Introduction
For centuries,
communities all over the world have started Shabbos (and Yom Tov) before
nightfall when convenient to do so, usually in the summer in order to avoid
waiting until late to eat. The practice is rarely questioned in Europe, but in
Israel there are those who refrain from doing so on halachic grounds.
Furthermore, the whole idea sometimes seems strange to those new to Judaism.
How can we daven ma'ariv (the 'evening service') in broad daylight?
Here I will
attempt to explain what the issues are, provide some historical perspective and
present my own halachic conclusions.[1]
Mincha and
Ma'ariv
The primary
issue is not directly related to Shabbos. There is a dispute in the Mishna
regarding the latest time one may daven the Mincha Shemoneh Esrei. The Tana
Kama says that one has until the evening,[2]
whereas R' Yehuda requires one to daven before Plag Hamincha, 1
halachic hours beforehand.[3]
The gemara
attempts to determine the halacha from the practices of some of the amora'im,
but concludes that here too there is no consensus. While Rav would daven the Friday
night ma'ariv shemoneh esrei before Shabbos, Rav Huna and other amora'im would
not daven until night. The conclusion therefore is that as the halacha has not
been decided either way, one who follows either opinion is ok.[4]
This gemara
clearly implies that the latest time for mincha is also the earliest time for
ma'ariv on Friday night.[5]
Thus one may choose to follow the opinion of R' Yehuda, and to daven early as
some of the amora'im did. The gemara later says that one may also say Friday
night Kiddush early.[6]
Why then should anyone object?
Living a
contradiction?
The Rosh writes
that although one may choose which view to follow, consistency is required. One
who davens mincha after Plag Hamincha must wait until night to daven ma'ariv;
one who davens ma'ariv early must daven mincha before Plag Hamincha.[7]
This stringency is not agreed to unanimously,[8]
but it is accepted by the Shulchan Aruch.[9]
Nowadays,
davening mincha just before sunset is a common practice of most religious Jews.
Even those who daven mincha at lunchtime during the week will usually daven
before sunset on Fridays (during the winter) and on Shabbos. Thus according to
the Shulchan Aruch, we may have expected that also davening ma'ariv early on
Friday nights may be a problem.
The reality is
that this is not the case. The Shulchan Aruch himself writes explicitly that on
Friday night, we should daven earlier than we do during the week.[10]
Although the Vilna Gaon is quoted as being opposed to this practice,[11]
it is unlikely that this was because of the contradiction. In Europe,
especially before there was electricity, it would presumably have been easier
to achieve consistency by davening mincha before plag. Even during the week, it
was not practical for shuls to daven ma'ariv after dark during the summer.[12]
The time for
Shema and its berachos
It is more
likely that something else bothered the Vilna Gaon about davening early. The
time for the mitzvah of reciting Shema at night is only from nightfall.[13]
Although shuls say Shema before Shemoneh Esrei even when davening early, the
Yerushalmi explains that this is only in order to daven following words of
Torah.[14]
It should
therefore be no surprise that Rav Hai Gaon and the Ra'avad both take it for
granted that when davening early, one cannot say the berachos that usually accompany
Shema.[15]
While Shema itself can be said simply as pesukim in the Torah, berachos cannot
be said voluntarily. Thus Shema must be said later, together with its berachos.
The common practice
today, to say even the berachos early, appears to be based on the view of
Rashi. Rashi writes that when davening early, the mitzvah of Shema is fulfilled
when we say Shema in bed.[16]
As the other rishonim point out, the berachos are not generally said at this
time. The Rashba explains that although Shema must be said at night, the
berachos are not intrinsically linked to Shema and may therefore be said earlier.[17]
Potential support
for the assertion of the Rashba can be found from the halachos of the berachos
of the morning Shema. The gemara says explicitly that these berachos may be
said even after it is too late to fulfil the mitzvah.[18]
However, this comparison is inaccurate. Although the time restriction on
the berachos of Shema is looser than that of Shema itself, it does not follow
that the night-time berachos can be said during the day. On the contrary, it is
clear elsewhere that one cannot say the berachos of Shema in the morning any earlier
than one can fulfil the mitzvah of Shema, despite the fact that Shemoneh Esrei
may be said earlier in times of need.[19]
For this reason,
when I bring in Shabbos early, I postpone Shema and its berachos until after
the meal. While for a shul it may not be a great idea to cut out part of the
davening and tell people to do it on their own at home, while we are davening
at home anyway due to Corona this problem is less relevant. I believe that this
is also what the amora'im did when they brought in Shabbos early.
The correct
order
It would appear
that the Vilna Ga'on would not have approved of my practice either. How then
would he have explained the practice of the amora'im? While we don't have any
written record of his reasoning, the practice was already
called into question long beforehand, with an explicit reason.
The Rambam
writes that although the time for ma'ariv is at night, one may daven ma'ariv
for Shabbos or for Motzei Shabbos early. As ma'ariv was originally instituted
as an optional tefila, there is no need to be precise about its time.[20]
The Ra'avad
argues that it is only proper to daven early due to a temporary pressing need.
Under normal circumstances, one must say Shema and the following beracha, relating
to redemption (ending גאל ישראל), immediately prior to Shemoneh Esrei. One can only assume that
the Vilna Ga'on concurred.
In fact, the
preferred order of the tefila at night is subject to a dispute in the gemara.
The halacha indeed follows the view that Shema comes first, for the reason
quoted by the Ra'avad. However, the statement of the gemara is that one who says
the beracha of redemption immediately prior to Shemoneh Esrei is a 'son of the
World to Come.'[21] This
accolade clearly implies that we are dealing with a meritorious practice and
not with an obligation.
We can now
understand why the Rambam was less concerned about changing the order, and
allowed it on Friday night (and even at the end of Shabbos) without any
caveats. Rav Hai Gaon also writes explicitly that when davening early, one need
not be concerned with following the correct order.[22]
This is also the more straightforward reading of the gemara, which quotes the
practice of the amora'im who davened early and does not stipulate that this was
only due to an unusual need.
Furthermore, even those who daven later do not in general fully juxtapose
Shemoneh Esrei to the beracha of redemption (at least when davening in shul). There
are different customs regarding what is said between the berachos of Shema and the
Shemoneh Esrei,[23] but
all say at least Kaddish. The reasons for this are beyond the scope of this
post, but in short, we are not particularly careful about the recommended juxtaposition
at night.
Eating First
There is
potentially another way to start Shabbos early without any of the problems
described above. After davening mincha on Friday, one could simply make Kiddush
and start to eat (provided that it is after Plag). Ma'ariv could be postponed until
after the meal, at the right time in the right order.[24]
Timing davening in shul might be difficult, but while we are davening at home
what could be the problem?
The Magen Avraham
indeed sanctions such a practice,[25]
and most of the poskim follow suit.[26]
However, the Vilna Ga'on is quoted as being against this solution too. The claim
attributed to him is that when the gemara concludes that Kiddush may also be
said before night, this is only as an extension to the leniency regarding
davening. It therefore only applies when one has already davened ma'ariv.[27]
Personally,
while I certainly do not subscribe to the alleged position of the Vilna Ga'on
here,[28]
my preference is to daven first for a simple reason - davening after the Friday
night meal would be harder for both my children and myself. Others may not have
this issue and prefer this option.
Have a great
Shabbos, however you start it!
[1] While there are many other articles on the topic online (even in
English), I have not found one that gives a satisfactory explanation of the
reasons for being stringent (other than by citing opinions of other Rabbis who
ruled stringently).
[2] It can be shown that the 'evening' here means sunset, as the gemara
explicitly equates the end of the time for Mincha according to the Tana Kama
with the end of the twelve hours of the halachic day (Berachos 27a). It is
nowadays commonly accepted that the twelve hours of the halachic day run from
sunrise until sunset, as only when using these times will the length of the
halachic day be equal to the length of the halachic night during Nissan and
Tishrei (as stated in Niddah 65b. See Shu"t B'Mareh Habazak, volume 8
siman 1, footnote 2).
[3] Berachos 26a (see gemara there 26b-27a).
[4] Berachos 27a.
[5] Most rishonim assume that the same is true for weekday nights, as
the gemara also says that R' Yoshiya and other Tana'im and Amora'im davened
Motzei Shabbos ma'ariv on Shabbos (Berachos 27b).
[6] Berachos 27b.
[7] Berachos 4:4
[8] See Meiri, Berachos 26b who says that one only needs to be
concerned about a contradiction on the same day. The Rambam (Tefila 3:4, 6)
does not mention any requirement to avoid a contradiction.
[9] Orach Chaim 233:1
[10] Orach Chaim 267:2, based on Seder Rav Amram Ga'on and Machzor Vitri
siman 102. This distinction does seem to run contrary to the gemara quoted
above, which uses the practices of amora'im on Friday night as a proof of the halacha
during the entire week (see Bi'ur HaGra who alludes to this; Rav Amram Ga'on
and Rashi may well not have subscribed to the stringency of the Rosh at all).
It is however possible that the Tur and Shulchan Aruch felt that it was not
appropriate to apply the stringency of the Rosh to Shabbos, as bringing in
Shabbos early is clearly a meritorious practice.
[12] The rishonim at the beginning of Berachos all discuss this and the
resultant problem of saying Shema before the correct time.
[13] Mishna and gemara, Berachos 2a. While there are other views there,
and Tosfos and the Rosh both conclude that we indeed rely on these views when
we daven early, it is explicit in the words of the Rosh that this is a contrived
leniency due to the public need.
[14] Berachos 1:1. Tosfos, defending the position that one can fulfil
the mitzvah of Shema early, are forced to explain that the Yerushalmi is
referring to a now defunct practice of saying Shema before Mincha.
[15] Rav Hai is quoted by the Rashba and Rosh at the beginning of Berachos;
Ra'avad Hilchos Tefila 3:7.
[17] Responsa of the Rashba 1:47. See also Chidushei Talmidei Rabbeinu
Yona, Berachos 1a-b, who write that even the berachos may only be said after
sunset. Beforehand, the references to night within the first beracha are not
appropriate. The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 235:1) quotes only the view of the
Rashba in his responsa.
[18] Berachos 10b
[19] Berachos 30a. This proof is pointed out by R' Moshe Feinstein in
Igros Moshe, Orach Chaim 2:60. His attempt to resolve this gemara according to Rashi
is a stretch.
[20] Hilchos Tefila 3:6-7. The Rambam appears not to have accepted the
gemara's assertion that davening ma'ariv early is based on the view of R'
Yehuda regarding mincha. Presumably, he had another source unknown to us.
[21] All in Berachos 4b.
[22] See footnote 15.
[23] The second beracha, starting השכיבנו, is considered an
extension of the beracha of redemption (Berachos 4b).
[24] If one started eating a regular meal on Friday afternoon and it got
dark, it is certainly permitted to continue the meal by first making Kiddush,
despite not having davened ma'ariv (Pesachim 100a).
[25] 271:5
[26] See for example Mishna Berura 271:11.
[27] Ma'aseh Rav siman 117.
