Monday, September 18, 2017

shabbat - Customs regarding reciting the Shema after the allowed time


The latest time for reciting the קְרִיאַת-שְׁמַע is שׇׁלוֺש שׇׁעוֺת זְמׇנִיּוֺת (three variable hours) after sunrise (Orach Chayim 58:1). On Shabbat, many communities recite the morning Shema after this latest Biblical time. Hence, ba'al batim at these shuls have the practice of reciting the three paragraphs of Shema at home to fulfill the requirement.


My question is why do we still treat the recitation of the Shema in shul on Shabbat past the allowed time as if it were the real thing? To give two examples, many people who show up to shul late will interrupt themselves in the middle of a Psalm to join the minyan in saying the Shema. But isn't this pointless, since the time for the Biblical mitzvah has already passed? As a second example, why do we kiss the צִיצִת of the טׇלׅית when reciting the last paragraph of the Shema in shul when the time to fulfill the mitzvah has already passed?


As a bonus question, is this the reason that many communities have a Hashkamah minyan on Shabbat? These early minyans meet early enough that they can recite the Shema before the allotted time has past.




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