God as one in the Shema & Alenu – Ask the Rabbi
Q. Why is it that in the Shema we affirm that God is one, but at the end of Alenu we look forward to the day when He will be one?
A. The Shema proclaims the Jewish belief that “The Lord is one”. For Jews that is axiomatic. God cannot possibly be other than one. Indeed the Divine oneness is the underlying principle of the universe: Leon Roth said, “There is a unity and harmony in the structure of things because of the unity of their source.”
To us this is obvious, and we eagerly await the day when, for the whole of mankind, “The Lord will be one and His Name one”.
