Q&A: A positive commandment dependent on time
A positive commandment dependent on time
Question
Hello Rabbi. Maimonides (at the beginning of the Laws of Prayer) writes that there is a positive commandment from the Torah to pray every day, but it is not considered a positive commandment dependent on time, because by Torah law it has no fixed time, and therefore women are obligated in prayer. Doesn’t “every day” count as a fixed time? Or perhaps there is a Torah obligation to pray without specifying a defined time, and we assume there must be some obligation so that the commandment not be emptied of content, and the most straightforward time is at least once every day? That seems to be what the Kesef Mishneh says there, that if we were to say it is once in a lifetime, that is something reason cannot tolerate, so clearly the obligation is every day. But according to that, it is still not clear to me why the commandment does not then become time-dependent. Thank you.
Answer
The phrase “every day” does not necessarily mean that it is renewed each day, but rather that the commandment is continuous. This is a continuous commandment whose timing is once every 24 hours, but not a commandment that is renewed each day. By contrast, with the commandment of tefillin, where it is also not clear whether the commandment is each day or not (I seem to recall an article by Rabbi Yitzchak Meir Yaavetz on this). In any case, it applies by day and not by night, and therefore it is considered time-dependent. And one could discuss whether that is because it is renewed each day, or because it is continuous but applies only by day and not by night. They have indeed already discussed whether with tefillin the commandment is actually renewed each day or not. With prayer there is no distinction between day and night, and therefore it is not time-dependent. Something like this is the distinction the Talmud makes (Sukkah 45b) between the citron and the sukkah, where the nights interrupt the days, making it like seven separate obligations.
And similarly one could discuss the commandment of the daily offerings and the incense: whether they are renewed each day, or whether they are continuous, except that their time is in the morning and evening. And likewise regarding the recitation of the Shema: the Sha’agat Aryeh wrote, according to the view of the Kesef Mishneh, that it is time-dependent because there is one commandment in the morning and one in the evening. This implies that if there were one continuous commandment spanning both times, morning and evening, it would not be considered time-dependent (assuming that the daytime time limits are only rabbinic, in accordance with the view of the Kesef Mishneh).
Discussion on Answer
Was canceled = the time of the obligation ended (regardless of the person’s actions)
It may be renewed every 24 hours as a new commandment, and it may be one continuous commandment whose definition is to perform it every 24 hours.
Does “renewed” mean = it was canceled and now a new obligation begins (with the emphasis on “was canceled”)?
If not, I don’t understand the difference between a commandment whose time is once every 24 hours and a commandment that is renewed every day.