When may one recite the “Shema” in the evening?
This is the question which serves as the opening of the Babylonian Talmud. In response the Mishneh cites the earliest time – when the stars appear and the kohanim who have immersed themselves in a mikveh to purify themselves from a state of tumah are eligible to once again eat trumah. While there is a consensus on how early the Shema can be recited in the evening, there are several differing positions as to how late this mitzvah can be performed. Rabbi Eliezer limits this to the first third of the night while the Sages extend it to midnight and Rabban Gamaliel until the morning. The differing opinions, explains Rashi (3a), are based on how to interpret the term “and in your lying down to sleep” which the Torah uses for the time-frame of the evening Shema. Rabbi Eliezer’s interpretation is that this refers to the time when people are involved in lying down to sleep. Since there are early retirers and late ones this period extends to the first third of the night. Rabbi Gamaliel and the S
