Study Berakhot folio 12A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
אלא, אי אמרת ״אהבה רבה״ הוו אמרי, מאי ברכות אין מעכבות זו את זו? דלמא האי דלא אמרי ״יוצר אור״ משום דלא מטא זמן ״יוצר אור״, וכי מטא זמן ״יוצר אור״ הוו אמרי.
However, if you say that they would omit: Who creates light, and would recite: An abounding love, on what basis would you conclude that failure to recite one of the blessings recited before Shema does not prevent one from reciting the other? In that case, one could offer another reason why only a single blessing is recited. Perhaps the fact that they did not recite: Who creates light was because the time for the recitation of: Who creates light, had not yet arrived, as the sun had yet to rise. The blessings of the priestly watch are recited in the early morning hours, long before sunrise. However, afterward, when the time to recite: Who creates light arrived, they would recite it. From the conclusion drawn by R' Shimon ben Lakish, that failure to recite one of the blessings recited before Shema does not prevent one from reciting the other, it is clear that the blessing recited by the members of the priestly watch was: Who creates light.
ואי מכללא מאי?
As this deductive reasoning seems coherent and convincing, the Talmud asks: And if this halakha is based on inference, and not on an explicit statement, what of it? There seems to be no other way to interpret R' Shimon ben Lakish’s statement.
דאי מכללא, לעולם ״אהבה רבה״ הוו אמרי. וכי מטא זמן ״יוצר אור״ הוו אמרי ליה. ומאי ״ברכות אין מעכבות זו את זו״ — סדר ברכות.
The Talmud answers: If this conclusion were based on an inference, one could say that actually they recited: An abounding love, and when the time to recite: Who creates light arrived, they would recite it. In that case, what is the meaning of: Failure to recite one of the blessings recited before Shema does not prevent one from reciting the other? R' Shimon ben Lakish meant that failure to recite the correct order of the blessings does not prevent one from fulfilling his obligation. Even if one recites: An abounding love before: Who creates light, he fulfills his obligation. R' Shimon ben Lakish did not refer to a case where only one of the blessings was recited. Consequently, one cannot infer from his statement his opinion regarding the identity of the single blessing.