A Humanistic Shema & Declaration of Interdependence

by Machar: The Washington Congregation for Secular Humanistic Judaism

On Listening and Oneness – (al sh’miah v’-ahdut) עַל שְׁמִיעָה וְאַחְדוּת

(Inspired by the Sh’ma – D’varim / Deuteronomy 6:4)

All read aloud together:

Hear, O Israel, please hear, O tribes, dispersed and estranged.

Let the tale of Abraham inspire us to transcend today’s idols and lies.

Let us heed diverse voices and visions, seeking understanding and unity.

O children of Abraham, O inheritors of this world,

please hear one another, please hearken to each living being.

The Earth, our world, is One. All peoples, all beings, are One.

(Hebrew means: “Please: listen…” [“listen” in masculine & feminine singular, then fem. & mixed/masc. plural])

B'-vakashah

sh'ma, shim'i, sh'manah, shim'u

בְּבַקָּשָׁה

שְׁמַע, שִׁמְעִי, שְׁמַעְנָה, שִׁמְעוּ

Humanistic Judaism was founded as a congregational movement in 1963 by the late Rabbi Sherwin T. Wine, and has emerged as a stream of Judaism that enables people of any ethnic or religious background to cherish Jewish history, culture, and ethics without worshipping or praying to a supernatural being. As an affiliate of the Society for Humanistic Judaism (SHJ), Machar is part of the national and international Humanistic Judaism movement. The International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism (IISHJ) is the educational arm of our movement, training rabbis and other leaders.

Posted in B'nai Mitzvah, Daily Prayer & Mindfulness, Endings & Beginnings, Holidays, Honoring Our Animal Companions, Preserving Creation, Pursuing Justice, Shabbat
Humanist, shema

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