 10 minutes (5 at night, 5 in the morning) |
K'rias Shema/ |
Recite at least the first paragraph of "Shema"
once in the morning and again at night.
"Hear, O Israel: Hashem is our G-d,
Hashem is the One and Only. You shall love Hashem, your G-d,
with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your resources.
And these matters that I command you today shall be
upon your heart. You shall teach them thoroughly to your children
and you shall speak of them while you sit in your home,
while you walk on the way, when you retire and when you arise.
Bind them as a sign upon your arm and upon your gates." - Deuteronomy 6:4-9
The full Shema has 248 words, equal to the number of organs
in the body. Our tradition tells us that Hashem said "If you
will guard what is Mine - to read the Shema properly - I will
guard what is yours", this is our 248 organs. Likewise 248 of the
613 mitzvos in the Torah are "must-do's", the remaining 365 are
"don'ts" - one for each day of the solar year.
The complete fulfillment of the mitzvah of Krias Shema
(reading of the Shema) is done by reciting the 3 paragraphs
of Shema found in the prayer book, concentrating
on every word. For men, the tzitzis of a talis koton (small)
or talis gadol (large) are held during the morning recitation
and kissed when the word "tzitzis" is mentioned in the
coincluding paragraph.
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