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1 ‎[1] The previous baraita cited Rabbi Meir’s opinion that the time for the recitation of *Shema* begins when the priests immerse before partaking of their *teruma*. In the *Tosefta*, it was taught that Rabbi Meir holds that one begins to recite *Shema* from when people enter to eat their meal on Shabbat eve. One opinion of **Rabbi Meir** seems to **contradict** another opinion of **Rabbi Meir**. The Gemara responds: **Two *tanna’im*,** students of Rabbi Meir, expressed different opinions **in accordance with Rabbi Meir’s** opinion.
‎[2] So too, the opinion **of Rabbi Eliezer** cited in the mishna **contradicts** the opinion **of Rabbi Eliezer** cited in the *baraita*. In the mishna, Rabbi Eliezer holds that the time for the recitation of *Shema* begins with the emergence of the stars: From the time when the priests enter to partake of their *teruma*, while in the *baraita*, he states that the time for the recitation of *Shema* begins when the day becomes sanctified on the eve of Shabbat.
‎[3] The Gemara responds: There are two possible resolutions to the apparent contradiction in Rabbi Eliezer’s opinion. Either **two** *tanna’im* expressed different opinions **in accordance with Rabbi Eliezer’s** opinion, **or if you wish, say** instead that **the first clause** of the mishna, according to which we begin to recite *Shema* when the priests enter to partake of their *teruma*, **is not** actually **Rabbi Eliezer’s** opinion. Only the second half of the statement: Until the end of the first watch, was stated by Rabbi Eliezer.
‎[4] In the mishna, we learned that Rabbi Eliezer establishes that one may recite the evening *Shema* **until the end of the first watch.** These watches are mentioned in the Bible as segments of the night, but it must be established: Into precisely how many segments is the night divided, three or four? Moreover, why does Rabbi Eliezer employ such inexact parameters rather than a more precise definition of time (*Tosefot HaRosh*)?
‎[5] **What does Rabbi Eliezer** actually **hold? If he holds that the night consists of three watches, let him say** explicitly that one recites the evening *Shema* **until the fourth hour. If he holds that the night consists of four watches, let him say** explicitly **until the third hour.**
‎[6] The Gemara responds: **Actually,** Rabbi Eliezer **holds that the night consists of three watches,** and he employs this particular language of watches **in order to teach us: There are watches in heaven and there are watches on earth;** just as our night is divided into watches, so too is the night in the upper worlds. **As it was taught** in a *baraita*: **Rabbi Eliezer says: The night consists of three watches, and over each and every watch, the Holy One, Blessed be He, sits and roars like a lion** in pain over the destruction of the Temple. This imagery is derived from a reference in the Bible, **as it is stated: “The Lord roars [*yishag*] from on high, from His holy dwelling He makes His voice heard. He roars mightily** [***shaog yishag***] **over His dwelling place,** He cries out like those who tread grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth” (Jeremiah 25:30). The three instances of the root *shin-alef-gimmel* in this verse correspond to the three watches of the night.
‎[7] **And signs of** the transition between each of **these** watches in the upper world can be sensed in this world: In **the first watch, the donkey brays;** in **the second, dogs bark;** and in **the third** people begin to rise, **a baby nurses from its mother’s breast and a wife converses with her husband.**
‎[8] With regard to these earthly manifestations of the three heavenly watches as established in the *baraita*, the Gemara asks: **What did Rabbi Eliezer enumerate? If** he **enumerated the beginning of the watch, why do I need a sign for the beginning of the first watch? It is** when **evening** begins; an additional sign is superfluous. **If he enumerated the end of the watches, why do I need a sign for the end of the last watch? It is** when **day** begins; an additional sign is similarly superfluous.
‎[9] The Gemara answers: **Rather, he enumerated** the signs for **the end of the first watch and the beginning of the last watch,** both of which require a sign, as well as **the middle of the middle** watch. **And if you wish, say** instead: **He enumerated the ends of all** of the watches. **And if you say** that a sign indicating the end of the **final** watch **is unnecessary** because it is day, nevertheless, that sign is useful.
‎[10] **What is the practical ramification** of this sign? It is relevant **to one who recites** *Shema* **while lying in a dark house,** who cannot see the dawn and **who does not know when the time for reciting *Shema*** arrives. That person is provided with a sign that **when a woman speaks with her husband and a baby nurses from its mother’s breast,** the final watch of the night has ended and **he must rise and recite** *Shema*.
‎[11] **Rav Yitzḥak bar Shmuel said in the name of Rav: The night consists of three watches, and over each and every watch the Holy One, Blessed be He sits and roars like a lion,** because the Temple service was connected to the changing of these watches (*Tosefot HaRosh*), **and says: “Woe to Me, that due to their sins I destroyed My house, burned My Temple and exiled them among the nations of the world.”**
‎[12] Incidental to the mention of the elevated significance of the night watches, the Gemara cites a related story: **It was taught** in a *baraita* that **Rabbi Yosei said: I was once walking along the road when I entered** the **ruins** of an old, abandoned building **among the ruins of Jerusalem** in order **to pray.** I noticed that **Elijah, of blessed memory, came and guarded the entrance for me and waited at the entrance until I finished my prayer. When I finished praying** and exited the ruin, Elijah **said to me,** deferentially as one would address a rabbi: **Greetings to you, my rabbi. I answered him: Greetings to you, my rabbi, my teacher. And** Elijah **said to me: My son, why did you enter this ruin? I said to him:** In order **to pray. And** Elijah **said to me: You should have prayed on the road. And I said to him:** I was unable to pray along the road, because **I was afraid that I might be interrupted by travelers** and would be unable to focus. Elijah **said to me: You should have recited the abbreviated prayer** instituted for just such circumstances.
‎[13] Rabbi Yosei concluded: **At that time,** from that brief exchange, **I learned from him three things: I learned that one may not enter a ruin; and I learned** that one need not enter a building to pray, but **he may pray along the road; and I learned that one who prays along the road recites an abbreviated prayer,** so that he may maintain his focus.
‎[14] **And** after this introduction, Elijah **said to me: What voice did you hear in that ruin?**
‎[15] **The Sages taught, for three reasons one may not enter a ruin: Because of suspicion** of prostitution, **because** the ruin is liable to **collapse,** and **because of demons.** Three separate reasons seem extraneous, so the Gemara asks: Why was the reason **because of suspicion** necessary? **Let this** *halakha* **be derived because of collapse.**
Mishneh Torah, Prayer and the Priestly Blessing
Mishneh Torah, Murderer and the Preservation of Life
Version: William Davidson Edition - English
Source: https://korenpub.com/collections/the-noe-edition-koren-talmud-bavli-1
License: CC-BY-NC