One of the most important and well-known Hebrew prayers is Shema Yisrael {שמע ישראל} ( Hear, O Israel ). This prayer can be found in the weekly Torah portion in the following verses:
“”Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5)
One cannot see this in the English translation, but if one will have a look at the Torah scroll, in the original Hebrew, one will notice that the last letter of the Hebrew word Shema {שמע} (hear ) stands out – the letter Ayin (ע) – and also the last letter of the Hebrew word Echad {אחד} (one) – the letter Dalet (ד). The two bold Hebrew letters – Ayin and Dalet – create the Hebrew word “Ad” (עד) which means eternity – a word that fits perfectly into this powerful Hebrew prayer.
Interestingly, the same Hebrew root of the word Ad (A-U-D) {ע-ו-ד} also means witness and testimony. In fact one of the Hebrew names of the Ark of the Covenant is Aron Ha-Edut (ארון העדות)– literally means the Ark of the Testimony.