Mitzvah 420: The law of the recitation of Shema morning and evening

The law of the recitation of Shema morning and evening: That we were commanded every day, morning and evening, to read one verse from the Torah in this Order, and that is “Hear Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4). And about this verse is it stated (Deuteronomy 6:7), “and you will speak in them in your sitting in your home... in your lying down and in your rising up.” And the explanation about this comes (Berakhot 10b) [that it is] at the time that people lie down and at the time that people get up. And it is established to us for the Rabbis (Berakhot 10b) that all of the night until the dawn rises is called the time that people lie down - and like the matter that is written (Leviticus 26:6), “and you will lie down and there is no one that makes [you] tremble”; and so [too], “it does not lie down until it eats prey” (Numbers 23:24) - since all the time of its lying down is implied. And also that people are divided in their attributes regarding lying down. There are those that do not lie down until half of the night, and some [not] until its end, and there are some that lie down immediately at the beginning of the night. And because of this, they said (Berakhot 10b) that the time of the recitation of Shema at night is from the time that the priests retire to eat their priestly tithe - which is the coming out of the stars - until the dawn rises. And the time that people rise up was understood [by] them [to be] from the beginning of the day - meaning to say when the morning is light [enough] that a man can recognize his fellow from the distance of four ells - until three full hours (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Reading the Shema 1:11). And rising up was not understood by them to be all of the day, like lying down; as it is not the way of any person that is healthy to rise up from his bed at the end of the day, or even its middle. And they, may their memory be blessed, said (Berakhot 9b) about the recitation of Shema of the morning that, in any case, from here onward - meaning from the end of three hours until the end of the day - he who did not read [it] did not lose [out]; however, he may not read it with its blessings.

Sefer HaChinukh cites Deuteronomy 6:4.

Hear Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one

A corresponding passage could not be identified safely in this source record.

From the laws of the commandment is that which they, may their memory be blessed, said (Berakhot 13b) that the obligation of the first verse of the section is from Torah writ - as we have said - but [it is] the Sages that obligated us to read the three sections, which are “Shema,” “And it shall be if you listen” [and] “And He said.” And we begin with reading the section of Shema which has the command about unification of God, may He be blessed, His love and the study of His Torah, which is the great foundation that everything is dependent upon. And after it is the section of “And it shall be if you listen,” which has the command about all the other commandments. And after it is the section of fringes (tsitsit) that also has the command about the remembrance of all the commandments (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Reading the Shema 1:2). And if so, with a person remembering these [things] with intention once every day and another time every night, he will be saved from sin - in any case, if he is intelligent.

And it is practiced in every place and at all times by males, but not by females; because it is in the category of positive commandments determined by time, [from which] women are exempt. And one who transgresses it and does not read the recitation of the Shema every day and every night at its time - which the Sages fixed for it - has violated this positive commandment. And Ramban, may his memory be blessed (at the end of Sefer HaMitzvot, s.v. ve’atah, eem tavin), counted the recitation of the Shema in the day as one commandment and in the night as another commandment in his tally of the commandments; since the time of this is not the time of that, and this does not impede on that.

• Deuteronomy 6:7
• Berakhot 10b
• Leviticus 26:6
• Numbers 23:24
• Berakhot 9b
• Berakhot 13b