![v ahavta transliteration v ahavta transliteration](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/1c/63/ff/1c63ffec4269d9bb41cb7ffc760cf81b--aurora-poetry.jpg)
We are encouraged to even make them tactile by reciting them and committing them to memory. After the challenge to listen, we also hear the command to obey and to act on the words spoken. These words are based on the scripture Deuteronomy 6:4-9. I am Adonai, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I am Adonai your God.” “Thus, you shall remember to observe all My commandments and to be holy to your God. Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them serve as a symbol on your forehead Inscribe them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. “Recite them when you stay at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you get up. Take to heart these instructions with which I charge you this day. “You shall love Adonai your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. This is also the beginning of the V’ahavta (And you shall love) prayer, which is recited immediately after the Shema prayer in synagogue services. This is an encouragement to take action on the words which were just spoken. We see this principle in action when Moses tells the people that they should “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” (Deut. Not simply to hear and do nothing or listen and then forget – “in one ear and out the other.” Quite the opposite. It is a call to action, to listen AND obey. It is also listening, heeding and obeying. Nevertheless, hearing is not just listening with one’s ears. So, to hear God is to obey God-and to obey God is to hear God. But it also means to obey and take action. The Hebrew word pronunciation sounds more like “sh’-mah”. Shema, in the simplest terms, means ‘to hear’. The prayer itself is named after the first word of this passage. People often say that ‘seeing is believing’, but did you know the Bible teaches the opposite-that listening is more important than seeing? We can see it presented perfectly in the words of the Shema prayer. “Hear (shema), O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” The most important prayer and declaration in the Jewish life is the “Shema”, based on a verse from Deuteronomy 6:4: