Six Words that Changed the World:
The Secret Origins of Shema
What does a never before told story about a US Navy SEAL deep in an El Salvadoran jungle, a Holocaust survivor during liberation and a Portuguese shopkeeper from 1917 have in common? Answer: Six Words that define our creed and belief systems. Hear how these words changed their lives. Explore their mysterious origin and hidden meaning, and draw inspiration for our times. Some of the highlights: Yaakov's 12 sons created the Shema simultaneously, with no advance notice, moments before Yaakov died, in response to Yaakov's doubt about their commitment to Hashem (Midrash Rabba 98). This surprising suspicion is explained beautifully by Rabbi Zalman Sorotzkin, who likewise gives us three ways to utilize Shema for our spiritual growth, based on three ways to understand "Yisrael". Next we discover deep and complex understandings of "Hashem Elokenu Hashem Echad", according to the Ramchal and Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch. The program ends with the connection of Shema to our Ge'ula and the end of days.
