In graduate school, I had a Hebrew and Old Testament professor who offered students the choice to memorize a passage, known as the Shema, from the book of Deuteronomy as an assignment. The requirement was that once we had it memorized, we needed to set up a time to recite the passage to the professor during his office hours.
Being a former professional actor, memorizing came easy to me, so you know I chose that assignment quicker than one could blink.
I’d take memorizing some of the Bible over writing a paper or translating Hebrew. Honestly, if I could have tap-danced or sang my way through seminary rather than translated, exegeted, or wrote 30-page papers, I would have been the best student.
The passage we had to memorize, although longer than the Shema, was as follows:
Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
When the Lord your God has brought you into the land that he swore to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you—a land with fine, large cities that you did not build, houses filled with all sorts of goods that you did not fill, hewn cisterns that you did not hew, vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant—and when you have eaten your fill, take care that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
-Deuteronomy 6:4-12
A few read overs and I had that thing memorized, ready to get my easy grade. I made my way to his office and sat across from him at his desk. On the walls behind each of us were floor-to-ceiling bookcases filled to the brim with books and resources I’m sure he read multiple times.
When I felt ready, he said, I could recite the Shema to him. Just before I began, he leaned back in his chair, folded in his hands in his lap, and closed his eyes. And as I recited the words, he listened with his eyes closed as if he were hearing a beautiful sonnet.
At the time, I thought nothing of this moment. It was just an easy way for me to get a good grade. Yet, just the other day, out of blue, I was reminded of this moment and remembered how intently this professor listened to the recitation of the Shema. This man loved these ancient scriptures. Being fully present in the moment, he listened to the Shema, heeding the command, “Hear.”
As I thought over this memory the last couple of days, I was reminded it wasn’t a simple way to get a grade, but an avenue for us to meditate upon the treasure that is ancient scriptures. It wasn’t solely an easy assignment, but it was a way to deeply hear these ancient scriptures. It forced me to slow down, meditate upon scriptures, and acknowledge the Divine One.
Thinking back, I’m so thankful for that assignment.
