Shema - The Lord is God alone.

The Shema (which means "to hear" or "to obey") is a well-known prayer in Judaism. It is found in Deuteronomy 6:4-5. "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might."  The Christian version adds, "And love your neighbor as yourself" from Leviticus 19:18, "You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the son of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself."

The whole Shema prayer includes verses 6-9, "These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates."

Practicing Jews typically pray this in the morning and in the evening in response to verse 7, which commands them to "recite them... when you lie down and when you get up" as a way of actively praying for God to be the center of their lives. Jesus Himself found this verse so important that He responded with that Scripture when He answered the question, "What is the greatest commandment" in Mark 12:28-30.

The Jewish language is more limited than the English language and is centered on action. One word can have multiple meanings. The word "shema" means "to hear" or "to listen", but it also means "to obey." Jews do not have another word in their vocabulary to mean 'obey'. Practicing Jews will often tie prayer boxes to their foreheads and left arms in obedience to the Scripture. These boxes contain the Shema in all the places it is found in the Old Testament. 

Shema.

Hear. Listen. Obey. 

The LORD our God is one.

The LORD is God alone.