I remember when I was a kid, I was taught that when saying Shema, while pronouncing the word אחד in the first verse, I should have the following in mind:
א = one God
ח = over the 7 skies and 1 earth
ד = the 4 corners of the world
The original source for this idea is the Gemara TB Berachot 13B. The Shulchan Aruch OC 61:6 also brings this idea down in the name of the Tur.Though both are not really exactly in the above format.
As I got older, this became very problematic. First of all, describing God literally as “one” in a purely numerical sense can limit Him. Adding “7 skies and 1 earth” plus “4 corners of the world” further confines Him — not to mention the outdated idea that the world is flat. Holding these thoughts while reciting Shema could almost lead a person to a limited or even heretical conception of God.
As I matured, I began to understand that one must be interpreted as,"God as unique" — nothing can be compared to Him.
Then I studied Hilchot Keriat Shema in the Rambam’s Mishneh Torah. Here are his words, followed by the Sefaria translation:
וּמַה הוּא קוֹרֵא, שְׁלֹשָׁה פָּרָשִׁיּוֹת. אֵלּוּ הֵן (דברים ו ד) ״שְׁמַע״ (דברים יא יג) ״וְהָיָה אִם שָׁמֹעַ״ (במדבר טו לז) ״וַיֹּאמֶר״. וּמַקְדִּימִין לִקְרוֹת פָּרָשַׁת שְׁמַע מִפְּנֵי שֶׁיֵּשׁ בָּהּ יִחוּד הַשֵּׁם וְאַהֲבָתוֹ וְתַלְמוּדוֹ שֶׁהוּא הָעִקָּר הַגָּדוֹל שֶׁהַכֹּל תָּלוּי בּוֹ. וְאַחֲרֶיהָ וְהָיָה אִם שָׁמֹעַ שֶׁיֵּשׁ בָּהּ צִוּוּי עַל (זְכִירַת) שְׁאָר כָּל הַמִּצְוֹת. וְאַחַר כָּךְ פָּרָשַׁת (במדבר טו לח) ״צִיצִית״ שֶׁגַּם הִיא יֵשׁ בָּהּ צִוּוּי זְכִירַת כָּל הַמִּצְוֹת:
"And what is it that one recites? These three sections:
"Hear O Israel..." (Deuteronomy 6:4-9),
"And if you will listen..." (Deuteronomy 11:13-21), and
"And God said..." (Numbers 15:37-41).
We begin with the section of "Hear O Israel" since it contains [the concept of] the unity of God, [the commandment of] loving Him and the study of Torah, it being a fundamental principle upon which everything is based.
After it, [we read] "And if you will listen...," since it contains the imperative to fulfill the rest of the commandments, and finally the portion of tzitzit, since it also contains the imperative of remembering all the commandments.
https://www.sefaria.org/Mishneh_Torah,_Reading_the_Shema.1.2
I believe Sefaria is incorrectly translating תלמודו as “the study of Torah.” This is a mistake.
The first part of the Rambam makes perfect sense: by reciting Shema one contemplates the unity (or uniqueness) of God — that nothing can be compared to Him — which then leads to love of God. As the Rambam writes in Yesodei HaTorah:
בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁיִּתְבּוֹנֵן הָאָדָם בְּמַעֲשָׂיו וּבְרוּאָיו הַנִּפְלָאִים הַגְּדוֹלִים, וְיִרְאֶה מֵהֶם חָכְמָתוֹ שְׁאֵין לָהּ עֵרֶךְ וְלֹא קֵץ--מִיָּד הוּא אוֹהֵב וּמְשַׁבֵּחַ וּמְפָאֵר וּמִתְאַוֶּה תַּאֲוָה גְּדוֹלָה לֵידַע הַשֵּׁם הַגָּדוֹל, כְּמוֹ שֶׁאָמַר דָּוִיד "צָמְאָה נַפְשִׁי, לֵאלֹהִים--לְאֵל חָי" (תהילים מב,ג).
"When a person contemplates His deeds and His wondrous and great creations, and sees in them His wisdom that has no measure or end, he immediately loves, praises, and glorifies Him, and is filled with a great desire to know the great Name, as David said: “My soul thirsts for God, for the living God” (Psalms 42:3)."
When one thinks about God and His uniqueness, that naturally leads to love. But what about תַלְמוּדוֹ? How does thinking about God lead specifically to “Talmud”(if we translate it like sefaria -learning torah)?
Let’s look in MT Hilchot Talmud Torah 1:12 to see how the Rambam understands תַלְמוּד:
כֵּיצַד: הָיָה בַּעַל אֻמָּנוּת--יִהְיֶה עוֹסֵק בַּמְּלָאכָה שָׁלוֹשׁ שָׁעוֹת בַּיּוֹם, וּבַתּוֹרָה תֵּשַׁע: אוֹתָן הַתֵּשַׁע--קוֹרֵא בְּשָׁלוֹשׁ מֵהֶן, בְּתוֹרָה שֶׁבִּכְתָב; וּבְשָׁלוֹשׁ, בְּתוֹרָה שֶׁבְּעַל פֶּה; וּבְשָׁלוֹשׁ, מִתְבּוֹנֵן בְּדַעְתּוֹ לְהָבִין דָּבָר מִדָּבָר. וְדִבְרֵי קַבָּלָה, בִּכְלַל תּוֹרָה שֶׁבִּכְתָב הֶן; וּפֵרוּשָׁן, בִּכְלַל תּוֹרָה שֶׁבְּעַל פֶּה; וְהָעִנְיָנוֹת הַנִּקְרָאִין פַּרְדֵּס, בִּכְלַל הַתַּלְמוּד.
"How is the above expressed? A person who is a craftsman may spend three hours each day involved in his work, and [devote] nine hours to Torah study: In those nine hours, he should spend three reading the Written Law; three, the Oral Law; and three, meditating with his intellect to derive one concept from another.
The “words of the prophetic tradition” are considered part of the Written Law; and their explanation, part of the Oral Law. The matters referred to as Pardes are considered part of the Talmud."
According to the Rambam, Talmud means Pardes (and not specifically learning torah)— the study of esoteric thought, the sciences, and the nature of God. As he writes in Yesodei HaTorah:
ד,כ [יג] וְעִנְיְנֵי אַרְבָּעָה פְּרָקִים אֵלּוּ שֶׁבְּחָמֵשׁ מִצְווֹת הָאֵלּוּ--הֶם שֶׁחֲכָמִים הָרִאשׁוֹנִים קוֹרְאִין אוֹתָן פַּרְדֵּס, כְּמוֹ שֶׁאָמְרוּ אַרְבָּעָה נִכְנְסוּ לַפַּרְדֵּס: וְאַף עַל פִּי שֶׁגְּדוֹלֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הָיוּ וַחֲכָמִים גְּדוֹלִים הָיוּ, לֹא כֻּלָּם הָיָה בָּהֶן כּוֹחַ לֵידַע וּלְהַשִּׂיג כָּל הַדְּבָרִים עַל בָּרְיָן.
"And the subjects of these four chapters that are in these five commandments—they are what the early Sages call Pardes, as they said: “Four entered the Pardes.” And even though they were the great ones of Israel and great sages, not all of them had the power to know and to grasp all the matters thoroughly [in their true nature / as they truly are].
Now the first verse of Shema makes much more sense."
Now the words,of the Rambam are powerful. Twice a day, when we recite this passage, we are meant to force ourselves to contemplate the unity of God — the ultimate Cause of all existence. This contemplation leads to loving Him, and then to continuing that pursuit by seeking a deeper understanding of Him through the study of the world and of God’s relationship (or lack of relationship) to everything that exists. This is the “Talmud” the Rambam is referring to: the highest form of intellectual and spiritual seeking (Pardes).
That is also why that of all the parts of Shema that one must have kavana, the first pasuk of Shema Yisrael etc is a must or one does not fulfill one's obligation
Unlike the modern popular idea that Torah study is an end in itself, according to this understanding it is actually the opposite. Everything we do and practice is meant to lead us to the fundamental principle of the Shema — the understanding of God, the world, and our relationship to both.
כי אם בזאת יתהלל המתהלל השכל וידע אותי כי אני יהוה עשה חסד משפט וצדקה בארץ כי באלה חפצתי נאם יהוה
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