The Shema: Spirituality and Law in Judaism

by Norman Lamm

The Shema is the central prayer of the Jewish faith. Jews utter this single sentence, affirming God's unity as their final words before dying, as well as at the beginning and ending of each day. Using the Shema as his focus, Lamm, prominent Orthodox scholar and long-time president of Yeshiva University, explores the relationship between spirituality and law in Judaism. Dr. Norman Lamm is the author of The Spirituality and Law in Judaism.

Genres: Judaism

222 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Norman Lamm was an American Modern Orthodox rabbi, scholar, academic administrator, author, and Jewish community leader. He was the Chancellor of Yeshiva University until he announced his retirement on July 1, 2013.

Reviews

[Andy Oram · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reaching far beyond the handful of versus from Deuteronomy with which the book starts, the author uses the important prayer as an entry-point into central philosophical topics of Judaism and the history of Jewish thinking about such basic topics as the relation between God and human beings. Valuable as an intellectual explanation of religious topics, the book will also help people who take prayer seriously to approach this twice-daily task. The frequent references to martyrdom were historically appropriate, but I was disappointed to see the author end on a negative note about the Inquisition rather than on prayer's potential to make life more meaningful.