Berakhot 014

7:
Richard Friedman has drawn my attention to the fact that I have not made sufficiently clear the distribution of opinions in this mishnah. In case he is right (as he usually is) let me clarify "the story so far". As far as the earliest time for reciting the Shema in the morning is concerned, the mishnah brings two views: Tanna Kamma [the unnamed sage whose opinion is first quoted] says that the time is "from the hour when one can tell the blue [thread of the tzitzit] from the white [ones]"; Rabbi Eli'ezer would give a later time here – "from the hour when one can distinguish blue from green". As far as the latest time for reciting the Shema is concerned the mishnah also brings two views: Rabbi Eli'ezer would have the recitation completed by sunrise, whereas the view of Rabbi Yehoshu'a is that the time is not up until the end of the third hour. (Richard suggested to me that this latter view is is also that of Tanna Kamma, but this is not what the mishnah says.)

8:
As far as halakhah is concerned, the view of Tanna Kamma is accepted (of course) as the earliest time (but we have already noted that this time was later described differently, when the tallit no longer had tassels with a blue thread). As for the latest time for reading the Shema, the view of Rabbi Yehoshu'a is accepted halakhah, and it is this time that is given to this day in liturgical calendars as sof z^eman k^eri'at Shema [end of time for reciting the Shema].

9:
Our mishnah further adds that if one exceeded even the generous definition of Rabbi Yehoshu'a as regards the latest time, one has not entirely lost out: he or she may recite the Shema (with its berakhot). Although they have not fulfilled the mitzvah of reciting the Shema 'on time', they have 'studied Torah' by reading it.

Mishteh revisited. You may recall that Reuven Boxman objected to my suggesting that the sons of Rabban Gamli'el (in Mishnah 1) had attended a 'symposium' (à la Plato). He now has reinforcements from an unexpected source. Naomi Kolton Fromm writes:

Just for the record meshtutah (mishteh) in Syriac is very often used to mean a wedding party/feast – even though technically it can be just a feast (my knowledge of Syriac texts is not yet vast enough to say more) and it probably come from the constant New Testament references to the metaphor of bridegroom and his wedding day. [Syriac is, as far as the uninitiated are concerned, Aramaic written with a different alphabet. It was (is?) the liturgical language of Christian sects in the Levant. SR]

David Freidenreich sends the following observation:

It is interesting to see the choice of reference markers for the earliest time to say Shema, particularly the final decision in favor of there being enough light to recognize a non-stranger 4 cubits away. Perhaps the rabbis' decision to use this reference was connected to the fact that the morning reading of the Shema was meant to be recited with a minyan (so that Barchu and the Kedushah could also be recited). Praying while not being able to recognize those with whom you are praying defeats the purpose of communal prayer. It is also noteworthy that the Talmud specifies someone who is not a stranger – generally, a minyan is composed of a crowd of "regulars," and the rabbis may have wanted to ensure that this feeling of community was maintained.

Ron Kaminsky asks me to clarify the halakhic situation of people in (for example) the Arctic Circle.

If a Jew is in a place where the phenomena of sunrise and sunset are such that he or she cannot lead a regular liturgical day, they should observe the liturgical times of the nearest place where such phenomena are more or less 'normal'. Some would say "the nearest place where Jews reside", but this is a minority opinion. My own personal guess is that the best thing to do would be to observe an 'artificial' day of 12 hours 'daytime' starting at 6 am (local time or Jerusalem time) and 12 hours 'nightime'. Please remember this halakhah next time you visit the North Pole or find yourself orbiting the Earth several times a day in a space shuttle!

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