Back in the day, in Russia of old, the circus was unable to find a live bear for their famous bear act. In desperation, they hired a simple Jew who was unemployed to wear a bear costume and perform in the act.
But in the middle of his very first performance, he lost his footing and fell into the cage next door that housed a ferocious-looking lion. The poor Jew was terrified.
He closed his eyes and began to recite what he thought were surely his last words on earth: Shema Yisrael, Hashem Elokeinu, Hashem Echad! (“Hear, O’ Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.”)
And the lion responded: Baruch shem k’vod malchuto l’olam va’ed! (“Blessed is the name of His glorious kingship forever and ever.”
Shema Yisrael, the most famous prayer in Judaism, comes from this week’s Torah reading, V’etchanan. We begin our day with the Shema; we recite it in the evening and before going to bed. It is meant to be the last words we say before meeting our Maker. Countless numbers of our brothers and sisters have met martyrs’ deaths with these words on their lips.
But the words Baruch Shem do not appear in the Torah. Where do they come from?
Our sages relate a dramatic story about the very first time this prayer was used. Our forefather Jacob lay on his deathbed in Egypt. All his sons had gathered around his bedside as he prepared to breathe his last. But Jacob was troubled. He was worried that his children might not carry on the traditions of their father, grandfather and great-grandfather.
Would the faith of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob be perpetuated or, God forbid, lost? Would the Jewish tradition, in fact, be successfully transmitted to the next generation?
And so he asked his sons directly, “Is there perhaps, God forbid, any of my progeny who does not believe in the faith of my father and grandfather?”
And Jacob’s sons responded unanimously, Shema Yisrael, Hashem Elokeinu, Hashem Echad. (“Hear, O’ Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.”)
Jacob’s other name was Israel. His children were telling him: “Listen, father, your God is our God. We are ad idim (‘of the same mind’). We promise faithfully to perpetuate your legacy.”
Jacob was relieved and deeply gratified to hear his children’s declaration of faith, and he responded: Baruch Shem kvod malchuto l’olam va’ed. (“Blessed is the name of His glorious kingship forever and ever”).
Or, as we would say today, Baruch Hashem! Thank God! He was relieved to hear his children’s pledge of allegiance to his way of life and to the Jewish mission on earth.
As long as Jacob was plagued by doubts about his children’s commitment to his faith, he could not die in peace. “What did I experience a lifetime of struggle for? Yes, I overcame Esau and Laban, but if my children will not keep the faith and follow our family tradition, then what was it all about?” he thought.
Having heard their declaration of faith, he said Baruch Shem with joy and thanksgiving, and was now able to leave this world peacefully.
What about the people of Israel and our children today?
How many Jewish parents are asking the very same question as our forefather Jacob? We, too, worry about Jewish continuity. We, too, worry about the next generation of young Jews.
Will our own children keep the faith? Will our ageless traditions remain eternal, or will they become forgotten through the ravages of assimilation? Our families go back centuries and even millennia. Will Jewish identity end with us, God forbid, or will our grandchildren continue to live proud Jewish lives?
The community of Israel asks this same question. It’s not only individual families that need continuity. The Jewish people need future generations of committed individuals who will stand up and be counted, especially in this time of unprecedented Jew-hatred and political prejudice wherever we turn, even among former friends.
We cannot be content with asking questions. We must all do our level best to ensure a Jewish education for the next generation that will instill knowledge and pride in their heritage.
Let us all hope and pray that our children will remove any such doubts from our minds, and confidently declare Shema Yisrael. Then we will be able to happily and contentedly respond: Baruch Hashem.
