If the Sages said that we must join the Geulah (Redemption i.e. the blessing that follows from the recitation of the Shema and precedes the Amidah prayer) directly with the Amidah prayer then we have a problem with regards to the way the prayers were fixed. In truth, in the evening prayers we recite two blessings after the Keriat Shema.
The first blessing is the “Go’al Yisrael” (Redemption) “Who redeemed Yisrael” and thereafter we recite another prayer “Hashkiveinu” that precedes the Amidah (Shemoneh Esrei) prayer. This means that there will be an interruption of at least one full prayer after the “Go’al Yisrael” blessing. In other words, we won’t be joining the Geulah (Redemption) with the Amidah prayer in any case. If so, how can we understand that the Geulah blessing must precede the Amidah immediately?!
The Gemara continues with the teaching that we must recite the “Ashrei” Psalm i.e. Psalm 145 three times per day and asks why it is so important. The Gemara continues with a discussion about the powers of the various angels that are able to fly to any place in moments. Which of the angels is the mightiest and why? Why do the other angels take longer to arrive at their destination? The Angel of Death takes the longest amount of time to reach its destination.
We learn about the importance of reciting the Keriat Shema just before one retires at night – even though one has recited the Keriat Shema in the evening prayers already. We learn this from a verse. From the same verse we learn the importance of battling the evil inclination. Ultimately, it is this verse that should put fear into us to realise that we are fighting a daily battle against the nature of evil which wishes to topple us at every turn of our lives. But there is something within that verse that teaches us that if we consider this matter – we can certainly be victorious over our evil inclinations – no matter what the test…
We are using the beautiful Koren Talmud Bavli. Viewers have the opportunity to see the text in front of them while we learn together. The Aramaic text is shown as well as the translation into English as well as a variety of notes, biographies, Halachic (legal) rulings, pictures and much more. Join us in learning more about how to learn the Talmud as we work through the text at a pace that we can all keep up with.
