How can the Parasha help us grow this week?
This week’s Parasha of Va’etchanan contains one of the most well-known pasukim in the entire Torah – Shema Yisrael[1]. In this pasuk, we are commanded to accept upon ourselves the yoke of Heaven and to acknowledge Hashem’s Oneness. The Shema is often recited at the most intense moments of our lives. We call it out at the climax of Yom Kippur. It is supposed to be the last thing that we recite before we pass away. But there is also a Torah obligation to recite the Shema twice a day, every single day. In truth, we actually recite the Shema more often than that – we recite it as part of Kriyat Shema al HaMita before we go to sleep at night and as part of the morning blessings recited before Shacharit.[2]
For those readers located in the Northern hemisphere, it is currently the middle of summer. Some choose to bring in Shabbat early.[3] This means that they daven Maariv (including the recital of the Shema) while it is still light outside. The early Shemoneh Esreh is valid, however it is too early for one to satisfy their obligation to recite Shema. Therefore, one who brings in early Shabbat must repeat the recitation of Shema. If one attends an early Shabbat minyan, the gabbai will typically remind the congregants at the end of the service that they need to repeat the Shema and he will usually announce the correct time to do so. A good way to meet our obligation in these circumstances is to interrupt the Friday night meal at the appropriate time in order to recite Shema. This has a dual benefit – we are reciting the Shema at the earliest possible opportunity[4], and we also get to accept the ‘yoke of Heaven’ together as a family.[5]
But what is the earliest possible time that one may recite the evening Shema?
This question is dealt with in the very first Mishnah on the very first page of the Gemara. The correct time is nightfall – צאת הכוכבים (the appearance of the stars at night i.e. nightfall).[6] However, like all good teachers, the Mishnah doesn’t suffice with just telling us the answer. The Mishnah takes the opportunity to incidentally teach us another halacha. The Mishnah teaches us that the time of reciting the evening Shema is the same as the time that the Kohanim are permitted to eat Terumah[7]. Terumah must be eaten in a state of ritual purity. This means that the Terumah itself, as well as the Kohen who consumes the Terumah, must be ritually pure.[8] A Kohen who was impure would need to dip themselves into a mikveh to become pure.[9] However, even then the Kohen would still have to wait for nightfall in order to consume Terumah. Thus, both consuming Terumah and saying the evening Shema need to be done after nightfall, as we learn in the very first Mishnah.
What is the significance of waiting until nightfall? Some commentators have suggested the following beautiful idea.[10] By dipping in a mikveh one can transform themselves from impure to pure. While one is impure, if they were to enter the area of the Bet Hamikdash or try to eat Terumah or other holy food (such as korbanot) they would be subject to karet (Divine excision – one of the most serious punishments). By merely dipping in a pool of water their status has become totally transformed and they are now ritually pure. It would now be permitted to enter the area of the Bet Hamikdash and to eat holy food. Such a transformation is difficult to understand. How can going for a dip change one’s status so dramatically?
At night, when everything is dark, we can barely see. It can be a scary and disheartening time. If we weren’t used to the sun’s daily cycle, it would be difficult to imagine that the darkness would ever go away. Similarly, in the middle of the day, everything appears bright and clear and it is difficult to imagine darkness. When we see the sun set, it reminds us that Hashem has it in within His power to make changes in our environment and these changes can be radical and dramatic. Every day we are reminded of Hashem’s power to change as we cycle between bright light and pitch darkness. Similarly, our status can change just as dramatically – from ritually impure to ritually pure, because Hashem created the world in that way.
Perhaps that is why the Mishnah connected the evening Shema to the time that the Kohanim are able to eat Terumah. Dipping in the mikveh is not just a casual dip in the pool, but is a transformational moment (as transformational as the setting of the sun and the change from day to night). So too, reciting the Shema should be a transformational moment. Even though we recite the Shema day in and day out, every day of our lives, it should not be just a casual recital of one of the pasukim in the Torah. It should be significant and transformational. Something about the drastic change from light to dark can propel us to recite the pasuk with genuine emunah in Hashem’s Oneness and His power. Every time we recite the Shema we should be reminded of this power of change. Indeed, one of the main themes of the brachot that we recite before the Shema in the evening is that Hashem creates day and night, and He removes light before darkness and darkness before light.[11]
We can be inspired by the well-known story of Raish Lakish, who was the leader of a gang of thieves.[12] He once jumped into the river and swam over to Rebbi Yochanan. Rebbi Yochanan convinced Raish Lakish to do teshuva and to enter the world of Torah. In a life transforming moment, Raish Lakish accepted and undertook to commit himself absolutely to the Torah. His acceptance was so drastic, immediate and all-encompassing that he lost his physical strength and could not swim back to shore the way he had come.
In just over 7 weeks IY”H we will be shouting out Shema Yisrael during Neilah at the most intense time of Yom Kippur. At the end of 120 years, we will be calling out Shema Yisrael as the last words that we recite in this World. These are significant and powerful moments in our lives. Let’s try to capture some of that intensity when we recite Shema tonight. Look outside. See how dark it is. Recognise that Hashem changed the world from brightly-lit to pitch darkness. And tomorrow morning He will make it bright again. Both light and dark and the power to transform one to the other come from the same One source. We are able to tap into this remarkable power of change every time that we recite the Shema.
Let’s try something this week:
- When reciting the Shema each day, imagine that we are standing at the end of Neilah and shouting out the Shema at the climax of Yom Kippur. Try to capture some of that intensity.
- When reciting the Shema in the morning and the evening, notice the brightness of the day or the darkness of the night. Remember this power of transformation that is open to us at all times.
Shabbat shalom, Rabbi Ledder
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[1] Our Parasha, sefer Devarim 6:4.
[2] See page 28 of the Artscroll Ashkenaz siddur. The Mishnah Berurah (Siman 46, seif katan 29) advises that one recite the first pasuk of Shema before leaving the home in the morning, but that one specifically has in mind to not fulfil their daily obligation of reciting Shema at that point. That obligation is better fulfilled when one recites the Shema at the appropriate point in Shacharit. The pasuk of Shema is also recited during the Kedusha of Musaf on Shabbat and Yom Tov.
[3] If we have the opportunity to add extra time to the holy day of Shabbat, why not grab the opportunity! I would gladly bring in early Shabbat all year round if I could!
[4] It is always good to do a mitzva as soon as we can.
[5] One should also make sure to eat another k’zayit of challah after reciting the Shema because that is the most appropriate time to eat the Shabbat meal.
[6] This time changes from day to day. To determine the precise time on a particular day, one should consult a reliable halachic calendar or ask their Rabbi.
[7] Terumah refers to a portion of one’s crops that must be separated and provided as a gift to Kohanim. It is generally forbidden to eat from one’s crops before separating Terumah and the punishment for doing so is very serious. These laws only apply in Israel and nowadays they only apply on a Rabbinic level.
[8] These days we are all considered to be ritually impure and until the Moshiach comes we will not have the ability to become pure.
[9] This only applies to certain types of impurity. More serious types of impurity require the Kohen to be sprinkled with the ashes of the Parah Adumah (Red Heifer). We no longer have access to this procedure. A discussion of the types of tumah is beyond the scope of this article.
[10] I heard this idea from Rav Ezra Bick from Yeshivat Har Etzion in an oral shiur (https://kmtt.libsyn.com/). It is important to pint out that this is not “the real reason” why the Kohanim have to wait before eating Terumah. It is just a suggested lesson that we can derive from the halacha.
[11] Artscroll Ashkenaz siddur page 257.
[12] This story is brought in the Gemara, Baba Metzia 84a.