Last week we read the “prayer” the Sh’ma from the Torah itself. It is an interesting “prayer”. It says, Hear, O Israel, the Lord our G-d, the Lord is one.” Six words in Hebrew. In the Torah itself the last letter of Sh’ma and the last letter of Echad are always written larger. Ayin and Dalet spell Ad, meaning witness. When we proclaim the Sh’ma outloud we are witnessing that G-d is one. Sometimes, I have seen Echad translated as alone or unique, even in this morning’s tranlation in Siddur Sim Shalom. Another reason the dalet is larger is to avoid any confusion with raish. Sh’ma Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Achar, would mean “Listen Israel, the Lord our G-d, the Lord is Other” That would mean a whole other thing.
This prayer is the central proclamation of our faith. G-d is One, Alone, Unique. As Mi Chamocha from the Song of the Sea says, “Who is Like You?” And that question is answered in the Torah Service, Ayn Kamocha. “No one is like You.”
Deuteronomy is a different kind of book than the previous four books of Torah. It is a summary of our history. A long soliloquy. An ethical will of Moses’s. His parting swan song. It contains many of the core ideas of Judaism.
But what about the word Sh’ma., itself? It means something like listen, hear, heed, obey, pay attention. It appears 92 times in the Book of Deuteronomy and our portion today begins with it. It begins with the sentence “It shall come to pass if you surely listen to these laws. (Deut 7:12) .
As Moses speaks to his people he is begging them to pay attention. To hear what he is saying. To hear what G-d is saying. Our portion includes the middle paragraph of the V’ahavta, which beings, “V’haya im shamo’a tishm’u el mitzvotai…If you listen, really listen, heed the commandments…” (Deut. 11:13) Again we have the use of the root Sh’ma.
Rabbi Lord Sacks says that Judaism is a religion of listening and that this is one of its most original contributions to civilization.
Listen carefully. Rabbi David Cook pointed out that the metaphor of listening and hearing as a way of understanding even influences our Talmudic debate. Ta Sh’ma, Come and hear. Ka Mshama lan, It teaches us this. Shema Mina, Infer from this. Lo shmiya lei, He did not agree. All of these are from the root Sh’ma, to listen. You can hear the root Sh’ma in each of those.
Listen carefully. Lord Rabbi Sacks taught that our modern society was built on the two pillars of ancient Greece and ancient Israel. He argued that ancient Greece was built on a culture of seeing. We even have that maxim that “seeing is believing.” “This idea – that knowing is seeing – remains the dominant metaphor in the West even today. We speak of insight, foresight, and hindsight. We offer an observation. We adopt a perspective. We illustrate. We illuminate. We shed light on an issue. When we understand something, we say, “I see.”
Laiten carefully. Judaism, however, is based on hearing. We cannot see G-d but if we listen to the still small voice that Elijah spoke of, we may hear G-d. And we believe that G-d can hear us. We count on that when we beg G-d in prayers like SH’ma Koleinu, (Hear that root Sh’ma again?) that G-d will hear us and we will not be alone.
Sacks continued: “This may seem like a small difference, but it is in fact a huge one. For the Greeks, the ideal form of knowledge involved detachment. There is the one who sees, the subject, and there is that which is seen, the object, and they belong to two different realms. A person who looks at a painting or a sculpture or a play in a theatre or the Olympic games is not an active part of the art or the drama or the athletic competition. They are acting as a spectator, not a participant. Speaking and listening are not forms of detachment. They are forms of engagement. They create a relationship. The Greeks taught us the forms of knowledge that come from observing and inferring, namely science and philosophy. The first scientists and the first philosophers came from Greece from the sixth to the fourth centuries BCE.”
“But not everything can be understood by seeing and appearances alone. Jews and Judaism taught that we cannot see God, but we can hear Him and He hears us. It is through the word – speaking and listening – that we can have an intimate relationship with God as our parent, our partner, our sovereign, the One who loves us and whom we love. We cannot demonstrate God scientifically. We cannot prove God logically. These are Greek, not Jewish, modes of thought. I believe that from a Jewish perspective, trying to prove the existence of God logically or scientifically is a mistaken enterprise. God is not an object but a subject. The Jewish mode is to relate to God in intimacy and love, as well as awe and reverence.”
In our house we spend a lot of time talking about hearing and listening. Sometimes we yell, just to be heard. Sometimes we text. Sometimes we sit at the kitchen table eating Shabbat dinner sharing news stories on our phones. Did you see this one? What do you think about this? Sometimes we touch each other on the arm so we know the other is paying attention. We’ve tried making sure that we are each looking at the other. Make no mistake. It is frustrating. For both of us.
The Talmud teaches, specifically about the Sh’ma that in order for it to count, to fulfill your obligation to say it, it has to be said out loud. Your ears have to hear what your mouth is saying. What does that mean if you are hearing impaired? That too is something we debate in our house.
Sacks reminded us something I have taught before. Psychotherapy, which Sigmund Freud called the “speaking cure:” Is based on the idea that when you participate in therapy, your own ears hear what your mouth is saying. And sometimes those comments are reflected back by the therapist. Sacks said that it could be described therefore as the “listening cure”. “It was only after the spread of psychoanalysis, especially in America, that the phrase “I hear you” came into the English language as a way of communicating empathy.”
Listening is profoundly spiritual. For Sacks it is the most effective form of conflict resolution. He argues that: “Many things can create conflict, but what sustains it is the feeling on the part of at least one of the parties that they have not been heard. They have not been listened to. We have not “heard their pain”. There has been a failure of empathy.”
“Listening lies at the very heart of relationship. It means that we are open to the other, that we respect them, that their perceptions and feelings matter to us. We give them permission to be honest, even if this means making ourselves vulnerable in so doing. A good parent listens to their child. A good employer listens to their workers. A good company listens to its customers or clients. A good leader listens to those they are leading. Listening does not mean agreeing but it does mean caring. Listening is the climate in which love and respect grow.”
Sacks’ d’var Torah resonated with me. But he doesn’t answer how we do this. How do we listen to one another with love and empathy?
As we begin to approach the High Holy Days, our confession of sins include more that have to do with speech than any other. Perhaps there should also be some that have to do with listening.
Listening is a big part of our lives. We use listening skills to:
- to obtain information.
- to understand.
- for enjoyment.
- to learn.
Marshall Rosenberg designed a school of communication called “Non Violent Communication.” It is based on and Active Listening skills. Perhaps some of you in your work lives have even attended workshops on this very topic. But those skills bear repeating as a way of redoubling our efforts to be kind, to be compassionate, to be empathetic. :
Yet according to one source, we only retain 25%-50% of what we hear. https://www.mindtools.com/az4wxv7/active-listening (The study cited was done in 1947. I suspect the percentage may even be worse!) The article went on to repeat those active listening skils:
1 . Pay Attention
- Give the speaker your undivided attention, and acknowledge the message. Recognize that non-verbal communication also “speaks” loudly.
- Look at the speaker directly.
- Put aside distracting thoughts. (and electronic devices!)
- Don’t mentally prepare a rebuttal!
- Avoid being distracted by environmental factors. For example, side conversations.
- “Listen” to the speaker’s body language.
- Show That You’re Listening
- Use your own body language and gestures to show that you are engaged.
- Nod occasionally.
- Smile and use other facial expressions.
- Make sure that your posture is open and interested.
- Encourage the speaker to continue with small verbal comments like yes, and “uh huh.”
- Provide Feedback
- Our personal filters, assumptions, judgments, and beliefs can distort what we hear. As a listener, your role is to understand what is being said. This may require you to reflect on what is being said and to ask questions.
- Reflect on what has been said by paraphrasing. “What I’m hearing is… ,” and “Sounds like you are saying… ,” are great ways to reflect back.
- Ask questions to clarify certain points. “What do you mean when you say… .” “Is this what you mean?”
- Summarize the speaker’s comments periodically.
- Defer Judgment
- Interrupting is a waste of time. It frustrates the speaker and limits full understanding of the message.
- Allow the speaker to finish each point before asking questions.
- Don’t interrupt with counterarguments.
- Respond Appropriately
- Active listening is designed to encourage respect and understanding. You are gaining information and perspective. You add nothing by attacking the speaker or otherwise putting them down.
- Be candid, open, and honest in your response.
- Assert your opinions respectfully.
- Treat the other person in a way that you think they would want to be treated.
This takes practice. It takes trust. It takes compassion, kindness and empathy. It takes being G-d like. As we approach the High Holy Days, I urge you to listen. Listen carefully. Maybe then, as we hear each other, we will also hear the still small voice of G-d and know that G-d is listening.