In the aftermath of World War II, countless Jewish children across Europe had been hidden in orphanages, convents, and monasteries to protect them from Nazi persecution. Many of these institutions were run by nuns or priests who, despite the risks, took the children in and raised them as Christians.
After the war, surviving Jewish parents began desperately searching for their children. But when they arrived at these orphanages, they were often told, “There are no Jewish children here.” With no documentation and the children too young to remember their origins, the task of identification seemed impossible.
Rabbi Eliezer Silver, a prominent American rabbi and president of the Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the U.S. and Canada, traveled to Europe in 1945 to help locate and reclaim these lost children. At one orphanage, he was told again that no Jewish children remained. Undeterred, Rabbi Silver asked to gather the children together.
Standing in the center of the room, he began to recite the Shema: “Shema Yisrael, Hashem Elokeinu…” Before he could finish, several children instinctively responded with the concluding words: “Hashem Echad.”
Their voices, filled with emotion, revealed a memory deeply embedded from their earliest years—bedtime prayers whispered by their mothers. Rabbi Silver turned to the caretakers and said, “These are Jewish children.” Through this simple but profound method, he was able to identify and rescue many Jewish children, reuniting them with surviving family members or ensuring they were raised within the Jewish community.
This week’s Torah portion, Va’etchanan, contains the first paragraph of the Shema. On the one hand, it is so familiar—but on the other, do we truly appreciate its depth?
The Shema is much more than a prayer. It is a declaration of faith, a cornerstone of Jewish identity, and a spiritual lifeline that has sustained generations through joy and suffering. In our 12:15 class on The Thirteen Principles of Faith, we’ve just begun exploring Principle #2: The Unity of God. Rambam teaches that the verse Shema Yisrael is the source of this principle. It affirms that Hashem is the source of all existence—He was, He is, and He always will be.
When we recite the Shema, we proclaim Hashem as our King and pledge our acceptance of His Torah. The Shema commands us to teach these words to our children, to speak of them at home and on the road, and to inscribe them on our doorposts (mezuzot). It is a blueprint for transmitting faith and values across generations.
Good Shabbos,
Rabbi Shaps and the JET Team
