We’ve been going through the first pasuk of Keriat Shema. “ Shema Yisrael” is the introduction, and the first word of faith is Hashem . The second word of faith is Elokenu . What is the difference between the words Hashem and Elokim ? Hashem , as we said, means that God is the source of all life. Like we say every day in our prayers V’ Atah Mehayeh et Kulam / God gives life to everything . Elokim refers to God's supervision. This is another important fundamental. God supervises and watches over everything. He's the Mashgiach / Supervisor . We don't say Shema Yisrael, Hashem Elokim Hashem Echad . We say Hashem Elokenu because Hashem is our God. There's a concept called Hashgacha Klalit, which means general supervision. There's also a concept called Hashgacha Pratit/ individual supervision. Of course, God knows what's going on with everything; nothing happens without God willing it to be. God wills everything to be, every second. That means that a heart is only pumping because God wills it to pump. Every heart, whether it's the heart of a lion, a tiger or a bear is pumping because God wants it to pump, but that is in general, meaning that God has no relationship with every lion, tiger and bear. The lion, tiger or bear’s heart is not beating based on what that animal did or didn't do, because the animal has no freedom of choice. Among the general lion species, God decides, for whatever reason, how many will live and how many will die. Whether each animal lives or dies is not based on what it did or didn't do. That is what Hashgacha Klalit/general supervision is, and that is what applies to Gentile world. God doesn't necessarily deal with everyone with a personal relationship. On the other hand, Hashgacha Pratit means that if, right now, I need a parking spot, God is going to give me that parking spot based on my reliance on Him, based on my merits (or He might not, if it's a situation where I wasn't relying on Him, because reliance trumps all). This is another important fundamental Elokenu / He's our God. It’s the fundamental of Hashgacha Pratit. These are all fundamentals that we must believe in; This is our faith. People may misunderstand and think that Hashgacha Klalit means God is not in control and not in charge. We're not going into the depths of the nuances of Hashgacha Klalit vs Hashgacha Pratit, but there's something called Hashgacha Pratit, that we have. We believe in Hashgacha Pratit. Anochi Hashem Elokecha… I am Hashem your God that took you out of Egypt The Orchot Chaim L’Rosh says this is what separates us from the rest of the world. Because God took us out of Egypt and showed how He deals with us on an individual basis. We put a straw in the cup and for us it was water, and for the Gentile it was blood. That is a fundamental of our belief. God taught us at Yetziat Mitzrayim how He would take care of us on a very individual basis. That’s Hashgacha Pratit . And when we say the word Elokenu we have to have that in mind. These are all very important principles, that we have to pack into just milliseconds. That's why it takes a lot of practice. "Hashem Elokenu .” The Gaon of Vilna says that these words, together, are called the Shem Maleh/ God’s full name. When you put together the two concepts that God pumps energy into life and He’s supervising every detail of our life, that is God's full description. Shem Maleh. The Gaon of Villa continues, with the following words, which Rav Wolbe quotes in his sefer Alei Shur , “ A full name only dwells in a full world. What is the full world? “Shema Yisrael.” When the Jewish people unite in thought , they are considered a full world, a full receptacle for God's name to dwell upon. Rav Wolbe says there are two tremendous hiddushim here. One is that Jewish people are a world on their own. That's why we say Shema Yisrael first. Secondly, when saying Keriat Shema, there is actually a dwelling on top of the person, at the words Hashem Elokenu When I say Shema Yisrael , I’m connecting myself to the Jewish people, and then, hovering on top of me, is this existence and connection to God. “ In the Jewish people is hidden all the levels, and all the understanding.” That is how I get ready for my daily Keriat Shema ; I connect myself to the world that is called the Jewish people , the Olam . The Maharam, one of the commentaries on the Gemara often uses the expression, “ Makshiv HaOlam: The World asks..” Olam is the world of the Jewish people, the learning world, the Jewish people out there learning, across the world. They're asking a question. We are the world. There's a world called the Jewish people. Everything else is scenery. It's necessary, but who are the stars of the show? The Jewish people. No question about it. I don't mean to be Elitist. Rashi says that we go through the generations of Adam and Noach quickly, and also Essav.. but when we get to the generation of Avraham, Yitzhak and Yaakov, it’s almost the whole Torah. The first two Parshiot, Bereshit and Noach, focus on 1,948 years, but the the rest of the Torah is on the Jewish people. We are the stars of the show. No question about it. And Hashem Elokenu dwells on this world of Yisrael, like a little halo around every Jew, when he says the words Hashem Elokenu , provided that he connects himself to the Jewish people. Shema Yisrael, Hashem Elokenu- that is our statement of faith. We will continue with Hashem Echad next week, B’Ezrat Hashem.