Lesson video

Hi everyone, my name is Rabbi London.

Today, our lesson is about the concept of loving God in Judaism.

Before we get started, please try to turn off any apps or notifications on your phone if you're able to, and try to end any conversations you might be in the middle of.

Additionally, try to find a place that you're going to have the least amount of distractions.

It'll help you concentrate a little bit better.

And finally, you're going to need a pen or pencil and some paper or something to write on or with.

Today's lesson, we're going to learn about the Shema prayer.

Additionally, we're going to learn about the commandments of Mezuzah, Tefillin, Tallit, and Tzitzit.

I'll also go over what these objects are.

As I said, you're going to need a pen or pencil and some paper or something to write on or with.

If you don't already have these things with you, press pause, and press play when you're ready to begin.

The Shema prayer.

The Shema is a prayer that some Jewish people say twice a day, every day, for their entire lives.

The Shema is made up of three paragraphs.

One paragraph is from Deuteronomy, in chapter six.

One is made up from Deuteronomy chapter 11, and one is from Numbers chapter 15.

There are three paragraphs from three parts of the Torah.

The paragraphs are going to talk about, firstly, that God is one.

Then, what does faith in God look like, and how should that be lived? The second paragraph talks about what happens when someone follows God's laws and what happens if they don't.

And the third paragraph speaks about the commandment of tzitzit, of having, wearing a fringed garment, which is an object that's going to ensure the commandments that will be remembered.

So the first line of Shema comes from Deuteronomy chapter six, verse four.

In Hebrew, it would sound.

In English, it is, "Hear Israel, the Lord HaShem is our God, "God is one." This verse is stating one of the main beliefs of the Jewish people that there is only one God and that God is one.

What I'd like you to do now is go back one slide and copy the verse on your paper.

Then, in your own words, what does the first line of the Shema say? When you're finished, press play to resume the video.

So the first line of Shema says, "Hear Israel, the Lord God is our Lord, the Lord is one." There is one God.

Now, that will tie in to the coming paragraph.

They're all, in the Bible, they're actually verses one right after another.

Here are the verses five through nine.

"And you should love HaShem your God "with all of your heart and soul and all of your being.

"And these words which I command today should be "on your heart.

"And you should teach them to your children.

"And you should say them when you are sitting down "in your house and when you are walking around "and when you were lying down and when you are waking up.

"And you should tie them as a sign on your arm "and between your eyes.

"And it should be written down on your doorposts "of your house and gates." In looking at these four verses, there's actually a number of commandments that get put here.

What I'd like you to do now is look at the verses and list all the commandments that you can see mentioned in the verses five through nine.

So pause the video, make your list, and when you're ready, press play to begin.

How'd you do? So if we go through the verses, the first commandment is to love God with all of your heart, all of your soul, and all of your being.

Then, the Jewish people are commanded to teach the laws to their children.

There's also the commandment to say, to say them when you're walking in your house and walking around, when you're lying down and when you're waking up.

And then, to tie them as a sign on your arm and between your eyes.

And also, to put it on your doorposts and gates.

Each one of these lines teaches the Jewish people of different actions that they should be doing, and we're going to go through each one.

So teaching the laws of Torah, or teaching the laws.

There is a mitzvah, a commandment, to learn Torah and to continue to teach Torah.

We have learned a little bit about what the Torah is.

Sometimes, I said, that the Torah means the five books of Moses.

But learning Torah, when it's used in that way, can actually mean learning the Torah, the five books of Moses, learning anything in Tanakh, learning the Talmud or Mishnah, learning Halacha, Jewish law, learning Jewish thought, or in some opinions, learning anything at all in relationship to Judaism.

So there is a commandment to learn and to connect.

The commandment in these verses that we just looked at is that one is meant to teach their children and children's children the laws and the ways of which what does it mean to be a Jewish person? Learning can take place in lots of different spaces.

Sometimes, learning takes place in a Yeshiva, a school that specialises in Jewish text learning.

Sometimes, there's learning that takes place in a synagogue.

Sometimes, people hold classes in their homes or will learn on their own, will study bits of the Bible or Talmud on their own free time.

Really, Torah learning can take place anywhere anyone wants.

The next line of the Shema said, "And you should say them when you are sitting "in your house and when you are walking around "and when you are lying down and when you are waking up." That's from Deuteronomy 6:7.

The rabbis from the Talmud take this line, and from this, they teach that one should say the Shema twice a day, every day.

In the morning and in the evening.

They learn that morning and the evening because the verse says when you're lying down and when you're waking up.

Many Jewish people will say the Shema, all three paragraphs, twice a day, every day.

"And you should tie them as a sign on your arm "and between your eyes." Now we're looking at Deuteronomy chapter six, verse eight.

This line is referring to tefillin.

In English, sometimes, tefillin get called phylacteries, which is a really long word, and in my opinion, much harder to say than tefillin.

Tefillin consists of two leather boxes that contain the Shema prayer inside.

The Shema prayer is written on parchment and folded really small and inserted into the box.

The box is worn on a person's forearm, close to their heart, and in between their forehead.

Similar to the picture that is here on the screen.

Tefillin are worn by Jewish adults, which according to Judaism means a boy over 13 and a girl over 12.

In Orthodox communities, tefillin are generally only worn by men.

In Masorti, Liberal, Reform communities, they are worn by men and women.

Anyone can wear tefillin.

Tefillin are generally worn during morning prayers, except on Shabbat and on holidays.

So what are tefillin? Are tefillin a prayer book, two leather boxes worn on the arm and forehead with the Shema written inside, a commandment, or a Torah scroll? Tefillin are two leather boxes worn on the arm and forehead with the Shema written inside.

According to the rabbis of the Talmud, when is the Shema said? Only on Yom Kippur, only at one's bat mitzvah, twice a day, in the morning and in the evening, only on Shabbat.

Twice a day, in the morning and in the evening.

According to the rabbis of the Talmud, the Shema is said twice a day, in the morning and in the evening.

True or false.

Torah learning only happens in a Yeshiva, False, Torah learning can happen in many different places, almost in any place that anyone wants to learn.

True or false.

In the Liberal and Reform denomination, only men wear tefillin.

False, in the Liberal and Reform denominations, any adult Jewish person can wear tefillin.

The next line of those verses that we looked at at the beginning says, "And it should be written on your doorposts "of your house and gates." This line is referring to what's called a mezuzah.

A mezuzah can generally be found on the right hand side doorpost of many Jewish homes.

In some homes, this might only be on their entranceway, and in other homes, this might be on every doorpost in their house except for the one going into the bathroom.

The mezuzah is a piece of parchment with the Shema prayer written inside.

The picture on the screen is actually a picture of what the parchment looks like with the words of Shema written out.

And it's kept in a case on the door.

Now, if we look at the words that are written on the screen, you can see that those words are actually handwritten.

A person named a sofer, who's skilled in scribal arts writes each word and each letter from a quill onto the parchment.

And a mezuzah's actually quite small, so it takes a lot of effort and talent to be able to do it well and properly.

The purpose of the mezuza is to act as a constant reminder of God's presence in addition to following the law that is written out in those verses.

There are some Jews who will touch the mezuzah or kiss the mezuzah on their way through the door.

It's one way of showing reverence or respect to God or God's name, which is written in the Shema that's inside that little case.

I'd like you to now pause the video to complete the following task.

Please answer the question in complete sentences.

Explain why the mezuzah is important to Jewish people.

Press play to resume when you're finished.

Let's explain why the mezuzah is important to Jewish people.

The mezuzah is an important Jewish symbol.

It is important to Jewish people because it contains a small piece of parchment containing the Shema prayer.

This prayer is important because it is where God asked the Jewish people to remember His commandments.

Jewish people are following God's commandments by keeping a mezuzah on a door frame in their home as a constant reminder of God's presence.

Some Jewish people have the custom to kiss the mezuzah as they pass through the door.

The mezuzah can also symbolise that God is protecting the home of the Jewish family.

How did you do with those answers? The final objects that we're going to learn about today are known as a tallit or a tzitzit.

Sometimes, people might pronounce this as a tallis or, that's usually.

The tallit is also in English would be known as a prayer shawl.

The tallit is worn during morning prayer services and on Shabbat and holidays.

One can learn about what a tallit is from the verses from Numbers.

This comes from the third paragraph of Shema.

And here it says, "And you should have fringes and see them, "and remember all of these commandments of God.

"So you should be reminded to follow "all of My commandments and you shall be holy to your God." Tzitzit, the fringes, can refer to fringes on any four-cornered garment.

That's really what the commandment is, is if you're going to be wearing a four-cornered garment, you need to have these fringes on it.

Some people wear tzitzit or a small tallis under their shirt every day.

That way, they're able to have and follow this commandment and this idea.

In orthodox communities, a tallit and tzitzit are generally only worn by men.

In Masorti, Reform, and Liberal communities, they're worn by men and women.

Let's pause the video.

Answer the following questions in complete sentences.

One, what is a tallit? Two, who wears a tallit and when? Three, according to the verse in Numbers, what is the purpose of the fringes? Press pause and complete your task, and when you're finished, press play to resume.

One, what is a tallis? A tallit is a prayer shawl worn by many Jewish people.

Two, who wears a tallit and when? In orthodox communities, a tallit is mostly only worn by men.

In Reform, Liberal, and Masorti communities, a tallit is worn by anyone in the community.

A tallit is worn during morning prayers and on Shabbat and holidays.

Three, according to the verse in Numbers, what is the purpose of the fringes? According to the verse in Numbers, the fringes are meant to serve as a reminder to follow God's laws and to be holy.

You did a great job today.

We learned so much.

Today, we learned about the Shema, the Shema prayer, which is one of the essential prayers to the Jewish people, saying that God is one and that they believe in one God.

We then looked at the continuation of the first paragraph of Shema.

Looking at the verses, which commands the teaching of Torah and the continuation to learn Torah and teach it to one's children and future generations.

We looked at the commandments of wearing tefillin, the phylacteries, the black boxes that go bound on one's arm and between one's forehead.

We looked at the commandment of the mezuzah, having the Shema written on a parchment scroll on the right side of a doorpost.

And finally, we looked at the third paragraph of Shema and the commandment of having tzitzit, the fringes on a four-cornered garment, and who wears a tallit and when.

I'd like you to take a moment and write down three things that you learned today.

Feel free to share those with a parent or carer or friend or teacher.

Don't forget to take the end of lesson quiz.

And if you want to share your work with us here at Oak National, please ask your parent or carer to share your work on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter, tagging @OakNational and #LearnwithOak.

I hope you have a wonderful day, and happy learning!.