Devarim (Deuteronomy): Vaetchanan > Ch 6

Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our G-d; the Lord is one.

  • This is the commandment, the statutes, and the ordinances that the Lord, your G-d, commanded to teach you, to perform in the land into which you are about to pass, to possess it. In order that you fear the Lord, your G-d, to keep all His statutes and His commandments that I command you, you, your son, and your son's son, all the days of your life, and in order that your days may be lengthened. And you shall, [therefore,] hearken, O Israel, and be sure to perform, so that it will be good for you, and so that you may increase exceedingly, just as the Lord, the G-d of your fathers, spoke to you, a land flowing with milk and honey.
  • Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God; the Lord is one.
  • And you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your means.
  • And these words, which I command you this day, shall be upon your heart.
  • And you shall teach them to your sons and speak of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk on the way, and when you lie down and when you rise up.
  • And you shall bind them for a sign upon your hand, and they shall be for ornaments between your eyes.
  • And you shall inscribe them upon the doorposts of your house and upon your gates.
  • And it will be, when the Lord, your G-d, brings you to the land He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you, great and good cities that you did not build, and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and hewn cisterns that you did not hew, vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant, and you will eat and be satisfied. Beware, lest you forget the Lord, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall fear the Lord, your G-d, worship Him, and swear by His name.
  • Do not go after other gods, of the gods of the peoples who are around you. For the Lord, your G-d, is a zealous G-d among you, lest the wrath of the Lord, your G-d, be kindled against you, and destroy you off the face of the earth. You shall not try the Lord, your God, as you tried Him in Massah.
  • Diligently keep the commandments of the Lord, your G-d, and His testimonies. and His statutes, which He has commanded you. And you shall do what is proper and good in the eyes of the Lord, in order that it may be well with you, and that you may come and possess the good land which the Lord swore to your forefathers, to drive out all your enemies from before you, as the Lord has spoken.
  • If your son asks you in time to come, saying, "What are the testimonies, the statutes, and the ordinances, which the Lord our G-d has commanded you?" You shall say to your son, "We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt, and the Lord took us out of Egypt with a strong hand. And the Lord gave signs and wonders, great and terrible, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes. And he brought us out of there, in order that He might bring us and give us the land which He swore to our fathers. And the Lord commanded us to perform all these statutes, to fear the Lord, our G-d, for our good all the days, to keep us alive, as of this day. And it will be for our merit that we keep to observe all these commandments before the Lord, our G-d, as He has commanded us."


 
Rashi Commentary

  • In Massah When they went out of Egypt, when they tested Him concerning water, as it is said [that they asked], “Is the Lord among us or not?” (Exodus 17:7) [Hence “Massah” means test.]