Shema - Poem by gershon hepner

Hear, Israel, the Lord is One,
Our Father He, we are His son.
To love the Lord should be your goal,
with all your heart and mind and soul.
From you these words should never part;
you ought to write them on your heart
and teach them to your children and
make sure that they all understand
when they are walking on the way,
not only when they wish to pray.
And when you go to bed, or rise
they should be writ between your eyes,
and also on your arms, a sign
that you have chosen to entwine
yourself with God, tefillin straps
just like a wedding band, perhaps.
And you shall write them on a post
of doors, to prove you love God most––
that’s Father God and Holy Ghost
together, neither one foremost,
the Holy Ghost the spirit which
He sends us so we can enrich
our lives by being very close
to Him, though never grandiose.
No Son, I ought to add, for we
are all God’s sons. There are not Three,
as claimed by Christians who’ve revised,
in ways that might make God surprised,
identity of God, expanding
Godhead to three, misunderstanding
His unity. He is the boss,
and had no son upon the cross.
Write also on your garden gates
where He observes you as He waits
for you to say again Shema,
the précis of the seminar
He teaches when you learn the Torah:
repeat it, and you’ll feel His aura.



Inspired by Deut.6: 4-10.