We continued on with the reading and analysis of the mishna’s accompanying gemara.
Before getting into the specifics of the gemara, the following concepts were introduced by Rabbi Cytrin.

Terms & Concepts

When the Hebrew letter “dalet” prefixes a word, it indicates that the following statement will be used as a supporting argument.

When the Hebrew letter “hay” prefixes a word, it indicates that the following statement will be a kasha, or non-supporting argument.

Amod Hashachar – First rays of sun (pillars of light)

B’di’eved – Performing a mitzvah not in its proper time because of extenuating
circumstances. An example would be davening the morning prayers before
sunrise because one is to have a surgery during the normal time for shacharit.
To daven shacharit before sunrise, it must be light enough outside for one to
recognize an acquaintance from a specified distance.

B’raita – A rabbinic statement coming from outside of the Mishna (not included/codified
in the Mishna). B’raita is on an equal level of authority as a mishna. B’raita
can be used as a tool to settle an argument over a mishna.

D’Tannan – Introduction to a mishna

D’Tanya – Introduction to a b’raita

Kasha – Difficulty, argument, disagreement

Netz Hachama – Sunrise

Machlochet – An argument between sources of equal authority that
cannot be resolved.

Shacharit – Morning prayers; derived from the Hebrew word “shachar”, meaning “dawn”.

Vatiken – Special individuals, very zealous about fulfilling mitzvot at the earliest possible
opportunity.

V’riminhu – Derived from the word “rami”, meaning “to throw upon”. When one sees
this word, it means a contradiction will be brought in from another source of equal authority.

When one sees this as the first word in a gemara, it is generally applied to the first statement of the corresponding mishna.

Gemara Study:

The Gemara we studied in class 3 is as follows:

The mitzvah [of kiryat Shema – saying the Shema] is with the rising of the sun in order that the last part of the Shema [“Redemption of Israel”] links directly into tefilla [the Amida].

In other words, the reciting of the Shema should take place just before netz hachama (sunrise) so that the final words of the Shema lead into the opening words of the Amida. The Amida should take place just at netz hachama (sunrise). There should be no interruption between these two prayers.

The reason for tying these two prayers together around the sunrise is that we want the idea of redemption and tefilla (prayer) linked – making a powerful connection between us and Hashem at the beginning of each new day.

Rabbi Cytrin then asked the class what the contradiction was between what the mishna said and what this said. The answer is that the mishna states that we have up to the 6th hour for davening the morning prayers. But the gemara says the morning prayers need to be said at sunrise, thus limiting the window of time drastically.

The gemara then answers in response to the b’raita saying:

When this b’raita was taught, it was taught about special individuals
(vatiken) who are zealous about fulfilling mitzvot at the earliest
possible opportunity.

The gemara now has to prove that there actually were people like the vatiken. R’Yochanan’s statement that vatiken would finish the Shema by sunrise gives validity to the idea/concept of vatiken.

The gemara then continues with the following new case:

The whole world says you can daven [shacharit] until half-day
[and not later]? Behold Rav Mari the son of Rav Huna the son of
R’Yirmiyah bar Abba said in the name of R’ Yochanan says as
follows: “What happens if you made a mistake and didn’t daven
the evening service? You can daven shacharit twice [to make
up for the davening missed the previous evening]. And which
shacharit is the make-up? The 1st recitation of shacharit is the
“real” one, and the 2nd recitation is the “make-up”.

So, if a person misses saying shacharit, when can the davening be made up? During mincha (afternoon prayers). Therefore, we can see an example of when morning prayers are said past mid-day!

This presents a difficulty for both opinions with the mishna regarding the time to recite shacharit.

Rabbi Cytrin then talked about how many missed services we can make up. The halakha is that only one service can be missed and made up. So for example, if a person misses both shacharit and mincha, only one of the services can be made up. Once one gets to the ma’ariv service, there is no time to make up the shacharit anymore. This ruling is derived from laws of korbanot (offerings) during the times of the Temple.

The gemara continues:

Until mid-day, the reward for tefilla and the reward for tefilla in its proper
time are given. From that point on, the reward for tefilla is given, but not
the reward for tefilla within its proper time.