There is an old Jewish joke.
An actor was out of work.
He responded to an ad placed by the zoo.
It turned out that the main attraction, a gorilla had died, and they couldn’t afford another.
So they hired the actor, put him in a monkey suit, and solved the problem.
The actor embraced the role. He began swinging from trees and living the part. One day, in his exuberance while swinging from one branch to another, he accidentally overshot his mark and ended up in the lion enclosure. As the lion advanced menacingly, teeth bared, the “gorilla” saw his end was upon him and instinctively, as Jews have done from time immemorial, he cried out
“Shma Yisroel”
He was shocked when the “lion” responded the appropriate liturgical response
“Boruch Shem Malchuso lOlam VaEd”
Without skipping a beat, the “panda” from the next cage called out
“Cut it out you Shlemiels, you want to get us fired?!?”
This week’s Torah portion is VaYechi.
It is the final portion in the Book of Genesis.
Our Patriarch Jacob’s life is coming to a close and he gathers his children together to pass on the traditions from father to son. He wished to reveal to his sons what would occur at the End of Days. But when he wanted to share the prophecy, the Divine presence left him and he was unable to continue.
Jacob feared that perhaps the loss of prophecy had occurred because one of his sons was unworthy. After all, his grandfather Abraham had two sons, Isaac and Yishmael and only Isaac was worthy to carry the tradition. And then Isaac had two sons Jacob and Esau and again only one was worthy, perhaps he too had such a son that was not devoted to Hashem.
Our Sages teach us that this is the moment when the sons said as one, Shma Yisroel Hashem Elokeinu Hashem Echad, Hear O Israel, we are solely devoted to Hashem.
And that is when Jacob responded and declared
Baruch Shem Kavod Malchuso LOlam VaEd
Let His great Name be blessed forever and ever.
Rabbi Tzvi Sytner expressed it so well when he says
“The Shma expresses our complete devotion to Gd, regardless of life’s circumstances. We are recognizing that everything is part of the Divine orchestration. Every time we cover our eyes and proclaim Gd’s unity, we are essentially stating that regardless of what is in front of my eyes today, regardless of whether life is delivering me celebration or tribulation, I cover my eyes and declare my devotion, no matter what is in front of me”
As the days of this war continue, the tragedy continues to unfold as we lose so many beautiful souls.
The stories that accompany us in our hearts give us inspiration and insight into our brethren as they are on the front lines.

One young woman who attended the Nova festival testified that while she was hiding in a metal container and shots were ringing out around her, she said Shma Yisroel over and over again.
We see an elderly parent, waiting for news of his soldier son who is serving in Gaza and he is blessed to have his son return for a short respite.
As he embraces his son, the Father utters the words of Shma Yisoel.
A survivor of one of the kibbutzim who was barricaded in a safe room for hours, in horrific conditions, shared that when the IDF finally came to rescue them, they weren’t sure if they might be terrorists. It was only when they shouted out Shma Yisroel and Baruch Shem, that they knew they were finally saved.
There is a famous story told of rabbis who went to Europe post WWII in search of Jewish orphans. They went to the monasteries and were told that there were no Jewish children present. The rabbis asked to see the children and cried out Shma Yisroel. All of a sudden the children came running to them asking the rabbis if they knew their mothers.
The prayer of Shma Yisroel, loving taught by their parents, had remained embedded in their psyches.
The trauma of war might have made them forget who they were momentarily, but Shma Yisroel reignited their identity.
The woman who shared the details of her rescue by the IDF concluded her words with a sobering message.
She said that when she heard the words Shma Yisroel, she knew she was safe, she recognized the clarion call of her People.
But she suddenly realized that her child would not.
In these complicated times, when we are figuratively and literally fighting for our existence, we need to have all of our resources honed and at the ready.
We need to be armed and ready for battle with our physical as well as our spiritual weapons and we need to make sure our children are armed and ready as well.
Shma Yisrael!
Am Yisrael Chai!
Shabbat Shalom and so much love.