In the aftermath of the Holocaust, members of the Jewish clergy went to Europe to attempt to rescue children who had been given to the church for protection.
Rabbi Eliezer Silver, the Chief Rabbi of Cincinnati, volunteered for such a mission.
He traveled to monasteries and churches where it had been reported that Jewish children had been brought by desperate parents for refuge.
However when he arrived at those august institutions he was told there were no Jewish children present.
Stymied he nonetheless requested to see the children in their dormitory. As he looked at the children, many of whom would not have remembered their lives as Jews, he came upon a creative solution. Without any introduction, he roared out the words of Shma Yisroel. All of a sudden many of the little children ran up to him and clutched at his coat hem.
“Do you know my mama, do you know my father?” they cried.
The words their parents had sang to them each night as they went to sleep were forever embedded in their psyches.
Unfortunately, their parents were not returning, but they had left the eternal gift of Shma Yisroel in their children’s memory and souls.
In the 1980s there was a commercial transport plane that was flying, sans passengers, from Israel to the Netherlands. There were a crew of three aboard. The flight was taking place on Shabbos and the crew was Israeli but not Shabbat observant. The plane tragically malfunctioned and was lost en route. The investigating team was able to retrieve the black box and heard the final words of the three crew members after the Mayday signal was issued. Right before they died in the crash, the 3 yelled out the words Shma Yisroel.
At the point of their departure from the world, these three Jews called out the message of eternal faith.
In the aftermath of October 7 many stories of faith and heroism emerged.
One woman had been hiding in her safe room for many hours, fighting for survival and praying that she and her daughters would emerge unharmed from the brutal onslaught. After many hours in the safe room the Israel army, the IDF arrived. But the survivors were afraid to open the door to their saviors. They were afraid it was a trick. Those who had survived the maelstrom knew that Hamas was wily, perhaps it wasn’t really the IDF at their door.
So to convince their brethren as to their true identity, the Israeli soldiers started to call out the ancient words of Shma Yisroel, and the people inside knew they were finally safe.

Shma Yisroel - Hear O Israel
is the clarion call of the Jewish people.
In this week’s Torah portion Moses teaches this verse to the Jewish people.
We think the translation of the words is Hear o Israel, in other words, listen up Jewish people, pay attention. Gd is our Gd, Gd is One.
But Rabbi Yitzchok Hutner, a towering Jewish teacher of the 20th century teaches us that the phrase should be read not just to hear but to accept that we are part of the nation Israel part of the Jewish people. The first step to have a relationship with Gd is to have a relationship with each other. First we understand that we are a people to each other, part of a nation that is united. Only then can we embark on a connection to Gd.
This Shabbat is also called Shabbat Nachamu, the Shabbat of Consolation.
After mourning the destruction of the Temple which was destroyed because we were not unified, we have a Shabbat that points us toward future redemption and salvation.
I grew up in the congregation of Rabbi Shlomo Riskin who often shared the story of a Holocaust survivor who lost his wife and family in the Shoah.
After the war he moved to Israel, remarried and had two sons. Tragically he lost both of his sons in the wars Israel waged.
When the second son was killed Rabbi Riskin went to pay a shiva call. As he was leaving he extended the traditional words of consolation, Hamakom Yenachem Etchem which literally means may the Place comfort you. The place is traditionally meant to represent Gd.
This man who has just lost his son turned to Rabbi Riskin and questioned the choice of words.
Why don’t we say may Gd comfort you, why do we use the euphemism of The Place?
The man answered his own question. He said when he lost his first family, nothing could comfort him, the tragedy was beyond consolation.
But now, with this recent tragic loss he had an epiphany. He realized he could be comforted because this time his sons did not die in vain.
They died to protect the Land of Israel.
They died to protect the people of Israel.
They took responsibility and made the ultimate sacrifice.
It was for a purpose.
They realized they were part of the People Israel.
That gave this elevated man comfort.
When October 7th passed and the survivors began telling their stories, one woman shared that she heard the soldiers calling out Shma Yisroel and she recognized the clarion call of the Jewish people and she knew she was saved.
She knew the soldiers had imbibed the spirit of first being part of the Jewish people and that responsibility was going to be part of her story of survival.
But then she had a chilling thought.
Her daughters did not recognize the words, the code of the Jewish people.
She hadn’t taught it to them.
Therein lies our responsibility.
We must make sure to learn these teachings and then teach them to our children.
It’s essential.
It’s part of our DNA.
It may mean the difference between life and death.
May we be comforted.
Shabbat Shalom and so much love!