Berakhot 031

1:
Our mishnah contains four halakhot. The first brings two opinions concerning the question whether it is permitted to "sight read" the Shema or whether it must be read "out loud". Tanna Kamma [the anonymous sage who is in disagreement with Rabbi Yosé] says that "eyes only" reading is permissible, whereas Rabbi Yosé says that it is not. According to the Gemara [Berakhot 15a] these two sages are in disagreement concerning the appropriate midrash for the word Shema itself. Tanna Kamma thinks that the Hebrew word Shema ["hear"] actually indicates "understand", and that this means that the Shema may be recited "in any language that you understand".

2:
I have explained the term Tanna Kamma many times (recently
Berakhot 014 and Berakhot 030), but another explanation may help. When "Rabbi" complied his Mishnah he used a convention: where an opinion was quoted anonymously this was an indication that he considered this view to be halakhah; where he attributed a sage to an opinion this indicated that he rejected this view. Thus in our present mishnah we have an anonymous view (of which Rabbi approves) and that of Rabbi Yosé (of which Rabbi disapproves). We refer to the sage with whom Rabbi Yosé is in dispute as Tanna Kamma, the first sage.

3:
This midrash is not nearly so far-fetched as one might at first think. There are many places in the Tanakh [Hebrew Bible] where this verb may have such a connotation and there are also many such places where it must have such a connotation. (I offer as an example of the latter 2Kings 18:26. The cabinet ministers of Judah standing on the parapets of Jerusalem, surrounded as they are by masses of the common people, are negotiating with the Assyrian war-lord below who is threatening a long and disastrous siege. To their dismay, part of his strategy is to speak directly to the populace 'over the heads' of the negotiators who beg him to "please speak in Aramaic, because we understand [shom'im] that language, and do not speak in the language of Judah in the ears of all the people on the parapet".)

4:
Thus Tanna Kamma would render the first phrase of the Shema in modern English as something like "Understand, Israel…" [I wrote about the problematica of translating the Shema in Berakhot 025.] Rabbi Yosé would have a different midrash [interpretation] of the word Shema. He says that it indicates "hear" (which, of course, it does as well), and that this means that one must actually "hear" the words that one is reading. Accepted halakhah follows Tanna Kamma (as is usual) – but grudgingly, and tries to "get the best of both worlds". The Shulĥan Arukh, for example, states [Oraĥ Ĥayyim 62:3]: "One must let one's ear hear what comes out of one's mouth [victory for Rabbi Yosé!], but if one does not do so one has fulfilled the duty [victory for Tanna Kamma!]" This is also what Rambam wrote [Keriat Shema 2:8].

5:
The second halakhah in our Mishnah is concerned with the accuracy of our reading the text of the Shema. Accepted halakhah here follows Rabbi Yehudah (with a vengeance!) I quote here Rambam [Keriat Shema 2:9-10] on this issue verbatim: