| M. I. 1-3; T. I. 1. The Time of Reciting the Shma‘ in the Evening | Title page | M. III. 1. The Recitation of the Shma‘ if a Relation is Dead, and at the Burial |
M. II. 1. If one is reading [1] [the Shma‘] in the Law and the time has come for reciting it, then if he reads with intention he has fulfilled the obligation [of reciting the Shma‘], but if not [with intention] he has not. And at the sections [2] he may give a salutation out of respect [to his friend], and he may reply to a salutation given. And in
[ p. 15 ]
M.the middle [of a section] he may give it, out of fear [of a superior], and he may reply. This is the opinion of R. Meir. R. Judah says: In the middle he may give it out of fear, and may reply out of respect; and at the sections he may give it out of respect, and may give the usual response of “Peace” to any one. [3]
T. II. 2. He who recites the Shma‘ must direct his attention to it. R. Achai [4] says in the name of R. Judah, If he directs his attention to it in the first section, although he has not directed his attention to it in the later section, he has fulfilled his duty.
M.II. 2. This is what is meant by “between the sections,” viz.: between the first Benediction and the second; between the second and the Shma‘; [5] between the Shma‘ and, “And it shall come to pass if ye hearken”; [6] between “And it shall come to pass if ye hearken” and “And the LORD said”; [7] between “And the LORD said” and “True and sure.” [8] R. Judah says: One may not pause between “And the LORD said” and “True and sure.” [9]
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M.II. 3 (2 cont.). R. Joshua ben Qorcha 1 said Why does the Shma‘ precede “And it shall come to pass if ye hearken”? So that a man may accept the yoke of the kingdom of Heaven 2 first, and afterwards accept the yoke of commandments. [Similarly] “And it shall come to pass, if ye hearken” precedes “And the LORD said,” because “And it shall come to pass, if ye hearken,” applies both by day and by night, but “And the LORD said” applies by day only. 3
4. (3). He who recites the Shma‘ not loud enough for himself to hear has fulfilled his obligation. R. Jose [10] says he has not. If he has recited without expressing the letters exactly, R. Jose says he has fulfilled his obligation. R. Judah says he has not. He who recites in an irregular order [11] has not fulfilled his obligation. If he has recited and made a mistake he must return to the place where he made the mistake.
[ p. 17 ]
T.
T. II. 3. He who recites the Shma‘ in an irregular order has not fulfilled his duty, and so also in the Hallel, [12] and so in the Prayer, [13] and so in the Roll. [14]
4. He who recites the Shma‘ and makes a mistake, and leaves out one verse in it, must not begin and recite that verse by itself, [15] but he begins with that verse and finishes until the end, and so in the Hallel, and so in the Prayer, and so in the Roll. He who enters into the synagogue and finds that the congregation have said half the Shma‘, and finishes with them, should not begin and recite from the beginning of it as far as that place, but begins from the beginning and finishes to the end. And so in the Hallel, and so in the Prayer, and so in the Roll.
5. He who is reciting the Shma‘ and makes a mistake and does not know where he made it, returns to the beginning of it. If he has made the mistake in the middle of the section [16] he returns to the beginning of the section; if he has made the mistake between the first [verse] [where] “write” [is said] and the second, [17] he returns to the first.
6. They who are engaged in writing books of Scripture, Tephillin, [18] and Mezuzoth, [19] break off [ p. 18 ] their task for the recitation of the Shma‘, but do not break off for the Prayer. Rabbi says: Just as they do not break off for the Prayer, so they do not break off for the recitation of the Shma. R. Chananiah ben Aqabia [20] says: Just as they break off for the recitation of the Shma, so they break off for the Prayer. R. Eleazar bar Zadoq said that when Rabban Gamaliel and his court of justice [21] were at Jabneh they were busy with the needs of the congregation, [and] did not break off for fear of failing in attention to the subject before them.
7. A porter—although the burden is on his shoulders—behold such a man recites [the Shma‘]. But at the time that he is unloading and loading he does not recite (it), for his mind is not settled between one and the other. He should not pray (the Prayer) until the time that he unloads. [22]
II. 5 (4). Workmen may recite [the Shma‘] on the top of a tree, or on the top of a scaffold, although they are not free to do so in the Prayer. [23]
T. II. 8. Labourers recite the Shma‘ if they are in the top of a tree, and they say the Prayer if they are in the top of an olive—tree, and in the top of a [ p. 19 ] fig-tree. [24] But in the case of all other trees, they come down and then say the Prayer. The owner of the house in either case comes down and says the Prayer. [25]
9. Labourers recite the Shma‘, and say the Benedictions before it and after it [26] They eat their food and say Benedictions before and after. [27] They say the Eighteen Benedictions three times, [28] but we do not let them go down in front of the Ark [to say prayers for others]. [29]
M.II. 6 (5 cont.). A bridegroom is exempt from reciting the Shma‘ on the first night, and until the Sabbath is over, if he has not consummated the marriage. [30] [Connected with this is] an incident in the life of Rabban Gamaliel, who married and recited the Shma‘ on the night he married. They said to him: Didst thou not teach us that a bridegroom is exempt from reciting the Shma‘ on the first night? He said to them: I will not listen to you, [ p. 20 ] that I should resign the kingdom of heaven, for a single hour. [31]
T. I. 3. Bridegrooms and all who are occupied with fulfilling (other) commandments are free from the duty of reciting the Shma‘. For it is said: When thou sittest in thine house, [32] which excludes those who are occupied with fulfilling commandments. And when thou walkest in the way [33] excludes bridegrooms.
II. 10. The groomsmen [34] and all the marriage guests [35] are free from the Prayer, and from the phylacteries, the whole seven days (of the wedding-feast). But they are bound to observe the recitation of the Shma‘. R. Shela [36] said, The bridegroom is free from obligation, but all the marriage guests are under obligation.
M.II. 7 (6). He bathed the first night after the death of his wife. They said to him: Didst thou not teach us, that a mourner is forbidden to bathe? [ p. 21 ] M.He said to them: I am not like all other men; [37] I am weakly. [38]
II. 8 (7 cont.). And when his slave Tabi died he accepted condolence [39] for him. They said to him: Didst thou not teach us, that men do not accept condolence for slaves? He said to them: My slave Tabi was not like all other slaves; he was a worthy man.
9 (8). If a bridegroom wishes to recite the Shma‘ the first night he may recite it. Rabban Simeon ben Gamaliel [40] says: Not every one who wishes to make a name for himself, makes it. [41]
| M. I. 1-3; T. I. 1. The Time of Reciting the Shma‘ in the Evening | Title page | M. III. 1. The Recitation of the Shma‘ if a Relation is Dead, and at the Burial |
14:7 reading. It was the practice to read the Torah aloud. ↩︎
14:8 at the sections. Between the various sections of the Shine in the wider sense. See the next mishna. ↩︎
15:1 Cf. Matt. 1012 sq. ↩︎
15:2 R. Achai. Of the fourth generation of Tannaim, c. 200 A.D. ↩︎
15:3 the Shma‘. In the wider sense. ↩︎
15:4 Deut. 1113-21. ↩︎
15:5 Num. 1537-41. ↩︎
15:6 SA, p. 42. ↩︎
15:7 For in Jet. 1010 we read “The LORD is the true God.” We must therefore not make any separation between “God” and “true” (T. J. II. 2, p. 4b bottom; T. B. 14a bottom). ↩︎
16:4 R. Jose. This name without any addition refers to R. Jose ben Chalaphta, a leather-worker in Sepphoris, and a mishna teacher of the third generation, c. 130-260 A.D. ↩︎
17:1 the Hallel. Pss. 113-118. SA, p. 219. ↩︎
17:2 the Prayer. The Eighteen Benedictions (vide supra, p. 5). ↩︎
17:3 the Roll. The Book of Esther. Each of these three is composed of more than one section. ↩︎
17:4 by itself. For it would then have been said out of order. ↩︎
17:5 in the middle of the section. i.e. of the section he happens to be reciting. ↩︎
17:6 the first [verse] . . . . the second. i.e. ver. 9 in Deut. 64-9, and ver. 20 in Deut 1113-21. ↩︎
17:7 Tephillin. The phylacteries. Small square leather boxes bound by thongs on the left arm and the head during prayers. They have been in use at least since the third century B.C. Each box contains Exod. 131-10, 11-16. Deut. 64-9, 1113-21, written on parchment in Hebrew. The Greek name φυλακτήριον (Matt. 235) suggests that they were regarded as amulets having a prophylactic value against demons (see Oesterley and Box, pp. 447-450). ↩︎
17:8 the Mezuzoth. The name Mezuzah (lit.: “doorpost”) is given to the small case hung on the upper part of the right-hand doorpost p. 18 (cf. Deut. 69) containing a parchment on which is written Deut. 64-9 and 1113-21 in twenty-two lines. ↩︎
18:1 R. Chananiah ben Aqabia. In the third generation of mishna teachers, c. 130-560 A.D. According to another reading the name of Chananiah’s father was Aqiba. ↩︎
18:2 Rabban Gamaliel and his court of justice. At Jabne, c. 90-130 A.D. ↩︎
18:3 For the Eighteen, as has been already said, require strict attention. ↩︎
18:4 in the Prayer. The Shma‘ requires attention only in its first verse, but the Eighteen Benedictions throughout, for prayer is a matter of love (Bartenora). ↩︎
19:1 olive-tree . . . . fig-tree. There is not much danger of falling from these trees. ↩︎
19:2 His time is not so valuable. ↩︎
19:3 the Benedictions before it and after it. SA, pp. 39-42. ↩︎
19:4 before . . . after. Literally “before them” and “after them,” i.e. the Shma‘ and the meal (vide infra, p. 23). ↩︎
19:5 three times. i.e. morning, afternoon, and evening. The shel in Zuckermandel’s text seems to be a printer’s error. ↩︎
19:6 let them go down in front of the Ark. Cf. M. V. 3: “him that passes before the Ark.” Either phrase was originally used of the leader in the Tephillah, because he stepped forward in front of the Ark containing the rolls of the Law. But the term remained on when he had taken his place there long before the Tephillah. “Go down,” because sometimes the Ark was lower than the body of the synagogue, perhaps in order to teach humility. See Elbogen, P. 497; SA, on p. 42 (p. lvi.). Cf. infra, p. 40. ↩︎
19:7 But he must say the Shma‘ in the morning. ↩︎
20:1 Cf. Matt. 1623. ↩︎
20:2 Deut 67. ↩︎
20:3 ibid. “The way” is interpreted as an euphemism for marriage; cf. Gen. 1931. ↩︎
20:4 The groomsmen (ha Shôshbînim). Observe the plural. The shôshbîn was equivalent to our “best man,” but while at some periods and in some places only the bridegroom had one, sometimes it was only the bride that had one, and again sometimes both had. In any case many of the preliminaries of the marriage were carried out by the shôshbîn. (Cf. John 329. See Krauss, ii, 457.) ↩︎
20:5 and all the marriage guests (wkŏl bnê ha chuppah). Literally, “and all the sons of the marriage-chamber.” This is the phrase in Matt. 916. ↩︎
20:6 R. Shela. Placed sometimes among the Tannaim, or mishna teachers, but more usually among the very earliest of the Amoraim, or commentators upon the mishna itself. He was head of the School in Nehardea in Babylon about 200 A.D. ↩︎
21:1 Cf. Luke 1811. ↩︎
21:2 ἀσθενής. ↩︎
21:3 condolence. In the formal utterance of prayers for the mourners by those who visited them during the week of mourning. For examples of such prayers used to-day see SA, p. 324. R. Eliezer refused to accept such condolence from his disciples, and said that only the same phrases should be used as at the death of an ox, “God make up to thee thy loss,” but other Rabbis did permit more to be said when the male or female slave was pious (Gemara T.B. 18b). Cf. infra. p. 42. ↩︎
21:4 Rabban Simeon ben Gamaliel. Son of Gamaliel II., flourished c. 130-160 A.D., the father of R. Judah the Prince, who was the compiler of the mishna. ↩︎
21:5 A warning against vanity and pride, which lead to hypocrisy. Not every one can safely imitate R. Gamaliel (see M. 6(5), p. 19). ↩︎