Illustration Credit: Noa Kelner
Halakhah הֲלָכָה
The first paragraph of Shema appears in Va’ethanan, and it contains some of the rules about how to say Shema.
וְהָיוּ הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוְּךָ הַיּוֹם עַל לְבָבֶךָ. וְשִׁנַּנְתָּם לְבָנֶיךָ וְדִבַּרְתָּ בָּם בְּשִׁבְתְּךָ בְּבֵיתֶךָ וּבְלֶכְתְּךָ בַדֶּרֶךְ וּבְשָׁכְבְּךָ וּבְקוּמֶךָ.
These words which I command you today shall be in your heart. Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you stay at home and when you go on the way, when you lie down and when you get up.
Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel disagree about how literally we should interpret these pesukim.
בֵּית שַׁמַּאי אוֹמְרִים, בָּעֶרֶב כָּל אָדָם יַטּוּ וְיִקְרְאוּ, וּבַבֹּקֶר יַעַמְדוּ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר "וּבְשָׁכְבְּךָ וּבְקוּמֶךָ."
וּבֵית הִלֵּל אוֹמְרִים, כָּל אָדָם קוֹרֵא כְדַרְכּוֹ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר "וּבְלֶכְתְּךָ בַדֶּרֶךְ." אִם כֵּן, לָמָּה נֶאֱמַר "וּבְשָׁכְבְּךָ וּבְקוּמֶךָ"? בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁבְּנֵי אָדָם שׁוֹכְבִים, וּבְשָׁעָה שֶׁבְּנֵי אָדָם עוֹמְדִים.
Beit Shammai say: In the evening every person should lie down and recite (the Shema), and in the morning they should stand up, as it says, “when you lie down and when you get up.”
Beit Hillel say: Every person should recite in their own position, as it says, “when you are on the way.” (And we don’t take that line literally and conclude that you have to take a walk to say Shema!)
Why then does it say, “when you lie down and when you get up?” It means that you should say Shema at the time when people lie down and at the time when people get up.
As usual, we follow Beit Hillel. So you don’t have to lie down to say nighttime Shema. But you are supposed to recite Shema twice a day at the correct times.
Here are some of the halakhot about reciting Shema (Shulhan Arukh Orah Hayyim 58-88):
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