Avodat Hashem Shiur #04: Keriat Shema (IV): “And What Does One Recite?” Rambam's Position Harav Baruch Gigi VBM—The Israel Koschitzky Virtual Beit Midrash of Yeshivat Har Etzion Series

(2) What does one recite? [There are] three sections, and they are: "Shema" (Deuteronomy 6:4-9), "If ye shall hearken" (Deuteronomy 11:13-21), and "And the Lord spoke" (Numbers 15:37-41). One begins with the section "Shema" because it has in it of the unity of God, loving Him, and learning [of Torah], which is the greatest essence on which everything depends. After [the Shema], "If ye shall hearken" [is next] as in is the commandment of the rest of the commandments, and after thus is the portion [referring to] the fringes, that also have in it the commandment of remembering all the commandments.

(3) Even though the commandment of wearing fringes does not apply at night, one reads the passage [concerning it] because it has a reminder of the Exodus from Egypt. It is a commandment to recite the Exodus from Egypt as it is stated, "So that you will remember the Exodus from Egypt all the days of your life" (Deuteronomy 16:3). These three sections ordered as such form the recitation of the Shema.

(13) If there is a doubt if one recited the Shema, one [should] recite it again, blessing before and after it. But if one knew that he read it and doubts if he blessed before and after it, he [should] not recite and bless [it] again. [If] he reads and makes mistake, he should return to the place that he made a mistake. If one loses his place between portions and does not know which portion he finished and which he needs to say, returns to the first portion, which is "And thou shalt love the LORD thy God" (Deuteronomy 6:5).

But Tefillah is also a matter with which the Community is engaged, and there is a Mishnaic teaching: If he was standing in the Tefillah and recollected that he is a Ba'al Keri, he should not interrupt [his prayer] but shorten it. The reason is because he had already commenced it ; hence, if he had not commenced it, he should not do so ! It is different with Tefillah, because it contains no reference to the Kingdom of Heaven. But in the Grace after meals there is also no reference to the Kingdom of Heaven, and yet our Mishnah declares : At his meal, he says the Grace after but not the Grace before ! Quite so ; but the reading of the Shema' and the Grace after meals are ordained by the Torah, whereas Tefillah is ordained by the Rabbis. Rab Judah said : Whence is it that Grace after meals is ordained by the Torah? As it is said, "And thou shalt eat and be satisfied and bless the Lord thy God" (Deut. viii. 10). Whence is it that the benediction to be uttered before reading the Torah is ordained by the Torah? As it is said, "For I will proclaim the name of the Lord : ascribe ye greatness unto our God" (ibid. xxxii. 3). R. Johanan said : We derive the injunction to utter a benediction after reading the Torah from the Grace after meals by a fortiori argument, and the injunction to say Grace before meals from the benediction over the reading of the Torah by a similar method of reasoning. We derive the injunction to utter a benediction after reading the Torah from the Grace after meals by a fortiori argument : If a meal which requires no benediction before it requires one after it, is it not right that the reading of the Torah, which does require a benediction before it, should require one after it ! And we derive the injunction to say Grace after meals from the benediction over the reading of the Torah by a similar method of reasoning : If the reading of the Torah, which requires no benediction after it, requires one before it, is it not right that a meal, which does require a benediction after it, should require one before it ! One can, however, object to this reasoning : Why is Grace answered squired after a meal? Because it has been enjoyed. Why is a benediction required over the reading of the Torah ? Because it is life eternal. Moreover there is a teaching in our Mishnah: At his meal, he says the Grace after but not the Grace before ! The refutation [remains unanswered]. Rab Judah said : If one is in doubt whether he has read the Shema' or not, he does not repeat it ; if he is in doubt whether he said "True and firm" or not, he does repeat it. What is the reason ? Because the reading of the Shema' is ordained by the Rabbis, but saying "True and firm" by the Torah. Rab Joseph quoted in objection : "When thou liest down and when thou risest up" (Deut. vi. 7)! Abbai answered him: That is written with reference to words of Torah. We have a teaching in our Mishnah : A Ba'al Keri meditates upon [the wording of the Shema'] in his heart and says neither the benediction before nor after. At his meal, he says the Grace after [in his heart] but not the Grace before. But if it enter thy mind that "True and firm" is ordained by the Torah, then he should say the benediction after the Shema' ! And for what reason should he say this benediction ? If because it contains a reference to the Exodus from Egypt, he has already mentioned that in the Shema' ! Then let him say this benediction and there will be no necessity for the other ! The reading of the Shema' is more important because it contains two things. R. Eleazar said : If one is in doubt whether he has read the Shema' or not, he should repeat it ; but if he is in doubt whether he has said the Tefillah or not, he need not repeat it. But R. Johanan said: Would that a man could pray all day. Rab Judah also said in the name of Samuel : If a man was standing in the Tefillah and recollected that he had already said it, he must stop even in the middle of a benediction. But it is not so ! For lo, Rab Nahman has said : When we were at the school of Rabbah b. Abbuha we asked him, "How is it with those young disciples who made a mistake and said the week-day Tefillah on the Sabbath, should they finish it?" And he replied, "They should finish the whole of that benediction" ! Now is this analogy correct? In the latter instance, he was at any rate under the obligation [to say the Tefillah] and the Rabbis did not trouble him out of regard for the Sabbath ; but in the former case, he had already said the prayer. Rab Judah also said in the name of Samuel : Should one have already said the Tefillah and then enter a Synagogue and find the Congregation saying it, if he is able to add anything new to the prayer, he may repeat it ; but if not, he should not repeat it. It was necessary [to have both this and the former teaching of Rab Judah in the name of Samuel] ; for if he had given us only the first teaching, [we might have argued,] To whom does this apply ? To a person who said the Tefillah alone and is repeating it alone ;

. MISHNAH Should a man be reading in the Torah [the section of the Shema'] and the time of reciting the Shema' arrived, if he directed his heart, he has fulfilled his obligation. Between the sections, he may greet a man out of respect for him and return a salutation ; but in the middle [of the sections] he may greet a man because of fear for him and return a salutation. These are the words of R. Meir. R. Judah says: In the middle, he may greet a man because of fear for him, and return a salutation out of respect ; and between the sections, he may greet a man out of respect for him and return the salutation of any person. II. The following are "between the sections" : Between the first benediction and the second ; between the second and "Hear, O Israel" ; between "Hear, O Israel" and "And it shall come to pass if ye shall hearken" ; between "And it shall come to pass if ye shall hearken" and "And the Lord spake" ; between "And the Lord spake" and "True and firm." R. Judah says : One must make no interruption between "And the Lord spake" and "True and firm." R. Joshua b. Karhah said: Why does the section "Hear, O Israel" precede "And it shall come to pass if ye shall hearken"? So that a man shall first receive upon himself the yoke of the kingdom of heaven, and afterwards receive upon himself the yoke of the commandments. And why does "And it shall came to pass if ye shall hearken" precede "And the Lord spake" ? Because the former applies both during the day and night, but the latter during the day only. GEMARA Is the conclusion to be drawn [from the opening sentence of the Mishnah] that the performance of the commandments requires Kawwanah? No; for] what means If he directed his heart to read ? Just to read [in the Torah for the sake of study]. But he was reading! [It is to differentiate him] from one who is reading [the Torah] for the purpose of correcting. Our Rabbis have taught : The Shema' must be read as it is written: These are the words of Rabbi; but the Sages say : may be read] in any language. What is Rabbi's reason ? The text states, "And these words shall be" (Deut. vi. 6); i.e. as they are, so must they remain. And what is the reason of the Sages? The text states, "Hear, O Israel" (ibid. v. 4); i.e. in any language which thou hearest. But for Rabbi also it is written "Hear, O Israel" ! He requires it to establish the rule. Cause thine ear to hear what thou utterest with thy lips. And the Sages ? They agree with him who says that if one does not read [the Shema'] audibly, he has still fulfilled his obligation. But for the Sages also it is written "And these words shall be" ! They require it to establish the rule that one must not read [the sentences of the Shema'] out of order. Whence does Rabbi find authority for the rule that the Shema' may not be read out of order? He derives it from the fact that the text states "these words shall be" and not "the words shall be." And the Sages [what do they make of this distinction between "these words" and "the words"]? They draw no conclusion from it at all. It is possible to say that Rabbi holds that the whole Torah can be read in any language. For if thou maintainest that it may be read only in the holy tongue, what are we to make of the phrase "and these words shall be" which the All-merciful wrote? It is necessary because it is written "Hear, O Israel." It is likewise possible to say that the Sages hold that the whole Torah must be read in the holy tongue. For if thou maintainest that it can be read in any language, what are we to make of the phrase "Hear, O Israel" which the All-merciful wrote? It is necessary because it is written "And these words shall be." Our Rabbis have taught : "And these words shall be" means that one must not recite [the sentences of the Shema'] out of order. "These words... upon thine heart" — one might suppose that the whole Parashah requires Kawwanah; therefore there is a teaching to state, "These words... [shall be upon thine heart]," that is to say, up to this point Kawwanah is required, but from this point onward it is not necessary. These are the words of R. Eliezer. [[fol. 13 b.]] R. 'Akiba said to him : Behold it states,