This source sheet is part of the larger Ta’amei HaPardes Commentary, a project of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies. This is sheet 7 of 9 on the topic of Mishnah.

This mishnah introduces a new topic; that of the blessings surrounding the Shema. These blessings are a purely Rabbinic addition to the ritual. This mishnah links to those that came before in two ways: one, the blessings are presented as linking to the times of the day that the Shema is read; and two, there is a difference between the practice depending on whether it is morning or evening. Unlike Beit Shammai’s view that the time of day affects the orientation of one’s physical body here the Rabbis will outline that the time of day affects one’s mindset and appreciation of God’s hand in creating the world and Torah. The experience of different times of the day should be acknowledged through speech and different blessings. (This idea was suggested as well in The Letter of Aristeas, see Introduction Sheet 3.)

In the morning - בַּשַּׁחר: This mishnah, unlike Mishnah 1, starts with mentioning the morning. This could be as a symmetry of chiastic structure: Mishnah 1 spoke of the evening, Mishnah 2 of the morning; and now this mishnah goes backwards from morning to evening (and thus also marks the centrality of Mishnah 3 which stands between these two structures). Or more likely, since the mishnah wants to show that there is something unique about the blessings in the evening (which will be expanded on in the following mishnah), it chose to end with that focus.

one blesses two before her (Shema) - מְבָרֵךְ שְׁתַּיִם לְפָנֶיהָ: In the Tractate named Blessings, this line is the first time the verb bless is used. The language refers to the use of the liturgical structure, “blessed are you God,” which either opened and/or closed the recitation. In Temple times, when the priests read the Shema as part of their morning service, they only recited one blessing beforehand (M. Tamid 5:1). Both Talmuds (BT Berakhot 11b and JT Berakhot 3c) – and scholars (see Mishnat Eretz Yisrael here) debate what that blessing was – however, the individual here recites two blessings beforehand. The mishnah does not state the names of the blessings nor their content. In the time of the Mishnah there was no fixed text to the blessings; each individual would compose the words themselves. It is likely that by specifying the number of blessings required, the Rabbis were actually referring to specific topics that they felt the blessing should cover. (See the next mishnah and 4:3, in which R. Gamliel states that the Amidah should be composed of eighteen blessings.) In the time of the amoraim the first blessing was referred to by its first substantive words, Yotzer Or Who forms light (BT Berakhot 11a); and its closing words, Yotzer HaMeorot, Who forms the luminaries (BT Berakhot 12a). The second blessing is referred to in a baraita which records a dispute from the time of the tannaim regarding its opening words, either Ahavah Rabbah, with abundant love, or Ahavat Olam, with an eternal love (BT Berakhot 11b). Most likely the practice today, according to nusakh Ashkenaz, that one version of the opening was adopted for the morning Shema and one for the evening, was so that both views from ancient tradition could be followed in some way.

These blessings surrounding the Shema are more similar to the blessings that make up the Amidah, prayer service, then blessings that are recited before performing a mitzvah action. Each one of these blessings covers one of main topics that have been discussed thus far in this chapter. The opening blessing links to the time of the day, and praises and celebrates God for creating light. As was mentioned above in Mishnah 2 – during Mishnaic times, the normative time for reciting the morning Shema was during the first light of dawn and ended just as the sun crested above the horizon. The second blessing mentions God’s love for Israel which is reflected by giving us Torah and mitzvot. It was also mentioned above in that same mishnah that the Shema functions simultaneously as both a commandment in its own right and as verses from the Torah which can be experienced as Torah study. Thus, the two blessings reflect the themes which have been at play in this chapter of Mishnah and are seemingly essential core ideas in one’s relationship with God. It is not a peripheral issue that one recites the Shema at particular times of day. Rather, experiencing those transitions of nature is an essential part of the ritual.

and one after her - וְאַחַת לְאַחֲרֶיהָ: The blessing after the Shema seems to be one of the oldest of the group. Unlike the other blessings surrounding the Shema which are unspecified in the mishnah, this blessing is already called by name in this early period. In the time of the Temple, the blessing was identified by its initial words Emet VeYatziv, true and certain (M. Tamid 5:1) and the tannaim refer to it by this name elsewhere in our tractate (M. Berakhot 2:2). M. Berakhot 2:2 will consider this blessing so integral to the reading of the Shema that it will bring an opinion that one should not stop between the last paragraph of the Shema and this blessing but rather read them as one; thus creating a new sentence “I am the Lord, your true God,” mirroring the first line of the Shema, “the Lord is our God, the Lord is One.” The blessing ends with praising God as the redeemer of Israel.

in the evening two before her - וּבָעֶרֶב שְׁתַּיִם לְפָנֶיהָ: The verb blesses is implied in the text and appears in Kaufmann, בערב מברך, in the evening one blesses. These two blessings reflect the same themes as those said in the morning. The first blessing reflects the time that is the start of the evening and God’s hand in the experience of nature – Ma’ariv Aravim, Who brings on evening – and is cited in a baraita (BT Berakhot 12a). The second blessing, Ahavat Olam, reflects God’s love of Israel as manifested through the commandments and Torah study. (See note above on the morning blessings before the Shema.)

and two after her - וּשְׁתַּיִם לְאַחֲרֶיהָ: The verb blesses is implied in the text. The first blessing after the Shema, Emet VeEmunah, true and faithful is mentioned by Rav (BT Berakhot 12a) as if it is well established, even though there is no reference to it in tannaitic literature. Regarding its connection to the Shema, see the note above on the morning blessings after the Shema. The second blessing afterwards is the one that is unique to the evening reading. The amoraim already call it by its first word Hashkiveinu, lie us down, and the blessing addresses the desire for God’s protection at night, to return to life in the morning and to be guarded from other dangers. JT Berakhot 3c states that there are seven blessings in total, based on the verse in Psalms 119:164, “I praise You seven times each day.” Although the Rabbis innovated by creating and adding these blessings to the commandment of Shema, they rooted themselves in the text of the Torah, so as to give a basis for their actions and to possibly explain how one is permitted to invoke the Divine name in the blessings.

one long and one short - אַחַת אֲרֻכָּה וְאַחַת קְצָרָה: This clause in the mishnah led to many different interpretations amongst the medieval commentaries. To which of the previous blessings does this clause refer? What is the definition of a long and a short blessing?

A place where they (the Rabbis) said to make [the blessing] long – one is not permitted to shorten; [where they said] to shorten – one is not permitted to lengthen - מָקוֹם שֶׁאָמְרוּ לְהַאֲרִיךְ אֵינוֹ רַשַּׁאי לְקַצֵּר, לְקַצֵּר אֵינוֹ רַשַּׁאי לְהַאֲרִיךְ: The mishnah then goes on to make a general statement about the category of all berakhot: The Rabbis have given them a specific structure, and one is not permitted to deviate from it. According to Rashi’s reading above, this line comes to support and reinforce what has just been specified – the mishnah stated about the two blessings after the Shema that one is long and one is short, and that the individual can not deviate from that rule. According to Tosafot, the mishnah just stated that for the two blessings after the Shema, the Rabbis are permitting flexibility – they may be either long or short. There is no fixed rule, in contrast to other places where they did specify that one cannot deviate. After giving some examples of what constitutes a long or short blessing, T. Berakhot 1:6 states, “from the blessings of a person, it is recognizable if he is an ignoramus or a talmid hakham, a student of the Rabbis.” From listening to a person recite a blessing, one would recognize if they knew the structure the Rabbis has designated for blessings, and if were following the rule properly.

[A place where the Rabbis said] to seal it – one is not permitted not to seal; [where they said] not to seal it – one is not permitted to seal - לַחְתֹּם, אֵינוֹ רַשַּׁאי שֶׁלֹּא לַחְתֹּם, וְשֶׁלֹּא לַחְתֹּם, אֵינוֹ רַשַּׁאי לַחְתֹּם: When a blessing concludes with a “baruch atah, blessed are You”, at the end, this formula is called a seal or closing to the blessing (see for example M. Pesahim 10:6). There is a correlation between if a blessing is long or short and if it might need a seal. A longer blessing, which covers a number of ideas, would more likely need a concluding blessing. It would serve the function of sealing it, to bring one back to focus on the opening central idea. Tosefta 1:6 states, for example, that the last blessing of grace after meals, Hatov OuMeitiv, does not have a hatimah, however R. Yossi Hagelili would lengthen it and then add one.

The use of the word makom (“place”) is interesting in this mishnah. It is of course being used figuratively – “a place where they say,” meaning “in a case/example of a blessing where they say.” However, when thinking of the larger historical context of the Mishnah, this word usage becomes especially poignant. As was explained in the introduction to this tractate and chapter (Sheets 2 and 3), the Rabbinic development of blessings and, by extension, fixed prayer was one of the main innovations after the Temple’s destruction, that enabled the average simple individual to encounter and invoke the Divine without the Temple. When the physical place of the Temple had been lost, the Rabbis built a new structure – a place delineated by the rules and laws that they defined. A place made up of all sorts of different blessings, both long and short, sealed and unsealed, which contained within it the domain of God. The blessing of the Shema, before and after it, hold and surround it, giving meaning and support to the Torah text embedded at its center. Through seeing the hand of God daily in creation, as the sun rose and set, and holding fast to the words of the Torah itself, this new structure – a combination of both the written Torah and the Rabbinic voice – will sustain the Jewish people for centuries to come. This new place, makom, becomes the home of the Divine. (See also how the Mishnah uses the word makom to refer to God, for example M. Berakhot 5:1.)