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You Need to Talk

Writer's picture: Hannah TekleHannah Tekle

Updated: Jun 3, 2022


Passover-telling, positive affirmation & proclaiming the Sh’ma,


“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” (Deuteronomy 6:4)


The iconic Jewish prayer proclamation, the Sh’ma, literally means “Hear.” In modern colloquial phrasing it would sound like, “Hey you, listen!” It is probably the most well-known prayer commonly associated with the Jewish people and religion. This summation of everything central and important in the Tanakh is proclaimed in morning, evening and nighttime prayers.


The Sh’ma is also traditionally said before dying – the last words on one’s lips. For secular Israelis, this has morphed into an exclamation “Sh’ma Israel” which is said in situations of actual or perceived danger, whether actually life-threatening or merely very scary. It is so deeply embedded in the linguistic fabric of the society that it can also be an irreverent and casual expression of shock or scared surprise.


No doubt rabbinical commentary has in-depth explanations for this passage. But, what is really fascinating to me is how it can be a connecting seam between those cut of traditional “cloth” and those cut of modern. When a random Israeli high school kid yells out, “Sh’ma Yisrael,” upon being startled by something unexpected, what does she or he mean? The passage is written to Israel from Moses by God, but when we say it, we are declaring it to one another and to ourselves.


What is it about this short proclamation that sets it apart from others and elevates it to the abbreviation of all of Judaism?


A Hint


We find a hint in the verses that follow. “And these words which I command you this day shall be on your heart, and you shall repeat them diligently to your children, and you shall speak of them when you sit in your home, and when you walk on the way…” (Deuteronomy 6:5-7)


While discussing the transition from Purim to Passover recently with my Shabbat school kids’ class, I stumbled upon an incredibly simple but profound answer to this question why this prayer became central to Judaism.


Prepping them for the next lesson, I asked what they thought the similarities and connection were between the two holidays. They gave me various answers; some were even insightful beyond their years. Both holidays celebrate God’s victory for the people of Israel in a difficult situation. Both have a brave protagonist that stands up to advocate on behalf of the people. The kids also gave some more light-hearted answers: we eat yummy food during both, we get a vacation from school for both. We joked about eating “Pharoah’s ears” cookies instead of “Haman’s ears” (the triangular cookie that we eat to commemorate villainous Haman’s demise). As we giggled, I pointed out a much more obvious and elementary similarity, which is that both holidays start with the letter P – in Hebrew the letter ‘peh.’


The Mouth


The Hebrew letter ‘peh' is also the word for mouth, which is appropriate because both Purim and Passover are about telling. Mordecai telling Esther to be true to her destiny. Esther telling Ahasuerus that her people were in danger. God telling Moses that he is called to talk to Pharaoh. Moses telling Pharaoh to “let my people go – that they may Worship”.


The very manual we use to retell the story on the first night of Passover is called the Ha-ga-da – “the telling.” We use our mouth to talk – to voice the story of the Exodus.


The Desire and Need to Talk


In the garden of Eden, God walked and talked with Adam and Eve. We are made in God’s image. Is it any wonder that we deeply desire to communicate with one another? At least many of us do. We speak of everything from the mundane and superficial to the deep longings and thoughts of our heart and mind. A little five year old friend of ours, when hindered by her siblings from telling everything she had to say, yelled out emphatically “I NEED TO TALK!” a phrase which has become an inside joke our family uses whenever one of us really needs to be heard.


We are made in God’s image. He desires to tell us who He is and how he feels about us. He also desires to be told how we feel about Him – our worship.


Words have power. For good and for bad.


How and what we say to ourselves and to others matters.


The Psalms are full of positive declaration about who God is and What He has done.


“I will TELL of your goodness; all day long I will speak of your salvation, though it is more than I can understand.” (Psalm 71:15)


“I will TELL of all your wonderful deeds.” (Psalm 9:1)


Self-Talk and Modern Trends


The current secular mental health trend is focused on what we tell ourselves. Our narrative. Self-talk. Positive declaration. Relationship counsellors advise us that this is true also about what we tell each other – spouses, children, friends, bosses, co-workers. When we call out the positive in one another, giving each other affirmations and not depredations, it affects not only the atmosphere but the outcome.


So, getting back to the Sh’ma: more than any psychological exercise we can do to rearrange our self-narrative, when we are stuck in a mental rut (or preferably before we are stuck in a mental rut) let’s enlist the wisdom of the Passover “telling” and the Sh’ma proclamation and tell ourselves and those around us who and what God is and what He has done.

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