Important Message Regarding This Lesson
The Daily Mitzvah schedule runs parallel to the daily
study of 3 chapters of Maimonides' 14-volume code. There are
instances when the Mitzvah is repeated a few days consecutively while the exploration of the same Mitzvah continues in the in-depth track.
Positive Commandment 10 (Digest)
The Shema
"And you shall talk of them ... when you lie down and when you rise up"—Deuteronomy 6:7.
We are commanded to recite the Shema twice daily: morning and night. Women are not obligated in this time-bound mitzvah.
The 10th mitzvah is that we are commanded to recite the Shema daily, both in the evening and in the morning.
The source of this commandment is G‑d's statement (exalted be He), "And you shall speak of them when you sit in your house [and when you walk on the road, when you lie down and when you rise.]"
The details of this mitzvah have been explained in the tractate Berachos. There it is explained that reciting Shema is a Biblical requirement.
The Tosefta explains [regarding the mitzvah of prayer]: "Just as the Torah established the time for reciting Shema, so our Sages established a time for prayer." The meaning of this statement is as follows: Although prayer itself is ordained by the Torah, as explained above, the set times for prayer are not. The Sages established the times for prayer. This is also the meaning of the statement, "The prayers were established to correspond to the tamid sacrifices." This means that the Sages established the times of prayer to correspond to the times of the sacrifices.
Women are not obligated in this mitzvah.
Positive Commandment 5 (Digest)
Prayer
"And you shall serve the L-rd, your G‑d"—Exodus 23:25.
We are commanded numerous times throughout the Torah to serve G‑d. Although this is a general commandment, it does contain a very specific application: prayer, service of the heart as expressed through the mouth.
The 5th mitzvah is that we are commanded to serve G‑d (blessed be He). This commandment is repeated many times: And you shall serve G‑d, your L‑rd"; "And you shall serve Him"; "And to serve Him."
Although this commandment is of a general nature, as explained in the Fourth Principle, [and apparently should not be included in the count of the 613 mitzvos,] nevertheless it has a specific quality, since it is the commandment to pray.
[We see that "service" is not just a general command from the following statements:] The Sifri says, "The verse, 'And to serve Him' means prayer." The Sages also said, "The verse, 'And to serve Him' means Torah study.
In the Mishnah of Rabbi Eliezer, the son of Rabbi Yosi HaG'lili, the Sages said, "What is the biblical source to include prayer among the mitzvos? From the verse, 'You shall fear G‑d, your L‑rd, and you shall serve Him.' "
They also said, "Serve Him through His Torah; serve Him in His Temple." This [statement, 'serve Him in His Temple,'] means that one's goal should be to pray in the Temple or in the direction of the Temple, as King Solomon explained.
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