Class #010 VIDEO / Berachot 2.3 / The Shema is a 911 call, but how do the deaf met?

Base text (Berachot 2:3)

Whoever recites the Shema and does not audible to himself —either because they read in silence, or because he is deaf to comply with its obligation.
Rabbi Yosei says: Does not comply with its obligation.

Whoever recites the Shema and it is not accurate enough in the enunciation of the lyrics, Rabbi Yosei says: He fulfilled his obligation.
Rabbi Yehuda says: Does not comply with its obligation.

Whoever recites the Shema out of order, that is to say, it does not read the verses sequentially, does not comply with its obligation.

One who recites and you make a mistake, you must return to the place of the Shema where is wrong.

I. general Context of the Mishnah

The treaty Berachotas we mentioned before, it is about the laws relating to the blessings and prayers.
In chapter 2, the mishnayot examine the formal conditions and spiritual necessary for the recitation of the Shema is valid (yetziah yedei jovató — having complied with the requirement).

This Mishnah is focused on how should be recited, not when or whyintroducing a analysis between intent interior (kavaná) and outward expression (dibur).

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II. Analytic structure of the four cases

1. Recitation inaudible (don't listen to himself)

Discussion:

• Tanna Kamma (view anonymous): To comply with its obligation.
• Rabbi Yosei: Does not comply with its obligation.

Basis for discussion:

The point of discussion is the verse “Shema Yisroel” — “Hear, O Israel” (Devarim 6:4).
The word Shema (שמע) can be interpreted as:

• “Listen,” literally, implying that it should be heard with the ear.
• Or “understands / accepts it” as a spiritual metaphor of attention and concentration.

🔹 Rabbi Yosei holding a literal reading: “Shema” means should be heardtherefore, if the individual does not listen to itself —not even in a whisper—, does not meet with the mitzvah.
🔹 The Wise Men (Tanna Kamma) interpret “Shema” as “understand”, so just think about and articulate although the sound is not audible externally.

Implication halachic later:
The Rambam (Hilchot Keriat Shema 2:8) and the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 62:3) dictate that it is best listen to the words, but if it does not, also complies with (as a Tanna Kamma).
It is an act valid, but not ideal (bediavad).

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2. Lack of accuracy when pronouncing the letters

Discussion:

• Rabbi Yosei: He fulfilled his obligation.
• Rabbi Yehuda: Not fulfilled its obligation.

Practical example:
Words like “Bekhol levavkha” (בכל לבבך) must speak with clarity between the double consonants.
The Shema requires a precise statementbecause the Torah uses expressions that require concentration (“at the heart”, “these words shall be in your heart”).

🔹 Rabbi Yehuda insists on the precision phoneticbecause the recitation of the Shema it is not a thought, but a act-verbal proclamation of monotheism.
The mitzvah, he says, is “read”, not “think”. If the letters are not pronounced correctly, has not been read.

🔹 Rabbi Yosei, more flexible, considers that the intention interior prevails.
If the meaning was understood, although the pronunciation imperfect, complies with the mitzvah.

Sources in parallel:

• Talmud Bavlí Berachot 15b develops it must be distinguished between “ejad” and “adonai” properly, prolonging the “dalet” (ד).
• The Arizal and the kabbalists see in every letter of the Shema a spiritual energy specific to pronounce is equivalent to “build” the letters in the spiritual worlds.

3. Recite the Shema out of order

Here, there is no debate.
All the sages agree that: does not comply with its obligation.

This is based on the principle:

“Vehayu hadevarim haele asher anojí metzaveja hayom the levaveja”
— “These words shall be in thine heart” (Deut. 6:6).

The term “vehayu” (והיו, “and will be”) implies that they must be such as they are written, i.e., in sequential order.

To alter the order is equivalent to altering the theological message.
The Shema it is not a meditation free, but a proclamation structured.

Practical application:

• If someone jumps a verse or a change of place of the phrases, you must repeat from the point where it was wrong.
• The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 64:1) encodes this rule with precision: the order is essential.

4. If you make a mistake, return to the place of the error

This principle introduces the concept of tikún (correction) in the prayer:
The divine word does not improvise.
The prayer, when it's revealed word (devar Hashem), does not support fragmentation.

The obligation to return “to the place of error” is not punitive, but a pedagogy of consciousness: he who prays should know where is, what it says and why he says.
The prayer thus becomes an exercise of attention (kavaná total).

III. Conceptual analysis: the tension between kavaná and dibur

The Shema it is located at the mid-point: it requires both of these things.
Not enough to think (as in meditation), or simply pronounce (as in the reading technique).
The mitzvah looking for the unity of thought, word and action, reflecting the message of the Shema (“God is one”).

IV. Theological interpretation

The Shema Israel it is the core of the monotheism of the bible.
That's why every detail formal —order, sound, pronunciation— becomes a symbol of the divine order of the cosmos.
Say it correctly is a way to participate in the act of creation itself:

Just as God created the world with words (“And God said...”), the man re-created his faith with words pronounced correctly.

The audibility represents the connection between the interior thought and the world outside.
To cover the eyes, as we saw in the Mishnah earlier, seeks concentration;
but here the Mishnah emphasizes that faith it should be expressednot only to feel.

V. Comments classics

🔹 Rashi (Berachot 15a):

He explains that “listening to yourself” it is only necessary lejatjilá (ideally), not bediavad (after the fact).
However, if you are not listened to because you didn't move your lips, not worth it: the mitzvah is verbal, not mental.

🔹 Rambam (Mishné Torah, Hilchot Keriat Shema 2:8-10):

Rules:

“You must pronounce the words with his lips, and hear with their ears. If you do not, fulfilled his obligation, but not perfect.”

Stresses that the order is a requirement min hatorah (of the Torah), while the audibility and precision are midrabanán (rabbinical).

🔹 Tosafot (Berachot 15b):

Debate if a deaf that can't be heard, can never be fulfilled.
Conclusion: yes, you can, because the mitzvah is in the read, not in the hearing (similar to the Tanna Kamma).

VI. Spiritual dimension (according to the Kabbalah)

• The Shema it is a unification of worlds (yijudim).
• Each word binds plans: thinking (moaj), word (peh), and action (yad).
• If the order or the sound is altered, it breaks the “flow line” spiritual between the upper worlds and the soul.

According to the Zohar (Parashat Vaetjanán 266b), who pronounces the Shema without a concentration or with errors “breaks the letters of the faith” (otiyot haemuná).
The “return to the place of error” is a form of rectify this rupture.

VII. General conclusion

Theological synthesis:

The Mishnah Berachot 2:3 teaches that the Shema is not a text which is recited, but an act that embodies it.
Each word, letter and sound have weight.
To comply with the obligation is not just a legal issue, but a way of fine-tune the soul to align with the divine order.