The recitation of the Sh’ma in rabbinic tradition is commonly called Kabbalat Ol Malchut Shamayim or “the receiving of the yoke of the kingdom of heaven (upon oneself).” 

This seems like heavy language for the recitation of one mere sentence. What does this language even mean?

In order to understand what the mitzvah of the recitation of the Sh’ma is trying to spiritually accomplish, we must first mention a peculiarity of the mitzvah of the recitation of the Sh’ma.

According to most halakhic authorities, all mitzvot require kavannah or intention. Generally, this is the intention that you’re doing the particular action in order to fulfill God’s command according to the TorahRefers to the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, the Tanakh, also called the Five Books of Moses, Pentateuch or the Hebrew equivalent, Humash. This is also called the Written Torah. The term may also refer to teachings that expound on Jewish tradition.. 

Many authorities say, all you need is to understand the basic meaning of the words. However, my view, is that the recitation of the Sh’ma requires a special kavannah beyond this.

The special requirement is derived from the verse, “and these words which I command upon you this, shall be upon your heart.” (Deuteronomy 6:6, Brachot 13a-b, Shulchan Aruch OC 60:4-5)

This special kavannah is how we fulfill the “reception of the yoke of the kingdom of heaven” upon oneself. With this in mind, we seek to transition our mindsets and hearts towards being fully and completely in service of a greater power—God. 

In modern society, whether consciously or subconsciously, we act like we are completely free to do whatever we want—free to pursue whatever desire arises in our hearts (as long as it doesn’t break the law of the country we live in). As a Jew, we hold a broader view. Because we have accepted the Torah upon ourselves as a holy eternal covenant, we are servants of God—we do not live to serve ourselves but rather to serve God.

By reorienting our thinking, both consciously and subconsciously, that our central will should be to serve God, not our own egos, the more we can fulfill the heart of the Torah. What is the heart of Torah? It is bringing ourselves into unity with the wholly unique Eternal vivifying force of the universe. 

This is the power of reciting the Sh’ma with special kavannah. 

Each word of the Sh’ma ideally moves us from one spiritual state to another through disciplined contemplation and meditation. Step-by-step, we move ourselves from the vain and chaotic state of self-worship to the grounded and clarifying service of God— thereby connecting ourselves with Eternality and transcendence of self. 

The act of transitioning our mind from service of self to service of God is called kabbalat ol malchut shamayim or the acceptance of the kingdom of heaven upon oneself.

If we recite the Sh’ma “correctly,” it should transform our feelings and thinking. This is not a one-and-done thing—eventually we fade back into our original state of self-worship, losing our focus on serving God. Therefore, our sages commanded us to say the Sh’ma at least twice every day—in the evening and morning, every single day. By doing so regularly in a disciplined fashion, we accustom and train our minds, hearts, and souls to serve our Creator. 

Below, you will find my personal kavannah, based on traditional Jewish pietistic literature, when I recite the Sh’ma. This has transformed me and my recitation over and over again.

How to use this Kavannah

This is how you can use the kavannah in your own spiritual practice. I’ve outlined the first two sentences of the Sh’ma, the first should be recited out loud, and the second, whispered to yourself. 

For each word of the Sh’ma, bolded below, you can find an intention, to guide your thinking. Remember to say the bolded words out-loud, in Hebrew as you meditate on the ideas detailed after each word. 

Take your time, and move onto the next word of the Sh’ma once you feel you have at least somewhat reached the mental, intellectual, and emotional state described.

(The sages require us to recite the Sh’ma out loud, to awaken ourselves from a place of mental confusion, darkness, and concealment.)

The First Line (Deuteronomy 6:4)

שמע Sh’ma (Listen): Open yourself up for a moment of receiving. Move oneself from a mental state of deciding and forming one’s agenda at every moment to receiving it from a higher source.

ישראל Yisrael (the Jewish People): I am part of the Jewish people. I also have merited to stand, not just with myself but with my entire people, a people that has been chosen to be sacred unto God. Yishar-el—meaning a nation that not only serves God, but struggles with God— This  is an ongoing process. It’s a journey.

ה׳ Adonai (God’s Proper Name): The mysterious unique presence of the Master of the Universe, the Creator of all of reality at every moment, the Redeemer and Revealer without form. 

אלהינו Eloheinu (Our God): I choose for that mysterious presence to be my God. I choose to be a servant of that God. God’s will is the will in which I follow, not my own. That mysterious presence is also something that deeply cares specifically for me and desires my righteousness and flourishing. Accept the yoke and responsibility, with both its positives and its toil—of submitting to an authority over myself. 

ה׳ Adonai (God’s Proper Name): The mysterious unique presence of the Master of the Universe, the Creator of all at every moment, the Redeemer and Revealer without form. 

אחד Echad (One/Only): The relationship I have towards God, is absolutely singular. There is no true authority over me except God. I will never give over my will to anything but God. That God, who I have given myself over to, rules in the same way over this world and all seven heavens as well as in all four directions of the earth. 

א Aleph (1) – One Unique God —>
ח Chet (8) – this world and the seven heavens above it —>
ד Dalet (4) – the four directions of the compass

The Second Line

(The second sentence is whispered since now one should ideally recognize that they stand in the presence of the transcendent, singular Creator, Revealer and Redeemer- the singular true power of the universe)

ברוך Baruch (Blessed): Pull down the divine blessing and vitality from the upper worlds, into this world. By utilizing the kavannah of the Sh’ma, our reality becomes “blessed.” Bring the Divine/Transcendent/Infinite into this world-—I are the agent by which that happens. 

שם Shem (the Name): The manifestation or part of God that can be experienced by finite beings in this world. 

כבוד Kevod (Glory): The experience of God’s holy presence (that Name) within this world.

מלכותו Malchuto (Kingdom): This world we live in transforms from an ownerless world where every piece of it fights against the other in chaos to a world in which God is king, and all are parts of a greater whole in service of the transcendent, eternal Sovereign—a world where the finite is in service of the infinite.  

לעולם L’olam (from World to World): In all of the manifold worlds we live in including the world I presently live in. 

ועד Va’ed (Forever): From now until forever in the future.