Q & A - WITH RABBI RISKIN
Question:
1. Does one fulfill the commandment of reciting “Keri’at
Shema” if it is recited without the preceding blessings?
2. In this context, does the concept of “lekhat’hila”
(לכתחילה)
mean an extra measure or “hiddur” in fulfilling a mitzvah, or
does it refer to the proper way of fulfilling it?
3. Does the concept of “bedi’avad” (בדיעבד)
mean a standard, proper way of fulfilling the commandment, without any
extra “hiddur” – i.e., a perfectly acceptable path for a
person to choose – or does it mean that this is not the proper way of
fulfilling the mitzvah, but if a person nevertheless performed the
commandment in this way, he has fulfilled his obligation and need not
perform it again?
Answer:
It is clear from the Shulhan Arukh, “Laws of Reciting Shema,”
siman 58, that the halakha is as follows:
a. A person who wishes to fulfill the mitzvah of Keri’at
Shema in the best possible way (hiddur) should recite the
Shema and its preceding blessings at a time that will enable him to
reach the Amida prayer of shaharit at dawn, as practiced in a “vattikin”
minyan.
b. One fulfills the mitzvah of Keri’at Shema
at its proper time by reciting the Shema and its preceding blessings
within the first three hours (not clock hours, but halakhic hours
– the duration of the day divided into twelve) of the day.
c. One may also recite Shema and
its blessings within the fourth hour of the day, but he does not
thereby fulfill the mitzvah of Keriat Shema at its proper time.
d. Keri’at Shema may be recited at any time
during the day, since it is like Torah study (it is in fact the
recitation of excerpts from the Torah, rather than a real “prayer”),
but after the end of the fourth hour it may no longer be recited with
its preceding blessings.
In light of the above I believe that it is not proper
for any synagogue in Efrat to schedule the time for shaharit on
Shabbat morning without taking into consideration the proper time for Keri’at
Shema. The schedule should allow for fulfillment of the mitzvah of
reciting Shema with its blessings within the third hour.
