Berachoth, Chapter 4, Halacha 1

Unit 5: Replacing a missed prayer?

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The previous unit cited Rabbi Yochanan that a quasi-replacement could be made for a missed prayer.

Now the Babylonian Talmud will probe that further:

מֵתִיבִי:

He challenges:

Ecclesiastes 1:15

מְעֻוָּת לֹא יוּכַל לִתְקֹן, וְחֶסְרוֹן לֹא יוּכַל לְהִמָּנוֹת.

“What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is lacking cannot be enumerated”

הָא כֵּיצַד מְעֻוָּת לֹא יוּכַל לִתְקֹן? זֶה שֶׁבִּטֵּל קְרִיאַת שְׁמַע שֶׁל עַרְבִית, אוֹ קְרִיאַת שְׁמַע שֶׁל שַׁחֲרִית, אוֹ תְּפִלָּה שֶׁל עַרְבִית, אוֹ תְּפִלָּה שֶׁל שַׁחֲרִית, אוֹ תְּפִלָּה שֶׁל מִנְחָה. וְחֶסְרוֹן לֹא יוּכַל לְהִמָּנוֹת? זֶה שֶׁנִּמְנוּ חֲבֵרָיו לִדְבַר מִצְוָה, וְהוּא לֹא נִמְנָה עִמָּהֶם.

How is it that what is crooked cannot be made straight? This is he who nullified the [recitation of the] evening Shema, or morning Shema, or evening prayer, or morning prayer, or afternoon prayer. “And what is lacking cannot be enumerated”? This is he whose friends were counted for a mitzvah, and he was not counted with them.

The quote from Ecclesiastes is curious: what kinds of things cannot be fixed once broken, or replaced once missing? One possible suggestion is that Ecclesiastes' first clause refers to missing the recitation of the Shema or prayer in its proper time, while the latter clause refers to someone who missed performing a group mitzvah.

If that is the case, how could Rabbi Yochanan have said in the previous unit that one can pray what is essentially a replacement prayer at a later time? His statement is challenged by the explanation of the verse from Ecclesiastes.

The Babylonian Talmud continues:

אָמַר רַב הוּנָא בַּר יְהוּדָה, אָמַר רִבִּי יִצְחָק, אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן: הָכָא בְמַאי עֲסִיקִינַן? כְּגוֹן שֶׁבִּטֵּל בְּמֵזִיד.

Rav Huna bar Yehudah said, that Rabbi Yitzchak said, that Rabbi Yochanan said: What are we dealing with here? For example, he nullified on purpose.

אָמַר רַב אָשֵׁי: דַּיְקָא נָמֵי, דְּקָתָנֵי "בִּטֵּל" וְלָא קָתָנֵי "טָעָה" — שְׁמַע מִנָּה.

Rav Ashi said: This is also precise, for he taught “who nullified” and did not teach “who erred” — infer from this.

We now learn that Rabbi Yochanan’s statement about a quasi-replacement prayer applies to one who missed the prayer by accident; whereas the verse from Ecclesiastes refers to those who intentionally fail to recite the Shema or pray.

Rav Ashi teaches us to observe the precise nuance of the wording in this explanation of the verse from Ecclesiastes. It says “who nullified,” and does not refer to someone who made a mistake. From this we can deduce that one who merely erred can still recite a quasi-replacement prayer.

Technical Terminology: מֵתִיבִי — He challenges
Technical Terminology: הָא כֵּיצַד — How is it that…?
Background information: Reciting the Shema

The Duty to Recite the Shema

The recitation of the Shema is one of the most fundamental daily obligations in Jewish law. It is a commandment derived from the Torah itself, appearing explicitly in the verses that comprise the first and second paragraphs of the Shema. The core declaration is:

Deuteronomy 6:4

שְׁמַע, יִשְׂרָאֵל: יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ, יְהוָה אֶחָד.

“Hear (— Shema), Israel: HaShem is our God, HaShem is One”

This constitutes an acceptance of HaShem as our God, and affirming his singular nature and uniqueness. The full Shema consists of three paragraphs: Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (the first paragraph, which includes the commands to love God, study Torah, and teach it to one’s children), Deuteronomy 11:13-21 (the second paragraph, which speaks of the consequences of observance or neglect of the commandments and the Mitzvah of Tefillin), and Numbers 15:37-41 (the third paragraph, which commands the wearing of Tzitzith and recalls the Exodus from Egypt, when our nation became HaShem's loyal subjects).

This obligation is fulfilled by reciting the Shema twice each day — once in the morning and once in the evening. The Torah states, “when you lie down and when you rise up”*Deuteronomy 6:7, which the Sages interpreted as the times corresponding to bedtime and arising. The evening recitation begins after nightfall and can be recited until dawn, but ideally before midnight. The morning recitation should ideally be said shortly before sunrise, or barring that, within the first quarter of the daytime. These fixed times ensure that the Jewish people renew their acceptance of HaShem and his commandments at the natural transitions of the day.
Background information: Rabbi Yochanan
Technical Terminology: הָכָא בְמַאי עֲסִיקִינַן — What are we dealing with here?
Background information: Rav Ashi
Technical Terminology: שְׁמַע מִנָּה — Infer from this
Key Idea: Intentionally skipping prayer cannot be fixed.

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Extra Material

Discussions
Additional Ideas

This unit clarifies that the time for reciting the morning prayer extends until noon. For the proper time to recite the morning Shema, see the first chapter of this tractate.
Points to Ponder

The verse “What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is lacking cannot be enumerated” is open to interpretation. There is no reason to assume it must refer to the recitation of the Shema or prayers, and indeed the Sages have offered other explanations elsewhere. So why does the Babylonian Talmud raise this question at all?

We have already established that a prayer missed in its proper time is lost once that time has passed. One may still pray afterwards, but will not receive the reward of prayer performed in its proper time. Neither the question nor the resolution here changes that principle. What, then, is the point of this section of the discussion?

Rav Ashi’s highlighting of how the explanation of the verse was adjusted to fit Rabbi Yochanan’s viewpoint is noteworthy. The source of the teaching is:

Midrash Koheleth 1:15

הִגִּיעַ שְׁעַת קְרִיאַת שְׁמַע וְלֹא קָרָא בְּעוֹנָתָהּ, עָלָיו הַכָּתוּב אוֹמֵר: מְעֻוָּת לֹא יוּכַל לִתְקֹן. הִגִּיעַ עוֹנַת הַתְּפִלָּה וְלֹא הִתְפַּלֵּל, עָלָיו הַכָּתוּב אוֹמֵר: וְחֶסְרוֹן לֹא יוּכַל לְהִמָּנוֹת.

The time for the recitation of Shema arrived and he did not read it during its duration, upon him scripture says: “What is crooked cannot be made straight.” The time for prayer arrived and he did not pray, upon him scripture says: “And what is lacking cannot be enumerated”

What are we actually supposed to learn from artificially aligning the verse’s explanation with Rabbi Yochanan’s teaching? Nothing in the verse itself requires distinguishing between accidental and intentional neglect.

If we do accept that there is a difference between accidental and intentional neglect, does this imply that the Shema can also be recited multiple times at a later date to make up for accidentally neglecting it?
Further Reading
- Koheleth Rabbah 1-6 - Mifal HaMidrash.