Two Shemas

The Tanya makes a claim that the Jewish soul has a built in mechanism of love for G-d that he may not be consciously aware of. It becomes manifested if a Jew is confronted with a life and death situation of risking his life rather than worship idols.The Tanya believes that this hidden love that is found in the soul of every Jew will shine through. Any Jew of any background will be prepared to die rather than violate idols.The Tanya goes on to explain that we recite the Shema, which is actually a prayer of martyrdom, both in the morning and evening, in order to read for this commitment of love that we all have for Hashem.The recitation of Shema is to serve as a reminder that this hidden love exists and it should cause us to bring it from the hidden to the revealed. It is this love for Hashem that gives our lives purpose and meaning.The next time we recite the Shema, we should try to keep in mind this idea of our hidden love of G-d.