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Q&A: Reciting the Shema Before Bed

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This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.

Reciting the Shema Before Bed

Question

In honor of the great Rabbi, the true genius, brilliantly sharp, immensely powerful, whose hands are mighty and whose mastery extends over the entire Talmud, Babylonian and Jerusalem, and the halakhic decisors, the medieval authorities and later authorities, Sifra, Sifrei, Tosefta, midrashim, and all twenty-four adornments of the bride, and all the wisdoms of the world and more besides rest in his pocket anew; innovator and creator, thinker and explainer and teacher, the pious one schooled in miracles, holy of holies, who has not benefited from this world, with a pillar of fire above his head and the crown of a good name rising over him, our master and rabbi, the crown of our head, prince of the Torah, pillar of awe, wall of morality, stronghold of Jewish law, tower of kindness, fortress of understanding, prime minister of Judaism, palace of humility, and all good qualities he has acquired for himself, and people benefit from him counsel and sound wisdom; good toward Heaven and good toward people and good toward animals; he is pure and his mind is pure; he is complete and his teaching is complete, and the Holy One, blessed be He, agrees with him. Behold, behold, my sons, my sons, my beloved sons, treasured storehouse, wellspring of wisdom, tree, tree whose fruits are sweet, president of the Sanhedrin, a round threshing floor, Sinai and uprooter of mountains who grinds them against each other, and from the flour bakes bread from which all the inhabitants of the world are satisfied. Woe, woe, woe, he turns nights into days and his mouth never ceases from study, serving God with a whole heart, entering and leaving unobtrusively and claiming nothing for himself, a basket full of books and a distinguished author; nothing is hidden from him, the speech of palm trees and the song of birds, whose heart is like a lion’s heart, compassionate and gracious, good toward Heaven and good toward people, and his delight is in the fear of God; our champion and luminary, crown of the generations, glorious diadem of Israel, he has the power to acquit everyone in judgment, and his net is spread in this world and in the world to come; he shall surely teach, he shall surely judge, and God is with him, for Jewish law follows him; a man of many virtues, praised for his refinement, chain of noble lineage, chief of the righteous, glory of the scholars, prophet, Amora, Tanna, one of the remnants of the Great Assembly, it would have been fitting for the Torah to have been given through him, a hidden treasure, clean of hands and pure of heart, clear and upright, freshly pressed oil, mighty in integrity, the paths of the heavens are illuminated to him, riding the skies through the waters, observing and beholding the upper chariot in the secret of the Lord of Hosts, God of the armies of Israel, from the soul of our father Jacob, he is a wholesome man, he is our messiah, he will redeem us speedily in our days, the great one of the generation, our master and teacher, our father, our Rebbe, our master, the head of the yeshiva, our rabbi the giant and hero, Rabbi Michael Dafna Abraham, may he live long and well
I have a question: Is it permissible to recite the Shema before bed by heart, or do you have to read it from a prayer book?
Thanks in advance!

Answer

Let me begin by saying that since your name is Makhlouf, this probably won’t end with a tax assessor.
Have you finished all the praises of your master? I assume these are only some of the praises you say to my face, so I wasn’t offended. I’ll pass it on to Dafna, my wife, too, and hope she won’t be offended either.
And indeed, the question is fitting both for the questioner and the one being asked, for we need a carpenter and the son of a carpenter to solve it. If you’re concerned about the rule that matters written in text may not be said by heart, see the Tur, Orach Chayim, section 45, that if the text is fluent on your tongue, there is no problem.

Discussion on Answer

Critic (2022-02-19)

Ha! You repeated “good toward Heaven and good toward people” twice.

Asaf (2022-02-20)

Why did you leave this disturbing post up?
This is worth at least a full-on meltdown.

Oz (2022-02-20)

Because humor.

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