fulfills his obligation. Rem"a: And [regarding] the law of one who is drinking or is drunk, see below Siman 99, Se'if 1.

(6) One who is [in the middle of] reciting the Sh'ma should not signal with one's eyes, mouth with one's lips, or gesture with one's fingers during the first paragraph which is the main acceptance of the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven because he [then] appears like he's reading it casually, and it is written "and you shall speak of them...", and we explain [this to mean]: do them permanently (ie. speak them in a formal/non-casual way).

(7) If one is busy with work and wants to recite the Recitation of the Sh'ma, he must cease from his work until he recites the first paragraph so that it does not appear like he's reading it casually.

(8) Skilled craftsmen, and similarly the homeowner, that were doing work on the top of a tree or on top of the walls of the building may recite the Recitation of the Sh'ma in their place and they do not need to descend.

(9) A porter, despite that his load is on his shoulders, may recite the Recitation of the Sh'ma, but may not begin [it] at the time that he loads [it] and not at the time that he puts [it] down because his heart/mind is not settled.