We begin the first Mishnah of Chapter 2 of Tractate Berachot. The Mishnah tells us that if the time arrives for reciting the Shema, and one has intention, then one fulfills one’s obligation to recite the Shema. One must have intention to fulfill this Mitzvah.
We learn about the possibility of making interruptions while we are reciting the Shema. What type of interruption may one make if one is between paragraphs? What type of interruption may one make if one finds oneself in the middle of a paragraph?
The Mishna asks the question as to the order of the paragraphs of the Shema. Why is it ordered as it is?
The Gemara begins by discussing the element of intention when performing a Mitzvah and then goes off onto the topic of understanding various words in the Shema itself and what they come to teach us with regards to the recital of the Shema.
May one recite the Shema in any language (and fulfill one’s obligation), or must one recite it only in Lashon HaKodesh (the Holy Tongue)? What about the rest of Torah? Can one also study that in another language, or perhaps that may only be done in Lashon HaKodesh too, in which it is actually written?
Do we need to actually hear the words we recite, or is it sufficient to mouth them almost silently?
