The verse Shema Yisrael (Devarim 6:4) is highly significant. It is Biblically required to be recited twice daily, it is to be said at the end of one's life, and appears in the liturgy at the end of Yom Kippur and in Kedusha of Mussaf.
It is clear why the verse is so considered: It states that Hashem is the one God, obviously critical to Jewish belief.
However, what about the first two words, "Shema Yisrael" - "Hear, O Israel"? Are these words significant just because they appear in the same verse as the fundamental belief, or is there something special about these words themselves?
Answer
The Sefer Hachinuch interprets this verb as the source that the commandment stated here is to believe in God, and not merely to profess belief in God. His piece on Commandment 417 begins:
מצות אחדות השם - שנצטוינו להאמין כי השם יתברך הוא הפועל כל המציאות, אדון הכל, אחד בלי שום שתוף, שנאמר (דברים ו ד) שמע ישראל יי אלהינו יי אחד, וזה מצות עשה הוא, אינה הגדה, אבל פרוש שמע כלומר, קבל ממני דבר זה ודעהו והאמן בו, כי השם שהוא אלקינו אחד הוא
The commandment of unification of [God's] Name: That we are commanded to believe that Blessed God is the one who enacts all of existence; the Master of all; One, without any partnership. As it says (Deuteronomy 6:4): "Hear, Israel: God is our God; God is One." And this proactive commandment is not [in the] speaking; rather, "Hear" is meant to say, "Accept this point from me, know it, and believe in it: That God, our God, is One."
(translation and emphasis mine)
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