Berakhot 062

2:
The reisha is, in fact, a continuation of the reisha of the previous mishnah. We recall that the Tanna of the reisha of the previous mishnah (and this one) does not accept the abolition of the takkanah of Ezra prohibiting a man who has emitted semen from engaging in Torah until after bathing in a Mikveh. He assumes that it is still in force – either for reasons of conscience or because the acceptance of its abolition had not yet happened. After the acceptance of the abolition of the takkanah [rabbinic requirement] of Ezra the reisha of our mishnah is irrelevant for practical purposes. (What the mishnah prescribes is that if a man who has had a seminal emission and has not yet bathed in a mikveh [Ba'al Keri] suddenly recalls while reciting the Amidah that he should not, in fact, be doing so – he should not just stop what he is doing, but continue his worship in a much abbreviated form: just reciting the actual berakhot of each blessing of the Amidah, while omitting the text that precedes each berakhah. The concept and content of the Amidah is the main topic of the next two chapters of our Tractate.)

3:
The emtzaïta of our mishnah is based on a certain presumption. We have learned so far that the Shema may be recited at any time from before sunrise until noon, while the most preferred time is from "when one can tell blue from white" until the end of the third hour of the day [see Berakhot 012 and the following shiurim]. However, there was a custom among very saintly people to try to co-ordinate their recitation of the Shema with the Amidah which must immediately follow it. The first time at which it is permissible to recite the Amidah is sunrise. Thus these saintly people would time their recitation of the Shema so that it would conclude exactly at sunrise; thus the last berakhah of the Shema, "… Ga'al Yisra'el" would be uttered exactly at sunrise, and the worshiper would slip seamlessly into the recitation of the Amidah. Such a manner of reciting the Shema is called ke-vatikin ["like the ancients"], which probably means that this was the original format, which was already ancient in Talmudic times. Rambam calculated that about six minutes before sunrise is needed for the recitation of the Shema ke-vatikin. This custom is still practiced in some communities by a few individuals, and there is a minyan ke-vatikin every day at the Kotel in Jerusalem.

4:
The emtzaïta of our mishnah assumes ke-vatikin: that this custom is so worthy that if there is not sufficient time for the ritual bath to be concluded by sunrise, the waters of the mikveh may be considered sufficient covering! Let us just add here, almost parenthetically, that recitation of the Shema in a state of nudity is prohibited.

To be continued.

This is not a new notion, as it is an ancient standard of halacha. However, the question needs to be asked, what does this mean as a halachic standard. Is a takkanah that cannot be observed one that is insufficiently well known, overly demandanding, or just unseemly to the constituency? Furthermore, if this ancient standard did apply to an age when halacha was the standard, how often was the rule applied in reality? Finally, what are its implications for Conservative amcha of today? I am not suggesting an abrogation of halacha to conform to the mass practice of many affiliated Jews. However, might this value/standard by used as a means for the dimunition of halachic authority? What would be the other values that take priority over this standard? How and when are they applicable? I have no answers, just a lot of questions.