Prayer VIII: Birchot Keri’at Shema

The berachot before and after Keri’at Shema expand on its main themes.

Before Shema, the berachot express our understanding of God and covenant. Yotzer Or, the first beracha recited in the morning, prepares us for kabbalat ol malchut shamayim by revisiting a main theme of the prayers recited upon arising—God’s daily renewal of creation. God created and administers the world and all that is light and dark within it (a theme also in the parallel beracha at night, Ha-ma’ariv Aravim). In this beracha, we praise God as Ruler of the natural universe, whomthe angels sanctify.¹

The second beracha before Shema, Ahavat Olam (in ma’ariv) or Ahava Rabba (in shacharit), complements the first by emphasizing another aspect of divine kingship—God’s particular covenant with the Jewish people. God makes the covenant manifest by lovingly granting us the gift of Torah. We reciprocate that love in Shema by accepting ol malchut shamayim and ol mitzvot.

The beracha after Shema, Emet Ve-yatziv in the morning or Emet Ve-emuna at night, further develops these ideas:

These berachot, which both begin with the word emet, true, describe how the redemption from Egypt demonstrates God’s faithfulness and lovingkindness to us and how the faithfulness to God that we discuss in Shema culminates in redemption.

Birchot Ha-mitzva?

Halachic authorities debate whether the berachot of Keri’at Shema are independent blessings of praise (birchot ha-shevach)² or berachot over the mitzva of reciting Shema (birchot ha-mitzva).³

The time window for reciting the berachot tells us about their nature.

Shulchan Aruch rules that one should ideally complete the berachot within zemanKeriat Shema.⁴ These berachot, then, should be attached to Shema. But after the fact, he allows one to recite the berachot later, up to the end of the fourth halachic hour (zeman tefilla, the time frame within which shacharit should be recited).⁵

Why is this time significant for understanding the berachot? Mishna Berura explains:

Mishna Berura defines Birchot Keri’at Shema as independent berachot of praise similar to tefilla, not birchot ha-mitzva of Keri’at Shema. Therefore, in the morning, one may recite them until the end of the time frame for shacharit. In Bei’ur Halacha, he goes further and permits reciting the berachot until halachic midday, the most liberal time possible for reciting morning prayers.

While the berachot ideally frame the mitzva of Keriat Shema, they do have independent significance.

Why are women exempt from reciting birchot Keri’at Shema?

If Birchot Keri’at Shema are an independent element of tefilla, then in theory women should be obligated to recite them as part of the mitzva of tefilla. In practice, this argument has not become prominent in halachic discourse.⁶

Instead, Mishna Berura articulates two grounds for women’s exemption from birchot Keri’at Shema:

I. Time-Bound Since the ideal timing for the berachot is right before and after Keri’at Shema, which is time-bound, then they are also time-bound, so women are exempt.

II. Like Shema If we view Birchot Keri’at Shema as blessings on the mitzva of Keri’at Shema, then it follows that women are exempt, just as women are exempt from Keri’at Shema itself.

However we categorize these berachot, there are grounds for exemption.

Voluntary Recitation

Though exempted, women are able to recite the berachot when fulfilling the mitzva voluntarily, just as women recite other berachot over voluntary mitzva performance. Many halachic authorities, including Mishna Berura⁷ and Aruch Ha-shulchan, permit this:

Even those who follow Shulchan Aruch and do not usually permit women to recite berachot over voluntary mitzva performance may allow it here, because the potentially problematic language “ve-tzivanu” “and He commanded us”, does not appear in the berachot.⁸ For example, Kaf Ha-chayim, allows women to recite Birchot Keri’at Shema without any modification.⁹

Rav Ovadya Yosef, however, does not allow it, following his position that the main concern over women’s reciting a beracha over voluntary performance is beracha le-vatala, which remains an issue regardless of the precise language of the beracha.

According to Rav Ovadya, we can infer from Rambam’s silence regarding women and Birchot Keri’at Shema that it is prohibited for women to recite them in full. A woman who really wishes to recite them should omit mention of God’s name from the lines that start “Baruch ata…”.

Through the Talmud’s discussion of Va-yomer, we learn about another aspect of reciting Shema—remembering the exodus from Egypt, zecher Yetzi’at Mitzrayim.

The mishna in Berachot discusses when zecherYetziat Mitzrayim is obligatory:

Many of us are familiar with this teaching from the Pesach haggada. However, this mishna is not found in the discussion of the Pesach seder in tractate Pesachim, but in tractate Berachot – in the section devoted to Keri’at Shema. Based on this context, the mishna is referring to remembering Yetzi’at Mitzrayim in the evening Shema. Although in theory any portion related to the exodus might do,¹⁰Va-Yomer would seem is the optimal method for remembering the exodus regularly, since there are a number of other reasons to integrate it into Keri’at Shema.

We include Va-yomer in the evening Shema, even though tzitzit aren’t obligatory at night, to ensure that we remember Yetzi’at Mitzrayim not just in the days, but in “all the days,” every nighttime as well as every daytime. Rambam expands on this point:

Interestingly, Rambam only mentions daily zecher yetzi’at Mitzrayim here in the Mishneh Torah, in the context of Va-yomer and Keri’at Shema. He also omits remembering the exodus daily from his list of positive mitzvot in Sefer ha-Mitzvot. These omissions indicate that daily remembrance of yetzi’at Mitzrayim is an element of the mitzva of Keri’at Shema, and not an independent Torah obligation.

Emet Ve-yatziv

A line in the Talmud about the beracha of Emet Ve-yatziv following Shema adds another possibility for satisfying this requirement:

Asserting that Emet Ve-yatziv is obligatory on a Torah-level is surprising, because berachot are typically rabbinic. Emet Ve-yatziv here may refer both to the beracha and to Va-yomer.¹¹

Alternatively, once the sages enacted Emet Ve-yatziv and Emet Ve-emuna at night, they may have considered them the preferred method of fulfilling the Torah-level mitzva of zecher yetzi’at Mitzrayim,¹² because they also lay the groundwork for our prayers for redemption in Shemoneh Esrei.

Ge’ula and Tefilla

In shacharit, the beracha Emet Ve-yatziv – which concludes with the words Ga’al Yisrael, “Who redeemed Israel” – is followed immediately by Shemoneh Esrei. The Talmud praises connecting the beracha of redemption to Shemoneh Esrei:¹³

What makes semichat ge’ula li-t’filla – beginning Shemoneh Esrei immediately after the words Ga’al Yisrael – so important? The Talmud Yerushalmi offers a parable:

When we recite Shema, we acknowledge God’s kingship, accept His Torah, and thank him for redemption. Prayer – as an expression of our dependence on Him and as fulfillment of our obligation to serve our Redeemer – is the natural continuation of this process.¹⁴ If we don’t follow the expression of love in Shema by turning to God in prayer, we effectively jilt God at the door.

Since the predominant view is that women are exempt from reciting Keri’at Shema and birchot Keri’at Shema, it follows that semichat ge’ula li-tfilla is not obligatory for women, though a woman reciting Shema and its berachot should strive for it.

Are women obligated in daily remembering of yetzi’at Mitzrayim?

This question depends on whether remembering the exodus every dayis an independent mitzva or part of the mitzva of Keri’at Shema.

Let’s lay out the possibilities:

I. Part of Keri’at Shema  If zecher yetzi’at Mitzrayim is part and parcel of the mitzva of Keri’at Shema, then women should be exempt, just as women are exempt from Shema. Rav Yitzchak Yehuda Schmelkes¹⁵ makes this point:¹⁶

II. An Independent Time-Bound Mitzva Alternatively, if we view zecher yetzi’at Mitzrayim as an independent obligation that we simply prefer to satisfy when reciting Shema, then women’s obligation depends on whether we define the obligation as time-bound.

Sha’agat Aryeh argues that zecher yetzi’at mitzrayim is an independent obligation, but also time-bound:

Day and night for this mitzva are like day and night for Shema, two separate fixed times rather than one continuous obligation, so the mitzva is time-bound and women are exempt.

III. An Independent Non-Time-Bound Mitzva Magen Avraham writes that women are obligated to recite Emet Ve-yatziv:

Note an additional point here—once a woman recites Emet Ve-yatziv, it becomes possible for her to connect ge’ula li-t’filla as well.¹⁷

Ba’al Ha-Tanya spells out the rationale for women’s obligation. When we say zecher yetzi’at mitzrayim is obligatory day and night, we mean that the obligation can be fulfilled at any time, and it is not time-bound.

Mishna Berura also rules like Magen Avraham and adds that a woman who recites ma’ariv should recite Emet Ve-emuna at night, too.¹⁸

Out of concern for Magen Avraham’s viewpoint, women are encouraged to fulfill zecher yetzi’at Mitzrayim and semichat ge’ula litfilla by reciting Emet Ve-yatziv (and Emet Ve-emuna). But a woman who does not recite Emet Ve-yatziv and still wishes to remember yetzi’at Mitzrayim can rely on reciting Va-yomer alone instead.

Summary

If a woman wishes to fulfill the mitzva of Keri’at Shema voluntarily, then she should ideally perform it in its full glory, including the berachot that our sages enacted. They also provide her with the opportunity to remember the exodus from Egypt and connect ge’ula li-tfilla. More than that, each beracha explores core elements of Jewish belief, with an eye to redemption.