[HANASHIR:3644] Re: 2nd Line of Shema

[Meris Ruzow <meris...>]

Hi.   I'm looking for the person who had collected money for the purchase
and shipping of the Sheva CD.   I still haven't received mine and thought
I'd check.   THanks!
Meris -- I'll be at caje if you want to find me there.

-----Original Message-----
From: Joshua Miller <jcsc (at) SSCL(dot)Berkeley(dot)EDU>
To: Jewish Songleading/Music <hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org>
Date: Friday, August 06, 1999 1:44 AM
Subject: [HANASHIR:3643] Re: 2nd Line of Shema


>Hey All,
>
>Just in case folks haven't heard enough explainations on line 2 of Shema...
>
>I learned somewhere back (maybe even at a Hava Nashira Workshop on
>T'fillah years ago) that another historical reason behind the whispered
>"Baruch Shem..." line dates back to when Jews were living under an
>oppressive monarchy in Spain, and the king's court censored the saying or
>reading of certain lines that threatened the sovereignty of the king like
>the second line of Shema that has reference to "Malchuto" (G-d's kingdom).
>So Jews would whisper the line so as not to run the risk of being throw in
>jail for challenging the king's authority. The tradition carries on to day
>in remembrance of our oppressed ancestors. If remember correctly the same
>line appears in the Kaddish, only its translated into Aramaic "Y'hei
>sh'mei raba...", and that line was always said loudly by these Spanish
>Jews, to spite the king's law enforcers who didn't know Aramaic :) And on
>Yom Kippur, such a holy day, they would shout it in the Hebrew too,
>despite the edict (what are they going to do, arrest us all on our day
>of Repentance?)
>
>I don't have source to site for this modern-ish Midrash, but I thought it
>was a cool enough story to share even if its not true...
>
>- Josh Miller
>  Berkeley, CA
>
>
>
>
>
>

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