הקדמה לתפילה וקריאת שמע Prayer and Shema

1. It is a positive commandment to pray every day, as it is said, “And you shall serve the Lord your God.” From tradition they learned that this service is prayer, for it is said, “And serve Him with all your heart.” The sages said, “Which is the service of the heart? That is prayer.” And the number of prayers is not from the Torah, and the text of this prayer is not from the Torah, and prayer does not have a set time from the Torah…

2. Rather, the obligation of this command is thus: that a person beseech and pray every day, and relate the praise of God, and after that request his needs that he requires through request and pleading, and after that he gives praise and thanks to God for the good that He has bestowed on him, each person according to his capacity…

3. All should pray facing the Temple in whatever place they be…

It was stated: Rabbi Yosi b. Rabbi Hanina said: The Patriarchs instituted the Tefillah

Rabbi Yehoshua b. Levi said: prayer was instituted corresponding to the daily sacrifices.

It was taught in accordance with Rabbi Yosi b. Rabbi Hanina, and it was taught in accordance with Rabbi Yehoshua b. Levi.

It was taught in accordance with Rabbi Yosi b. Rabbi Hanina:

Abraham instituted the morning prayer, as it says, (Genesis 19:27)"Next morning, Abraham hurried to the place where he had stood before the Lord." And "standing" is prayer, as it is said, (Psalms 106:30) "Pinhas stood and prayed."

Isaac instituted the afternoon prayer, as it is said, (Genesis 24:63) "And Isaac went out to meditate in the field toward evening..." And "mediation" is prayer, as it is said, (Psalms 102:1) "A prayer of the lowly man when he is faint and pours forth his plea before the lord."

Jacob instituted the evening prayer, as it is said, (Genesis 28:11) "He encountered a certain place and stopped there..." and "encountered" is prayer, as it is said, (Jeremiah 7:16) "As for you, do not pray for this people, do not raise a cry of prayer on their behalf, do not plead with Me; for I will not listen to you."

It was taught in accordance with Rabbi Yehoshua b. Levi: For what reason did they say that the morning prayer is until midday? Because the daily morning offering was offered until midday.

And for what reason did they say that the afternoon prayer is until the evening? Because the afternoon daily offering was offered until the evening.

And for what reason did they say that the evening prayer has no fixed time? Because the limbs and and the fat that were not burned up by the evening were offered all night long.

And for what reason did they say that the additional prayer [Mussaf] can be said all day? Because the additional offering was offered all day.

(1) The recitation of Shema was part of the daily worship in the Holy Temple, and our Sages ordained that it be recited in the synagogue service, providing it a central place in the morning and evening prayers of each Jew. Its importance may be judged from the fact that the very first Mishnah in the Oral Torah opens with the question, "From what time may the evening Shema be read?"

(2) In reading Shema, bear in mind that you are performing a Scriptural commandment. All three paragraphs should be read with kavanah, concentrated intention, on what you are saying. The entire Shema should be recited in awe and reverence as it proclaims the existence and unity of God; the Jews' complete dedication to God and His commandments; the belief in Divine justice; the remembrance of the Exodus and the selection of the Jews as God's Chosen People. These concepts are the pillars of the Jewish faith. Whenever this sign (°) appears (e.g. בְּכָל֯־לְ֯בָבְךָ), it indicates that you should be careful to pronounce each word distinctly. In many instances, the last letter of the first word and first letter of the second word are the same, the words might be read as one, which is not the proper way to fulfill the mitzvah of Kerias Shema.

(3) The following three words should be said when praying without a minyan:

(4) (Almighty, faithful King)

(5) Hear, Israel:

(6) Adonoy is our God,

(7) Adonoy is One.¹Deuteronomy 6:4. It is customary to recite this verse aloud, the ear hearing what the lips utter. This helps one concentrate on the meaning of this important declaration. Interestingly, the last letter of the first word שמע and last letter of אחד arc written larger than the others. These two letters form the word עד “witness”—i.e., every Jew by saying Shema testifies to God's oneness.—Avudraham
Customarily one closes his eyes when pronouncing this testimony in order to shut out all distractions, and to concentrate all of one's thoughts on God's oneness. The last word, אחד, “One,” is to be said with special emphasis, drawing it out for the length of time needed to reflect that God, the Giver and Sustainer of life Whose Providence guides the destinies of all men, is the unique God of Israel, that He is alone in His world, ruling all four corners of the universe.

(8) The following two lines are to be said silently:

(9) Blessed [is His] Name, Whose glorious kingdom

(10) is forever and ever.²Jacob wished to reveal to his sons the ‘end of the days,׳ whereupon the Shechinah departed from him. Said he, “Perhaps, Heaven forbid! there is one unfit among my children.” His sons exclaimed to him, “Hear Israel” etc., just as there is only One in your heart so is there only One in our heart. Ben Lakish explained that Jacob said, “Blessed [is His] Name” in response to his sons’ exclamation. The Sages wondered, “Shall we recite it aloud when our teacher Moses did not say it? Shall we not say it at all, when Jacob ordained it?” Thus, the Rabbis enacted that it be said quietly.—Maseches Pesachim 56a.
When Moses went up to the heavens, he heard the angels praise God by saying, “Blessed [is His] Name, etc.” When he returned to earth, he taught it to the Jewish People. We say it in an undertone so as not to offend the angels. On Yom Kippur however, when we are considered like angels, we are permitted to say ברוך שם aloud.—Midrash Rabba to Deuteronomy

(11) And you shall love Adonoy your God

(12) with all your heart³Our Sages (Sifrei to Deuteronomy 31) explain “With all your heart” to mean “With all your desires—including the evil inclination,” i.e., subject your earthly passions and ambitions to God's Law and make them instruments for His service.

(13) and with all your soul⁴The Sages (ibid.) take these words to mean “With your whole life—even to the last drop of blood.” It was such an understanding that led Rabbi Akiva to say, when the executioner was tearing his flesh with iron hooks, “All my life, I have longed for this moment. I have loved God with all my heart and with all my might; and now at last, I can love Him with my whole life.” It was this concept that gave Jewish martyrs the courage to lay down their lives for their faith.

(14) and with all your possessions.⁵The Sages (ibid.) explain, “With whatever lot Providence has assigned to you,” i.e., despite whatever material sacrifice your loyalty to God and to Torah might entail.

(15) And these words

(16) which I command you today,⁶The teachings of the Torah should be ever fresh in your minds, as though you received it today.—Ibid.

(17) shall be upon your heart.

(18) And you shall teach them sharply⁷See to it that your children have a clear, and not a confused, stammering knowledge of the Torah.—Ibid.

(19) to your children.

(20) And you shall discuss them

(21) when you sit in your house,

(22) and when you travel on the road,

(23) and when you lie down and when you rise.

(24) And you shall bind them for a sign

(25) upon your hand,

(26) and they shall be for totafos

(27) between your eyes.

(28) And you shall write them

(29) upon the doorposts of your house

(30) and upon your gateways.⁸

Deuteronomy 6:5-9. This paragraph contains 10 commandments: 1) accepting the “yoke” of heaven; 2) proclaiming the Unity of God; 3) loving God; 4) studying Torah (and you shall speak of them); 5) teaching your children; 6-7) reciting Shema in the evening and in the morning; 8-9) putting on the tefillin of the hand and head; 10) putting up mezuzos on the door-posts.

(31) And it will be—

(32) if you vigilantly obey My commandments

(33) which I command you this day,

(34) to love Adonoy your God,

(35) and serve Him

(36) with your entire hearts⁹The service of the heart is prayer, as David said (Psalms 141:2) “May my prayers be acceptable to You as an incense [service].”

(37) and with your entire souls—

(38) that I will give rain for your land

(39) in its proper time,¹⁰God will make it rain at night so as not to cause you discomfort.—Rashi

(40) the early (autumn) rain

(41) and the late (spring) rain;¹¹Reward and punishment are here connected with the rainfalls vital to the Land of Israel. The heavy rains which open the growing season in the fall and the showers which fall while the grain is ripening are of utmost importance.

(42) and you will harvest your grain

(43) and your wine and your oil.

(44) And I will put grass

(45) in your fields for your cattle,

(46) and you will eat and be satisfied.

(47) Beware lest your hearts be swayed¹²One who is satisfied can easily be induced to forget the Source of his fullness.—Rashi

(48) and you turn astray,

(49) and you worship alien gods

(50) and bow to them.

(51) And Adonoy's fury will blaze among you,

(52) and He will close off the heavens

(53) and there will be no rain

(54) and the earth will not yield its produce;

(55) and you will perish swiftly¹³No extension will be given. The “generation of the flood” was granted a reprieve of 120 years (Genesis 6:3) because they did not have from whom to learn; but you do have from whom to learn.—Sifrei, cited by Rashi

(56) from the good land

(57) which Adonoy gives you.

(58) Place these words of Mine¹⁴Even in exile you must fulfill God's commandments—Sifrei cited by Rashi

(59) upon your hearts and upon your souls,—

(60) and bind them for a sign

(61) upon your hands,

(62) and they shall be for totafos

(63) between your eyes.¹⁵Between your eyes is not to be taken literally. The correct position of the phylactery of the head (shel rosh) is at the edge of the hair line directly above the place which is between the eyes.

(64) And you shall teach them to your sons,

(65) to speak them¹⁶From the moment your son knows how to talk, begin teaching him the Torah.—Rashi.

(66) when you sit in your house,

(67) and when you travel on the road,

(68) and when you lie down and when you rise.

(69) And you shall write them

(70) upon the doorposts of your house

(71) and upon your gateways.

(72) In order that your days be prolonged,

(73) and the days of your children,

(74) upon the land

(75) which Adonoy swore to your fathers

(76) to give them [for as long]

(77) as the heavens are above the earth.

(78) And Adonoy spoke to Moses saying:

(79) Speak to the children of Israel,

(80) and tell them¹⁷Rabbi Yehuda bar Chaviva said that this third section was added to Shema because of six important things contained therein: 1. the commandment of fringes, 2. mention of the Exodus, 3. the call to assume the yoke of God׳s commandments, 4. the warning against heretical concepts, 5. the warning against straying after sinful desires, and 6. the warning against idolatrous worship.—Maseches Berachos 12b

(81) to make for themselves fringes

(82) on the corners of their garments

(83) throughout their generations;

(84) and they will place with the fringes

(85) of each corner

(86) a thread of blue.

(87) And it will be to you for fringes,

(88) and you will look upon it

(89) and you will remember

(90) all the commandments of Adonoy,¹⁸Rabbi Meir says: “The blue thread of the fringes resembles the sea, the sea reflects the heavens, and heavens resemble the Throne of Glory” (Sifrei). The outward act of looking upon the tzitzis leads the Jew to inward spiritual conformity with the precepts of God.

(91) and you will perform them;

(92) and you will not turn aside after your hearts¹⁹The heart and the eyes of a person are the agents of sin—the eye sees, the heart desires, and thus the person sins —Tanchuma cited by Rashi.

(93) and after your eyes

(94) which cause you to go astray.

(95) In order that you will remember

(96) and perform all My commandments;

(97) and you will be holy unto your God.

(98) I am Adonoy, your God,

(99) Who brought you out

(100) of the land of Egypt

(101) to be your God:

(102) I am Adonoy, your God is true.