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Text Excerpt
מאימתי קורין את שמע בערבין? משעה שהכהנים נכנסים לאכול בתרומתן. עד סוף האשמורה הראשונה. דברי רבי אליעזר.
The beginning of tractate Berakhot, the first tractate in the first of the 6 orders of Mishnah, opens with a discussion of the recitation of Shema, as the recitation of Shema encompasses an acceptance of the yoke of Heaven and of the mitzvot, and as such, forms the basis for all subsequent teachings. The Mishnah opens with the laws regarding the appropriate time to recite Shema: Mishnah: From when, that is, from what time, does one recite Shema in the evening? From the time when the priests enter to partake of their teruma. Until when does the time for the recitation of the evening Shema extend? Until the end of the 1st watch. The term used in the Torah (Deuteronomy 6:7) to indicate the time for the recitation of the evening Shema is beshokhbekha, when you lie down, which refers to the time in which individuals go to sleep. Therefore, the time for the recitation of Shema is the first portion of the night, when individuals typically prepare for sleep. That is the statement of R' Eliezer.
וחכמים אומרים: עד חצות.
The Rabbis say: The time for the recitation of the evening Shema is until midnight.
רבן גמליאל אומר עד שיעלה עמוד השחר.
Rabban Gamliel says: One may recite Shema until dawn, indicating that beshokhbekha is to be understood as a reference to the entire time people sleep in their beds, the whole night.
מעשה ובאו בניו מבית המשתה, אמרו לו: לא קרינו את שמע, אמר להם: אם לא עלה עמוד השחר חייבין אתם לקרות. ולא זו בלבד אמרו, אלא כל מה שאמרו חכמים ״עד חצות״, מצותן עד שיעלה עמוד השחר.
The Mishnah relates that Rabban Gamliel practiced in accordance with his ruling. There was an incident where Rabban Gamliel’s sons returned very late from a wedding hall. They said to him, as they had been preoccupied with celebrating with the groom and bride: We did not recite Shema. He said to them: If the dawn has not yet arrived, you are obligated to recite Shema. Since Rabban Gamliel’s opinion disagreed with that of the Rabbis, he explained to his sons that the Rabbis actually agree with him, and that it is not only with regard to the halakha of the recitation of Shema, but rather, wherever the rabbis say until midnight, the mitzva may be performed until dawn.