{"id":6261,"date":"2010-01-15T12:00:58","date_gmt":"2010-01-15T10:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/?p=6261"},"modified":"2018-05-24T11:39:29","modified_gmt":"2018-05-24T08:39:29","slug":"02-15-12","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/02-15-12\/","title":{"rendered":"12 – 248 Words"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Torah provides life and healing to the world and to mankind. This is especially true concerning Keriat<\/i> Shema<\/i>, in which the fundamentals of faith and the fulfillment of the mitzvot<\/i> are included. The Chachamim<\/i> teach that Shema<\/i> is comprised of 248 words and that in a person\u2019s body there are 248 organs. When a person recites Shema<\/i> properly, each and every organ is healed by the word corresponding to it. However, in the three paragraphs of Shema<\/i> there are actually 245 words, and in order to total 248, the chazan<\/i> repeats the last three words, \u201cHashem Elokeichem emet<\/i>\u201d (\u201cHashem, your God, is true\u201d), thereby completing the count to 248 (Zohar Chadash Ruth<\/i> 95:1).<\/p>\n

A person who prays individually is missing the last three words. There are a few minhagim<\/i> concerning their completion. According to the Ashkenazic minhag<\/i>, before Shema<\/i> a person says, \u201cKel Melech Ne\u2019eman<\/i>\u201d (\u201cAlmighty faithful King\u201d). According to the Shulchan<\/i> Aruch<\/i>, one should have specific kavanah<\/i> while pronouncing the first fifteen \u201cvavs<\/i>\u201d in the opening words of Birkat<\/i> Emet V\u2019Yatziv<\/i> (\u201cV<\/i><\/b>\u2019Yatziv<\/i>, V<\/b>\u2019Nachon<\/i>, V<\/b>\u2019Kayam<\/i>, V<\/b>\u2019Yashar<\/i>, etc.\u2026\u201d) because they allude to three names of Hashem and are a substitute for the three missing words (Shulchan Aruch<\/i> and Rama<\/i> 61:3).<\/p>\n

It is the minhag<\/i> of most Sephardim<\/i> that a person praying individually should complete the three missing words on his own and repeat \u201cHashem<\/i> Elokeichem<\/i> emet<\/i>,\u201d instead of the chazan<\/i>. Although an individual\u2019s repetition of these words is clearly less important than the chazan<\/i>\u2019s reiteration, nevertheless, there is a certain substitution in it. Additionally, a person who finishes reciting Shema<\/i> after the chazan<\/i> concludes \u201cHashem Elokeichem emet<\/i>\u201d should repeat those last words so as to complete the three missing words (Kaf HaChaim<\/i> 61: 15-16).[10]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

[10]<\/a>.\u00a0The <\/span>Acharonim<\/i> are divided. According to the <\/span>Mahari<\/i>Ayash<\/i>, <\/span>Sha\u2019arei<\/i>Teshuvah<\/i>, and many others, because he heard the <\/span>chazan<\/i> say \u201c<\/span>Hashem<\/i>Elokeichem<\/i>emet<\/i>,\u201d even though he did not finish saying <\/span>Shema<\/i>, those three words are considered part of the 248 words. That is the Ashkenazic <\/span>minhag<\/i> and the <\/span>minhag<\/i> of a few <\/span>Sephardim<\/i> (as is clarified in <\/span>Sha\u2019arei<\/i>Tefillah<\/i>). However, the <\/span>Kaf<\/i>HaChaim<\/i> 16 writes, based on<\/span> Kavanot HaAri<\/i>, that the recital of the three words must be in order. Therefore, if he heard the <\/span>chazan<\/i> say them before he concluded his recital of <\/span>Shema<\/i>, he repeats individually \u201c<\/span>Hashem<\/i>Elokeichem<\/i>emet<\/i>.\u201d<\/span>There is also a difference of minhag<\/i> regarding how the chazan<\/i> (and according to the Kaf<\/i> HaChaim <\/i>also an individual praying) should complete these words, for if he says, \u201cHashem<\/i> Elokeichem<\/i> emet<\/i>\u201d twice, he will have recited 249 words. Asarah<\/i> Ma\u2019amarot<\/i> and the Gra<\/i> maintain that when the chazan<\/i> finishes reciting Shema<\/i> he should only say \u201cHashem<\/i> Elokeichem<\/i>\u201d and afterwards go back and say \u201cHashem<\/i> Elokeichem<\/i> emet<\/i>.\u201d The Shulchan<\/i> Aruch<\/i> and the Pri<\/i> Megadim<\/i> write that the chazan<\/i> should also say \u201cemet<\/i>\u201d the first time so as not to interrupt between \u201cElokeichem<\/i>\u201d and \u201cemet<\/i>\u201d and that one of them is not considered part of the 248 because it belongs to the berachah<\/i> \u201cEmet<\/i> V\u2019Yatziv<\/i>.\u201d That is how Ashkenazim<\/i> practice. It is the custom of the Sephardim<\/i> that at the conclusion of the Shema<\/i> the chazan<\/i> says out loud \u201cHashem<\/i> Elokeichem<\/i>\u201d and the congregation completes the words and says after him \u201cemet<\/i>.\u201d At the same time, the chazan<\/i> says \u201cemet<\/i>\u201d quietly. Afterwards the chazan<\/i> repeats the words \u201cHashem Elokeichem emet<\/i>\u201d out loud (Kaf<\/i> HaChaim<\/i> 61:12).<\/p>\n

According to the Chesed La\u2019alafim<\/i>, it is the Sephardic custom that the congregation only says \u201cemet<\/i>\u201d out loud after the chazan<\/i> when they finish together with the chazan<\/i>. However, if they finish before him, they say \u201cemet<\/i>\u201d individually so as not to pause between \u201cElokeichem<\/i>\u201d and \u201cemet<\/i>\u201d and they should not repeat the word \u201cemet<\/i>\u201d after the chazan<\/i> recites it. According to the Kaf HaChaim<\/i> 61:12, when they finish individually, they do not say \u201cemet<\/i>,\u201d but rather wait until the chazan<\/i> finishes and answer after him \u201cemet<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Ma\u2019ariv<\/i><\/b>, a person who did not hear the chazan<\/i>, according to the Kaf HaChaim<\/i>, should individually complete the words <\/i>\u201cHashem Elokeichem emet<\/i>.\u201d The Ashkenazic minhag<\/i> is either to say \u201cKel Melech Ne\u2019eman<\/i>\u201d before the recital of Shema<\/i> or, while saying \u201cemet<\/i>,\u201d to have in mind that it represents the three names of Hashem (Mishnah Berurah<\/i> 12). Ma\u2019amar Mordechai<\/i> writes that it is not necessary to complete 248 words in Ma\u2019ariv<\/i>, since the ruling in the Gemara<\/i> is that there is no requirement to say the Vayomer<\/i> paragraph at night.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Torah provides life and healing to the world and to mankind. This is especially true concerning Keriat Shema, in which the fundamentals of faith and the fulfillment of the mitzvot are included. The Chachamim teach that Shema is comprised of 248 words and that in a person\u2019s body there are 248 organs. When a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6261","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-15-keriat-shema"],"yoast_head":"\n12 - 248 Words - Peninei Halakha<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/02-15-12\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"12 - 248 Words - Peninei Halakha\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Torah provides life and healing to the world and to mankind. This is especially true concerning Keriat Shema, in which the fundamentals of faith and the fulfillment of the mitzvot are included. The Chachamim teach that Shema is comprised of 248 words and that in a person\u2019s body there are 248 organs. When a […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/02-15-12\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Peninei Halakha\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-01-15T10:00:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-05-24T08:39:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"\u05e6\u05d5\u05d5\u05ea \u05d4\u05d0\u05ea\u05e8\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"\u05e6\u05d5\u05d5\u05ea \u05d4\u05d0\u05ea\u05e8\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/02-15-12\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/02-15-12\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\u05e6\u05d5\u05d5\u05ea \u05d4\u05d0\u05ea\u05e8\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8822293bfa4f7cd35b44a3c311851b63\"},\"headline\":\"12 – 248 Words\",\"datePublished\":\"2010-01-15T10:00:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-05-24T08:39:29+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/02-15-12\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":740,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"15 - Keriat Shema\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/02-15-12\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/02-15-12\\\/\",\"name\":\"12 - 248 Words - Peninei Halakha\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2010-01-15T10:00:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-05-24T08:39:29+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/02-15-12\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/02-15-12\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/02-15-12\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"\u05d3\u05e3 \u05d4\u05d1\u05d9\u05ea\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"12 – 248 Words\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"Peninei Halakha\",\"description\":\"HaRav Eliezer Melamed\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Peninei Halakha\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/10\\\/2020\\\/08\\\/logo-ph-.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/10\\\/2020\\\/08\\\/logo-ph-.png\",\"width\":300,\"height\":64,\"caption\":\"Peninei Halakha\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8822293bfa4f7cd35b44a3c311851b63\",\"name\":\"\u05e6\u05d5\u05d5\u05ea \u05d4\u05d0\u05ea\u05e8\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4839847e1f630d0e0f5d54879b51b427c551b51611b74d6558e54ff6e69ce498?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4839847e1f630d0e0f5d54879b51b427c551b51611b74d6558e54ff6e69ce498?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4839847e1f630d0e0f5d54879b51b427c551b51611b74d6558e54ff6e69ce498?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"\u05e6\u05d5\u05d5\u05ea \u05d4\u05d0\u05ea\u05e8\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/author\\\/shlomit12\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"12 - 248 Words - Peninei Halakha","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/02-15-12\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"12 - 248 Words - Peninei Halakha","og_description":"The Torah provides life and healing to the world and to mankind. This is especially true concerning Keriat Shema, in which the fundamentals of faith and the fulfillment of the mitzvot are included. The Chachamim teach that Shema is comprised of 248 words and that in a person\u2019s body there are 248 organs. When a […]","og_url":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/02-15-12\/","og_site_name":"Peninei Halakha","article_published_time":"2010-01-15T10:00:58+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-05-24T08:39:29+00:00","author":"\u05e6\u05d5\u05d5\u05ea \u05d4\u05d0\u05ea\u05e8","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"\u05e6\u05d5\u05d5\u05ea \u05d4\u05d0\u05ea\u05e8","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/02-15-12\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/02-15-12\/"},"author":{"name":"\u05e6\u05d5\u05d5\u05ea \u05d4\u05d0\u05ea\u05e8","@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/8822293bfa4f7cd35b44a3c311851b63"},"headline":"12 – 248 Words","datePublished":"2010-01-15T10:00:58+00:00","dateModified":"2018-05-24T08:39:29+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/02-15-12\/"},"wordCount":740,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/#organization"},"articleSection":["15 - Keriat Shema"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/02-15-12\/","url":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/02-15-12\/","name":"12 - 248 Words - Peninei Halakha","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/#website"},"datePublished":"2010-01-15T10:00:58+00:00","dateModified":"2018-05-24T08:39:29+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/02-15-12\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/02-15-12\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/02-15-12\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"\u05d3\u05e3 \u05d4\u05d1\u05d9\u05ea","item":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"12 – 248 Words"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/","name":"Peninei Halakha","description":"HaRav Eliezer Melamed","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/#organization","name":"Peninei Halakha","url":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2020\/08\/logo-ph-.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2020\/08\/logo-ph-.png","width":300,"height":64,"caption":"Peninei Halakha"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/8822293bfa4f7cd35b44a3c311851b63","name":"\u05e6\u05d5\u05d5\u05ea \u05d4\u05d0\u05ea\u05e8","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4839847e1f630d0e0f5d54879b51b427c551b51611b74d6558e54ff6e69ce498?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4839847e1f630d0e0f5d54879b51b427c551b51611b74d6558e54ff6e69ce498?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4839847e1f630d0e0f5d54879b51b427c551b51611b74d6558e54ff6e69ce498?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"\u05e6\u05d5\u05d5\u05ea \u05d4\u05d0\u05ea\u05e8"},"url":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/author\/shlomit12\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6261","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6261"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6261\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6261"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6261"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6261"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}