Hear (Hebrew shema‘): The Shema is the basic statement of Israel’s faith. It begins with the call to listen and obey God.
Jesus said that these verses contain the greatest commandment (Matthew 22:34–39; Mark 12:28–31; Luke 10:25–28). Jewish teachers in ancient times and today also honor these words. The rabbi Hillel, who lived in the first century BC, called the Shema the central teaching of the Hebrew Bible (the Old Testament). He said that the rest of the Scripture is commentary, meaning explanation of that main idea.