According to the Talmud, the reading of the "Shema" morning and evening fulfills the commandment "You shall meditate therein day and night". As soon as a child begins to speak, his father is directed to teach him the verse "Moses commanded us a law, even the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob", and teach him to read the "Shema". The reciting of the first verse of the "Shema" is called "the acceptance of the yoke of the kingship of God" ("kabalat ol malchut shamayim"). Judah ha-Nasi, who spent all day involved with his studies and teaching, said just the first verse of the "Shema" in the morning "as he passed his hands over his eyes", which appears to be the origin of the custom to cover the eyes with the right hand while reciting the first verse.