Talmudic Prayer Architecture

The number of prayers does not come from the Torah, and the standard liturgy is not derived from the Torah, and there is no fixed time for prayer in the Torah.

From when does one recite the Shema prayer in the evening? From the time the priests return to their houses in order to eat from their tithe, until the end of the first watch – these are the words of Rabbi Eliezer. The Rabbis say: until midnight. Rabban Gamliel says: until the dawn comes up.

A story: Once it happened that his sons came home late from the alehouse. And they said to him: We have not yet recited the Shema! He said to them: If the dawn has not come up yet, you are still bound to recite.

And not only in this case do they say so, but wherever you see the rabbis say, ‘Until

midnight', the commandment may be performed until the dawn comes up...

Why, then, did the sages say ‘Until midnight?’ In order to keep a person far from sin.

Why does the Mishnah begin with the evening Shema? Why not begin with the morning Shema? — The mishnah bases this on the Torah, where it is written: "[And you shall say these words] when you lie down and when you rise," (Deut. 6:7), so it teaches in this order.

Or, if you like, I can answer: They learn [the precedence of the evening] from the account of the creation of the world, where it is written, “And there was evening and there was morning, one day.” (Gen. 1:5)

The Rabbis actually hold in accordance with the opinion of Rabban Gamliel, and the fact that they say until midnight is in order to distance a person from transgression. As it was taught, the Rabbis created a “fence” for their words in order to prevent a situation where a person comes home from the field in the evening, and says to themselves: I will go home, eat a little, drink a little, sleep a little and then I will recite Shema and then I will pray. But then they are overcome by sleep and end up sleeping through the night...

The Master said: "recites Shema and then prays." This supports the opinion of Rabbi Yoḥanan, as Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Who is assured of a place in the World-to-Come? It is one who juxtaposes redemption to the evening prayer.