We are in middle of explaining the first pasuk of Keriat Shema . Shema Yisrael are the first two words, which is the introduction. Then comes Hashem , which is one of God's names, and means is, was, and will be, and brings everything into existence. The next name, Elokenu is the name of Supervision . God is the Source of all power and God is the one that controls everything. And then we say, Hashem Echad, which we will discuss today. What does it mean? Rashi says in V’EtHanan , that Hashem is now our God , (like we just said in Hashem Elokenu), and not the God of the nations of the world (because they don't recognize Him as the full controller), but in the future He will be Hashem Echad- in the future, the whole world will recognize that Hashem is in control, as it says, B’Yom Hanu, Yihyeh Hashem Echad UShmo Echad/ On that day, in the future, there will be a revelation of Hashem Echad. That means right now, the concept of God being the One and Only is confused with the evil that goes on in the world. And only when, as we say in the prayers of Rosh Hashana, the evil will be wiped away in a cloud and the evil dominion will be removed from the earth , only then will Hashem be the King in a revealed way. Currently, it doesn't look like that in the outside world. But the Jewish people, even today, recognize Hashem Elokenu, even in the world of confusion, where evil and good are blurred, That’s the concept En Od Milevado, there's nothing else but Hashem. Everything that we see, and everything that exists is only coming from God's existence. There is nothing else but God. It’s beyond our abilities to fully appreciate what that means. That is why Rav Chaim Volozhin says it’s something that you can think of for just a moment. It’s not something you can live your life with. He says, Just think of it in order to arouse your kavana when you're praying, but too much delving into it is dangerous, too dangerous. When you keep thinking ..There is this nothing else but God, so I'm not really here… .you can get crazy from that. So just think it every once in a while, when you’re in trouble. Like Rav Hanina Ben Dosa, who said, “ The snake doesn’t kill, the sin kills,” and then put his foot into a snake hole. The snake bit him, but the snake died, not him, because Rav Hanina Ben Dosa knew, “ En Od Milevado/ there's nothing else but God .” He was able to fully focus, for that moment, that the snake really didn’t exist, and it was only there as the will of God. He was able to use that to protect himself. This is the famous Segula that when a person is in trouble, they should focus on this concept of En Od Milevado. This is what we are supposed to be thinking for those moments when we say Hashem Echad- there's nothing else, but Hashem. He is the One and Only, there's nothing else but Him. We're supposed to appreciate that concept, for the moment. As we said, this is a protective force and power. When a person fully focuses on this, nothing can harm him at that moment, says the Nefesh Hachaim. And that's why, when Jewish people are in dangerous situations, whether in a foxhole or whatever the situation, they scream out “ Shema Yisrael!” Why? What is the secret of Shema Yisrael? The secret of Shema Yisrael is that when a person really realizes Hashem Elokenu Hashem Echad , that's a protective force. And that's one of the reasons why the sefarim say we focus so much on Hashem’s kingdom on Rosh Hashana, and we focus on this concept of Hashem’s Oneness; because Rosh Hashana is a dangerous day. Our whole life is being decided. So what do you do when you're in danger? You strengthen yourself in the belief of Hashem Echad , which is the focus of the day. So this Shema Yisrael, this powerful pasuk, is what we're going use to give us a good year. And that's why, in order to do this properly, as Rav Wolbe says, “ This training could take many weeks, or even many months, until you get used to saying Keriat Shema properly.” It's not an easy job. It’s worthwhile to take notes, read, review, and practice until we get to the Musaf of Rosh Hashana, so we can say our Shema Yisrael properly, with Hashem’s help. Have a wonderful day.