Souls NUts and Bolts - Shema sources and commentary II

(1) If one was reading [Shema] in the Torah, and it came time to recite [Shema]: If he directed his mind [and intended to fulfill his obligation to recite Shema as he read it], he has fulfilled his obligation. And if not, he has not fulfilled his obligation. At the breaks [between sections of Shema], one may greet another out of honor and return a greeting, and in the middle [of a section], one may greet out of fear and return a greeting. These are the words of Rabbi Meir. Rabbi Yehuda says: In the middle, one may greet out of fear and return a greeting out of honor, and at the breaks, one may greet out of honor and return a greeting to any person.

(2) These are the section breaks: Between the first and second blessings, between the second blessing and Shema, and between Shema and Vehayah im shamoa [second paragraph of the Shema], between Vehayah im shamoa and Vayomer [third paragraph of Shema], between Vayomer and Emet veyatsiv [blessing after Shema]. Rabbi Yehuda says: Between Vayomer and Emet veyatsiv -- one may not pause. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Karchah said: Why does Shema precede Vehayah im shamoa? So that one may accept the yoke of the kingdom of heaven first, and after that accept the yoke of the commandments. And [why does] Vehayah im shamoa [precede] Vayomer? Because Vehayah im shamoa applies during the day and at night, and Vayomer only applies during the day.

Why do we read these paragraphs every

(3) The school of Shammai says: In the evening all people should recline and recite [Shema], and in the morning they should stand, since it says [in the verse (Deut. 6:7)], “And when you lie down and when you arise.” But the school of Hillel says: Each person may recite it in his usual way (posture), since it says (ibid.), “And when you walk on the road.” If so, why does it say “and when you lie down and when you arise”? —[It means:] at the time when people are lying down, and at the time when people are arising. Said Rabbi Tarfon: “I was once traveling on the road, and I reclined to recite [Shema] in accordance with the view of the school of Shammai, and [by doing so] I put myself in danger of [attack by] bandits.” They [the other Sages] said to him: “You would have deserved to be guilty for your own fate, since you went against the view of the school of Hillel.”

1) The mitzvah of unifying God - this is that we were commanded to believe that the Holy One of Blessing is the actor of all reality, the Master of All, One without any partner, as it is written "Hear Israel, Ad-nay is our G-d Ad-nay is one, and this is a positive commandment, not a myth, but the explanation of the Shema is to say 'receive from me this ne thing, and know it, and believe in it, that the Holy Name who is our G-d is one. And the proof that this is a positive commandment is found in the fact that they, may their memory always be for a blessing, said in the midrashim 'in order to receive upon oneself the kingdom of heaven', that is to say thanks in private and with faith.

(2) It is a Mitzvah to grasp the Tzitzit with your left hand near your heart while reciting Kriat Shema. This is alluded to [in the verse] "And these words shall be...on your heart".

(4) Some have a custom to look at their Tzitzit when they reach the verse "And you shall see them," and to place [their Tzitzit] on their eyes. This is a beautiful custom. Addition: Some have the custom to kiss their Tzitzit when they look at them, and all of this is a way of showing love for the Mitzvah (Beit Yosef).

On the left hand - it is written in the writings of the Arizal that one should hold them between the pinkie and the next finger, and when one gets to the portion of tzitzit to gather them also in the right hand, and to look at them until one gets to "they are trustworthy and true forever" and then one should kiss the tzitzit and then let them go from one's hand.

(4) שמע ישראל ה' אלוקינו ה' אחד, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our G’d, the Lord alone.” This verse would not be complete unless G’d’s name had appeared in it three times. If the Torah had only written: שמע ישראל ה' אחד, “Hear Israel, the Lord is one,” every other nation in the world would have claimed that their national deity was also unique for them. By adding the word: אלוקינו, “our G’d,” every reader would know that the subject is the G’d of Israel. If we would only say: “the Lord our G’d is one,” the impression would be left that He is one of a number of deities. The correct translation of the way Moses described G’d in our verse is: “the Lord Who is our Master is unique as a Master, and there is none beside Him.” When reciting this line in our prayers it is necessary to introduce this prayer with the words: א-ל מלך נאמן, “G’d who is a true king.” The reason that the authors of the prayer book have seen fit to add these three words is that by adding them the three paragraphs of this prayer including the line ברוך שם כבוד מלכותו, “blessed be the glory of His Kingdom,” total 248 words, a number which equals the 248 limbs in our bodies. This is hinted at by Solomon in Proverbs 4,4: שמר מצותי וחיה “Keep My commandments and you will live.” G’d is portrayed as saying that if you (Israel) keep My commandments, I will keep you alive.” Rabbi Shimon ben Chalafta explained this concept by means of a parable: a king possessed a vineyard in the central part of the land of Israel, whereas his residence was in the northern part of the country. Another king possessed a vineyard in the northern part of Israel, whereas his residence was in the central part of the country. Each king had to travel at least once a year from his residence to his vineyard to make sure the vineyard was being tended properly. Eventually, these two kings met one another and each complained to the other about the inconvenience of having to visit his vineyard every year. They made an agreement that each king would take care of the other’s vineyard, an arrangement that saved each of them a lot of time and inconvenience.

(36) Another idea: "Hear O Israel" The rabbis said: When Moshe went up to the heavens, he heard the ministering angels saying to the Holy Blessed One, "Blessed is the name of the glory of God's sovereignty for all time" and brought it down to Israel. And why doesn't Israel say it in public (aloud)? Rabbi Asi said: To what is it similar? To one who stole jewelry from the King's palace and gave it to his wife and said to her, "Don't adorn yourself with it in public, rather (wear it) in your house." However, on Yom Kippur when they are as clean as the ministering angels, they say it publicly, "Blessed is the name of the glory of God's sovereignty for all time."

(1) Once we know that the reward for the commandments and the goodness that we will merit if we keep to the way of God that is written in the Torah is the Life of the World to Come, as it says, that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days (Deut. 22:7); and the punishment with which the wicked, who have abandoned the ways of justice written in the Torah, will be punished is karet (excision), as it says, That soul shall utterly be cut off; his iniquity shall be upon him (Num. 15:31) – then how do we understand what is written all over the Torah: “If you listen – you will get this; and if you do not listen – that will happen to you,” and all of those things are in this world, such as satiation and famine or war and peace or dominion and lowliness, and inhabiting the land and exile, and successful action and its loss, and all of the other words of the covenant? All those things are true. But this is the correct order of things: the Holy Blessed One gave us this Torah, which is a Tree of Life; and anyone who does what is written in it and knows it with a full and correct understanding earns the Life of the World to Come. And according to the magnitude of her deeds and extent of her wisdom, so she earns. And we are promised in the Torah, that if we fulfill it with happiness and good will and review its wisdom at all times – that God will remove all the things that prevent us from fulfilling it, such as sickness, war, famine, etc. And God will give us all the good things that strengthen our hands to fulfill the Torah, such as sustenance, peace, and plenty of silver and gold, so that we will not need to engage in the needs of the body – but just sit available to learn with wisdom and to do the commandment, so that we earn the Life of the World to Come. And so [too] does He say in the Torah after He promised us the goods of this world, and it will be charity (tsedeka) for us, etc. (Deuteronomy 6:25). And so [too], He informed us in the Torah that if we intentionally abandon His Torah and we engage in wastes of time - as the matter is said, But Yeshurun became fat and kicked (Deuteronomy 32:15) - that the true Judge will remove the goods of this world from those that abandon [Him], since they are what strengthened their hands to kick; and bring all of the evils that prevent them from acquiring the Life of the World to Come, so that they perish in their evil. This is [the meaning of] what is written in the Torah, As a result of your not serving the Lord, etc. and you will serve your enemies which the Lord sent upon you (Deuteronomy 28:47-8). It comes out that the explanation of all those blessings and curses is according to the following: it is to say that if you served the Lord with happiness and observed His way, He will bequest you these blessings and distance the curses from you, so that you become available to gain wisdom from the Torah and be involved with it, so that you will merit the Life of the World to Come, and He will benefit you with the world that is completely good, and lengthen your days in the world that is completely long - it comes out that you will have merited both worlds; a good life in this world that brings one to the Life of the World to Come. And if he does not acquire wisdom and good deeds here, he will not have with what to merit [the Life of the World to Come], as it says, as there is no act or reckoning or knowledge or wisdom in the grave (Ecclesiastes 9:10). And if you abandon the Lord and err in food and drink and licentiousness and similar things, He brings all of these curses upon you and removes all of the blessings so that you end all of your days in confusion and fear, and your heart will not be available and your body will not be sound to do the commandments, so that you perish from the Life of the World to Come - and it comes out that you have lost both worlds. Since when a man is occupied in this world with sickness and war and famine, he does not engage in either wisdom or commandments, through which we merit the Life of the World to Come.

Why was the Parashah of Fringes included [in the Shema']? R. Judah b. Habiba said : Because there are five things contained therein : the command of fringes ; the exodus from Egypt ; the yoke of the commandments ; [a warning against] heretical opinions [Minut] ; lustful imagination and idolatrous longing. Quite right that three of these are explicitly stated therein ; viz. : the yoke of the commandments, as it is written, "That ye may look upon it and remember all the commandments of the Lord" (ibid. xv. 39) ; the command of Fringes, as it is written, "That they make for themselves fringes" (ibid. v. 38) ; the exodus from Egypt, as it is written, "I am the Lord your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God ; I am the Lord your God" (ibid. 5:41). But where is there reference to heretical opinions and lustful imagination and idolatrous longing ? There is a teaching : "After your heart" (ibid. v. 39) means heresy; for thus the Scriptures state, "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God" (Ps. xiv, 1). "After your own eyes" (Num. I.c.) means lustful imagination ; as it is said, "And Samson said unto his father. Get her for me, for she is pleasing in my eyes" (Judg. xiv. 3). "After which ye use to go astray" (Num. I.c.) means idolatrous longing; for thus the Scriptures state, "The children of Israel again went astray after the Baalim " (Judg. viii. 33).

It was already a custom in the small towns to say 'El Melech Ne'eman' between Ahavat Olam and the reading of the Shema. And in my childhood it was difficult for me since it is known that Ahavat Olam is a blessing for a mitzvah for the reading of the Shema. All the mitzvot, all of them, require a blessing while one does them, and so we find in the Halel, and Megilah, and reading of the Torah, and all the more so in the reading of the Shema. And what we said in another commentary that one who reads does not need to bless since he was already covered by Ahavah Rabah since it is a blessing to study Torah, rather we were silent regarding the two blessings before the reading of the Shema because its timing is dependent on the creation of light, and on its setting, but the blessings Yotzer Or and Ma'ariv Aravim are blessings of praise, as expressed in the dispute on page 53b... and since this is a blessing of mitzvah it is a clear thing that anyone who blesses, on a mitzvah or on food, and answers amen to one's own blessing is commiting a complete mistake, as it is explained in the Yerushalmi... on this I need to explain that the present issue [of saying EMN before the Shema] that is explained by others that this constitutes an interruption, and one needs to go back and recite the blessing again, as taught in Brachot 40a.

And why did they do this custom? - I needed to ask to Rabbi Meir HaLevi, and he answered that it is clear that this is a mistake, and it is not the custom on Sefarad rather on the Land of Israel, and may this error go back to its place.

And after some time I saw some French students asking questions, and saying that they had a midrash agadah on the reading of the Shema that it had 248 words, corresponding to the limbs in the body, but when they counted they found only 239. And "baruch shem kevod malchuto leolam vaed" [=245] and that the sages needed to teach what is Pesachim, that "el melech ne'eman" completes the count, and obviously this is what our sages say in Yelamdenu...

(2) If one recites the Shema without a blessing, he has fulfilled the commandment of reading the Shema, [nonetheless] one later goes back and reads the blessings without the Shema. However, I see it to be proper to go back and read the [entire] Shema with its blessings. There are those who say that mitzvot do not require intent and there are those who say they do require intent to fulfill the obligation to do that mitzvah-- and the latter is the ruling.

What the Schulchan Aruch meant to say is that he should read the Birchot Kriyat Shema afterwards even though they are not necessary in order to fulfill the obligation to recite Kriyat Shema. He fulfills his obligation to recite Kriyat Shema even if he does not recite the Birchot Kriyat Shema afterwards but he missed the opportunity to fulfill the obligation to recite Birchot Kriyat Shema. One is permitted to recite the Birchot Kriyat Shema without reciting Kriyat Shema because the Birchot Kriyat Shema were not established solely to introduce Kriyat Shema. The proof for this is the fact that we do not recite within the Birchot Kriyat Shema the words: Asher Kidishanu Bi’Mitzvotav V’Tzivanu.