Tractate Berakhot of the Talmud of Eret—-Israel: 0016

1:
Regarding the terminus ad quem of the evening Shema the mishnah brings two opinions: that of the sages, who say that the evening Shema must be recited before midnight, and that of Rabban Gamli'el, who holds that it may be recited until the break of the following dawn. The mishnah, as is its wont, does not decide between these two opinions. That is why in the Gemara Rabbi Yoḥanan is quoted as determining that "halakhah is according to the sages" and not according to Rabban Gamli'el. Rabbi Yasa, who taught this statement of Rabbi Yoḥanan, would tell his colleagues that if they wish to study Torah during the night they should first recite Shema before midnight and then study Torah.

2:
Rabbi Yoḥanan was one of the greatest of the sages of Eretz-Israel. He resided in Tiberias and his Bet Midrash became the centre of Torah learning and all the sages of his generation flocked to his Bet Midrash. He had a fierce temper and was renowned for his impressive appearance. His great friend and colleague was Rabbi Shim'on ben-Lakish — Resh Lakish. On one occasion he let his tongue run loose at his friend who fell ill and died from the shame he suffered in the Bet Midrash at the hands of his friend. Rabbi Yoḥanan was devastated at what he had done and died disconsolate. In his teens Rabbi Yoḥanan had studied under Rabbi Yehudah, the President of the Sanhedrin and compiler of the Mishnah, and it was in his Bet Midrash that the foundations were laid for what was to become the Gemara of Eretz-Israel. He died around the year 250 CE.

3:
When one delves deeper into the admonition of Rabbi Yasa we find that it is in possible conflict with a barayta which the Gemara quotes: "If someone recites the Shema in the synagogue in the morning he has fulfilled his duty, but in the evening he has not fulfilled his duty." The reason for this is simple: way back in 0002 we learned:

In Eretz-Israel … the evening service was recited in the synagogues very early… In the late afternoon, as the sun was clearly westering, they would recite the Afternoon service and this was immediately followed by the recital of the Evening service. Then the people would go home for their evening meal. Then, upon going to bed, they would recite the Shema again in order to fulfill the religious obligation… They read the Shema in the synagogue not in order to fulfill the mitzvah of reciting the Shema but in order to preface the recital of the evening Amidah with words of Torah; this is similar to our own prefacing the Afternoon Amidah with the recital of Psalm 145, Ashrey. So, in Eretz-Israel, having completed the Minḥah Amidah they would recite the Shema without the attendant benedictions, just the three paragraphs of Shema… Then they would stand and recite the Arvit Amidah.

Thus, as the barayta quoted in the Gemara says, even though someone had recited the Shema in the synagogue as part of the Evening Service he had not yet fulfilled the mitzvah of reciting the Shema in the evening because he recited it before darkness had set in. Therefore, before going to bed he would recite the Shema once again with its appropriate benedictions in order to fulfill the mitzvah of reciting the Shema in the evening.

4:
In Eretz-Israel the benediction that came after the Shema was Emet ve-Yatziv in both the morning and the evening. (It was only the Babylonian rite which had Emet ve-Yatziv for the morning and Emet ve-Emunah for the evening.) It follows, therefore, that Rabbi Yasa permitted study and further prayer after Emet ve-Yatziv at bedtime. This was not acceptable to the sages in Babylon. For them the recitation of the Shema as part of the Evening Service (after dark) was the fulfillment of the mitzvah. So why should the Shema be recited again before going to bed? The Babylonian sage, Rav Yosef, taught that this second recitation of the Shema, at bedtime, was a kind of incantation whose effect was to keep evil spirits at bay. (The Babylonian Jews believed in invisible and malevolent spirits that surrounded them.)

5:
Thus, in Babylon, they disapproved of reciting anything after the Shema had been read upon going to bed. They even quoted a verse to 'prove' their opinion:

In Eretz-Israel they saw no reason why they should not study and pray after reciting Shema. Rabbi Yasa permitted Torah study, as we have seen. Rabbi Shemu'el bar-Naḥmani would recite the Shema again and again until he fell asleep! (Better than counting sheep.) The Gemara tells us that Rabbi Yehoshu'a ben-Levi would recite psalms after the Shema.

6:
Rabbi Yehoshu'a ben-Levi was a contemporary of Rabbi Yoḥanan and Resh Lakish. But his Bet Midrash was in the town of Lod. One of his teachers had been Bar-Kappara, the dear friend and colleague of Rabbi Yehudah, the President of the Sanhedrin. Another of his teachers had been Rabbi Pinhas ben-Ya'ir, who in many senses had been a kind of antagonist to the compiler of the Mishnah. Rabbi Yehoshu'a ben-Levi had no qualms at arguing with Rabbi Yoḥanan, despite the latter's fierce temper. In contrast, Rabbi Yehoshu'a ben-Levi is described as being of a gentle, modest and pious disposition. His love of peace prevented him from making any attacks against the Christian theology that was then gaining ground. He was tolerant of Jewish Christians, though they often annoyed him. And he forbore cursing one of them, pronouncing rather Psalm 145:9, "God's mercies extend over all His creatures."

7:
The Gemara asks how Rabbi Yehoshu'a ben-Levi could permit himself to recite psalms after Emet ve-Yatziv. Does not a barayta clearly say that "one should not say anything after Emet ve-Yatziv"? Rabbi Yehoshu'a ben-Levi held that the barayta was only referring to the morning Shema, not the evening Shema. Why it should not be permitted to add anything after Emet ve-Yatziv in the morning is the next issue to be discussed in the Gemara.