Aug. 15th, 2013

cellio: (talmud)
The g'mara on today's daf discusses saying the Sh'ma. We say "Sh'ma Yisrael..." (hear oh Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one) and then, quietly, say "baruch shem kavod..." (blessed be the name of God's glorious majesty forever and ever). Why do we do this before going on with the next paragraph (the v'ahavta)? R. Shimon ben Lakish said: when Yaakov called to his sons (on his deathbed) he intended to tell them what would befall them in the end of days, and the Shekhina (divine presence) departed from him. Yaakov said: heaven forfend, perhaps there is one unfit among my children, like Avraham (who had Yishmael) or Yitzchak (who had Eisav). But his sons answered him "sh'ma Yisrael...". In that moment Yaakov opened his mouth and said "baruch shem kavod...". This left the rabbis in a quandry: maybe we shouldn't say it because Moshe didn't (the second phrase isn't part of the passage being quoted), but maybe we should because Yaakov said it. So we say it, but quietly. (56a)

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