Q&A: Do You Think There Is an Obligation to Recite the Bedtime Shema?
Do You Think There Is an Obligation to Recite the Bedtime Shema?
Question
I know there are disputes on this issue, but I’d be happy to know what your personal view is, and also roughly how the positions are divided on the matter.
In addition, what is said in that Bedtime Shema? From what I understood, in principle the first paragraph is enough and that’s it, but there is also the blessing “Who causes sleep to fall,” and in practice people say more, such as “Lay us down” without the closing formula, which I saw is brought as the custom of the Rosh. If you look at the Tefilon app, you can see that the text there for the Bedtime Shema is really long, so I’d be glad to know whether there is a reason / sources for saying the additional parts (of course, they are not obligatory to the best of my understanding).
Answer
I didn’t understand the question. Whatever is not obligatory, there is no obligation to say. There is a custom, but if it really bothers you and seems pointless to you, then don’t say it.
Discussion on Answer
In my opinion, yes.
Do you think there is an obligation to say the Bedtime Shema and the blessing “Who causes sleep to fall”?