Avodat Hashem Shiur #03: Keriat Shema (III): “And What Does One Recite?” The Sections of the Shema That One Must Recite and Their Connection to the Biblical Texts Harav Baruch Gigi VBM—The Israel Koschitzky Virtual Beit Midrash of Yeshivat Har Etzion Series

"Which I command thee this day... upon thine heart." Hence thou learnest that the whole Parashah requires Kawwanah ! Rabbah b. Bar Hannah said in the name of R. Johanan: The Halakah is in accord with R. 'Akiba. There are some who connect [the statement of Rabbah b. Bar Hannah] with the following. There is a teaching : Who recites the Shema' must direct his heart thereto. R. Aha says in the name of R. Judah : If one directed his heart in the first paragraph, it is no longer necessary [in the succeeding paragraphs]. Rabbah b. Bar Hannah said in the name of R. Johanan : The Halakah is in accord with the view of R. Aha which he reported in the name of R. Judah. There is a further teaching: "And these words... shall be" means one must not read [the sentences of the Shema'] out of order. "Upon thine heart" — R. Zotra says: Up to here the law of Kawwanah applies, but from here onward the commandment to recite applies. R. Josiah says : Up to here the commandment to recite applies, but from here onward the law requiring Kawwanah applies. What is the distinction that from here onward the commandment to recite applies ? Because it is written, "talking of them." But in the first Parashah it is likewise written "and shalt talk of them" ! What he means to say is, Up to here the law of Kawwanah and reciting applies, but from here onward, reciting without Kawwanah is sufficient. And what is the distinction that up to [the end of the first paragraph] the law of Kawwanah and reciting applies ? Because it is written "upon thine heart" and "and shalt talk of them."

(4) HEAR, O ISRAEL: THE LORD IS OUR GOD, THE LORD IS ONE. (5) And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. (6) And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be upon thy heart; (7) and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. (8) And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thy hand, and they shall be for frontlets between thine eyes. (9) And thou shalt write them upon the door-posts of thy house, and upon thy gates.

Another time a non-Jew came before Shammai and said, "I will convert if you can teach me the entire Torah while I stand on one foot." Shammai pushed the non-Jews aside with the ruler that was in his hand. The non-Jew came before Hillel and Hillel converted him saying, "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor, that is the entire Torah, the rest is just commentary, now go and study."

(1) The appointed [priest] said to them: “Say one blessing” [one right before the Shema], and they blessed. They then recited the Ten Commandments, 'Shema', 'Vehaya im Shamoa' and 'Vayomer' [the three paragraphs of the Shema]. They also blessed the people with these three blessings: Emet Veyatsiv [the blessing that follows the Shema in the morning prayer], Avodah [the blessing in Shemoneh Esreh calling for G-D to accept the Temple service], and the Birkat Kohanim [the Priestly Blessing]. On Shabbat, they added a blessing for the watch that was leaving.

(2) He [the appointed priest] said to them: The new [priests who have never offered] the incense, come and draw lots. They drew lots and the one who won, won. He said to them: The new and the old [priests], come and draw lots [to determine] who will bring up the limbs from the ramp to the altar. Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov says: The one who would bring up the limbs to the ramp, he would be the one who would bring them up to the top of the altar.

(3) They [the ones who lost the lottery] were given over to the caretakers. They would remove their [priestly] garments and would not leave anything on except for their pants. And there were cubicles [in the wall, used for storage of the clothing] and on each [cubicle] was written what garment was put there.

(4) The one who won [the right] to [offer] the incense would take the spoon. The spoon was similar to a large gold Tarkav [measurement of volume] that could hold three kav [measurement of volume] and in it there was a censer filled and piled with incense. There was a cover [on the spoon] with a cloth attached to it from above.

(5) The one who won [the right] to [do] the shovel [service] took the silver shovel and went to the top of the [copper] altar and pushed the coals to this side and that side and scooped [some coals]. He went down and poured it onto a [shovel of] gold. Approximately one kav [measurement of volume] of coals would scatter [when the coals were transferred], and he [another kohen] would sweep them to the ditch [that ran though the Temple Courtyard]. And on Shabbat [when he could not sweep the coals] he would cover them with a psakhter [a copper pot]. The copper pot was a large vessel that could hold a letekh [a measurement of volume] and there were two chains [attached] to it, one that he would use to pull on [when lowering the ash] and the pot would come down [the altar's ramp] and one that he [another kohen] would grab from on top it in order to prevent it from rolling [off the altar's ramp]. It [the copper pot] had three functions: they would cover the coals [that spilled on Shabbat] or [to cover] a [dead] rodent [found in the Temple courtyard on Shabbat], and they would lower the ash from on top of the altar [into it].

(6) They [the two priests designated to bring the incense and the coals] arrived at the area between the vestibule [of the sanctuary] and the [copper] altar and one took the Magrefa [a shovel-shaped instrument that makes loud sound when thrown] and threw it between the vestibule and the altar. No one could hear the sound of his friend in Jerusalem [when it was thrown] because of the [loud] sound of the Magrefa. And [the trowing] served three functions: A kohen [standing outside] who heard its sound knew that his brothers, the priests were [currently] entering [the sanctuary] to bow down and he would run and go [to join them]. A Levi that heard its sound knew that his brother Levites were entering to sing the [daily] song and he would run [to join them]. And the head of the Ma'amad [one of 24 regions, each of which sent in turn a delegation to the Temple to be present and represent the entire people at the public sacrifices] would gather the impure people at the eastern gate [of the Temple Mount].

Shouldest thou, on the other hand, maintain that they recited "With abounding love," how would it follow that the benedictions do not invalidate one another? Perhaps the reason they omitted "Who formest light" was because it was not yet time for that prayer, and when the proper time arrived, they said it! And if this be an inference, what then? It might have been inferred that it was certainly "With abounding love" that [the priests] recited, and when the proper time for reciting "Who formest light" arrived, they said it; and what means "The benedictions do not invalidate one another"? The order of the benedictions. [The Mishnah quoted above states :] Then they read the Decalogue, "Hear, O Israel," "And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently," "And the Lord said," "True and firm," "Accept, O Lord our God," and the Priestly Benediction. Rab Judah said in the name of Samuel : Also beyond the confines of the Temple they wished to read [the Decalogue with the Shema'] but it had long been abolished because of the murmuring of the Minim. There is a teaching to the same effect : R. Nathan said : Outside the Temple they wished to read [the Decalogue with the Shema'] but it had long been abolished because of the murmuring of the Minim. Rabbah b. Rab Huna thought to establish it in Sura ; but Rab Hisda told him it had been previously abolished because of the murmuring of the Minim. Amemar thought to establish it in Nehardea; but Rab Ashe told him it had previously been abolished because of the murmuring of the Minim.

R. Abbahu b. Zutarti said in the name of R. Judah b. Zebida: It was sought to include the Parashah of Balak in the reading of the Shema'. Why did they not do so? Because of the trouble [its length would cause] to the congregation. On what ground [did they wish to include it] ? Was it because it is written therein, "God Who brought them forth out of Egypt" (Num. xxiii. 22) ? Then let one say the Parashah of usury or of weights which likewise contains a reference to the exodus from Egypt ! Nay ; R. Jose b. Abin said : [The reason is] because it is written therein, "He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a lioness ; who shall rouse him up?" (ibid. xxiv. 9). Then let him say that verse and no more [if the whole is too lengthy] ! We have a tradition that any Parashah which Moses our teacher divided off, we may divide off; but a Parashah which he had not divided off, we may not.