More Discussions for this daf
1. Three reasons to keep away from a Churvah 2. The signs of Mishmaros 3. The end of the Ashmuros
4. Simanim for the end of night 5. Tosfos DH v'Ein, Sparing the rich 6. Answering Tosfos' question
7. King David 8. Source of R. Yehuda's opinion of plag hamincha 9. Q&A Answer #1a
10. What we can say before the Mes 11. Tosfos DH Kashya 12. How many Mishmaros
13. The signs for the Mishmaros 14. Rebbi Nasan 15. Dovid Hamelech's Evening Schedule
16. Churvah 17. Time of Going to Bed 18. Mishmaros
19. A Handful Doesn't Feed a Lion 20. Sending out to war 21. Times of the Mishmaros; When is midnight
22. Ashmuros; Urim v'Tumim 23. King David's harp 24. Fooling the angels; 3 or 4 Ashmuros
25. King David sending the nation to war 26. Source for Ashmoros 27. query
28. חצות לילה היה עוסק בדברי תורה
DAF DISCUSSIONS - BERACHOS 3

Ephraim Kleinberg asked:

What is pshat in the gemara when it says the reason there might be a need for a siman at the end of the 3rd ashmura is for someone who lives in a room without windows, and he would not be able to physically determine zman krias shema- the siman was a woman speaking with her husband, and a nursing baby- Are these actual simanim, that a person would hear and then he would know, like the dog barking and the donkey braying, therefore the person in this room would have the woman as a siman, or these arent really simanim, and then that would mean this person in the room without windows doesnt actually have any way to determine?

Thank you

Effie Kleinberg, Toronto, Canada

The Kollel replies:

Below please find our answer to a similar question asked previously on our forum.

Best wishes,

Kollel Iyun Hadaf

yehoshua rabinowitz asked:

1. why does the gemra on 3a start listing the shrurim w/ singular (a donkey braying) and then switch to plural (dogs barking)? so what's pshat?

2. the gemara says on 3a that the shiur for the end of the 3rd mismora (watch) is when a baby nurses. but doesn't he do that several times a night??

3. also, can't you say the same thing by the husband and wife. in other words, let's say someone is in a dark house and he hears a man talking to his wife and it's 3:30A.M. so then he'll say krias shma b./c he hears them talking!!!? so what's pshat?

yehoshua rabinowitz, b,h, l.a

Rav Joseph Pearlman replies:

1. You presumably live in a large town and not a rural area, for were you familiar with rural life, you would have known that donkeys are loners, whereas dogs are gregarious. If one donkey brays it does not set off the rest, but if one dog barks, then all the rest respond. Dogs (like wolves) hunt in packs. Hence, at the first Mishmar, the Gemara refers to the single donkey braying, but at the end of the second Mishmar, all of the dogs bark in unison, for as soon as one barks, all its friends will follow.

On a deeper level, it is well known that these three Mishmaros represent the three Batei Mikdash. See, for example, the Ben Yehoyada who says that the donkey represents the huge burden of Torah (as in "Yissachar Chamor Gorem," in Parshas Vayechi), which the people neglected in the years leading to the Churban of the first Beis ha'Mikdash. (See Yirmiyahu 9:11-12, "Al Mah Avdah ha'Aretz... Al Azvam Es Torasi.") This neglect of Torah is represented by the singular donkey of Yissachar.

The second Beis ha'Mikdash was destroyed because of Sin'as Chinam, manifested by Lashon ha'Ra, the punishment for which is to be thrown to the dogs, as the Gemara says in Pesachim 118a: "Kol ha'Mesaper Lashon ha'Ra Ra'uy l'Hashlicho l'Kelavim." Dogs hunt in packs both for the reason explained above and also, more obviously, in order to be effective against the human whom they are attacking. Hence, "Kelavim" is in the plural.

The third Beis ha'Mikdash will be one of pure love and dependence on Hash-m. Hence, the baby (i.e. Yisrael) suckling from its mother (i.e. Hash-m), and the wife (Knesses Yisrael), conversing with her loving husband (Hash-m), as in Shir ha'Shirim, "Ani l'Dodi v'Dodi Li."

2. Regarding the Siman of "Tinok Yonek mi'Shdei Imo," this is a Siman based on the norm. Whilst it may be true that nowadays some mothers feed at all times, there are places where they want to get a night's sleep and try to arrange to feed last thing at night and then refuse to suckle until early morning. Moreover, at the time of the Gemara, mothers nursed until their children were much more developed than today. Weaning was at 24 months. See Kesuvos 60a.

Since the child is a few months old, it certainly does not need feeding so often and would usually last through the night on the nighttime feeding.

According to the Tzelach, however, there is no need for the foregoing answer, since he holds that the two Simanim -- Tinok Yonek and Ishah Mesaperes Im Ba'alah -- are not alternatives, but they are to be taken together. It is only when the woman is woken by her baby's movements which then causes her to talk to her husband. (This is how he explains the inversion of the two Simanim in the Gemara and the fact that the wife commences talking to her husband and not that he starts talking to her .) He adds that the Simanim could happen independently at other times but it is rare that they would come together other than at the end of the third Mishmar.

See also Ben Yehoyada, who asks this question. "How can one rely on this Siman (of Tinok Yonek and Ishah Mesapares)? Is there no other time during the night that a baby nurses and a woman talks to her husband? How, then, can one rely on it to read Keri'as Shema?" (See there.) His answer there is that we are talking about the majority of occasions. It is not sufficient to rely upon to actually recite Keri'as Shema, but it is enough to make it worthwhile to get out of bed to check whether it is time to do so, since it is usually the case that once these events occur it will be already time for Keri'as Shema.

Joseph Pearlman

Ephraim Kleinberg asks further:

Thank you for the answer, but what if the person in the house doesn't have a wife or baby? What siman does he have then? Why doesnt the gemara suggest that he walk, outside?

Thank you

Effie Kleinberg, Toronto, Canada

The Kollel replies:

Your are correct in pointing out that a person in a dark house without a wife or baby will not have a Siman for the time of Keri'as Shema. However, the Gemara is not interested in providing Simanim for determining the time for Keri'as Shema. As you pointed out, a person can just walk outside and see whether or not it is light.

Rather, the Gemara is questioning why the Beraisa gave a Siman for determining the end of the last Mishmerah. The Gemara answers that a Siman for the end of the last Mishmerah is indeed not necessary, however since we gave Simanim for the other Mishmaros, and since there is some benefit to this Siman in any case (i.e., a person in a dark house will learn from it when to read Keri'as Shema), therefore the Beraisa provides a Siman for the end of the last Mishmerah.

Of course, it is not necessary to have a Siman for the time of Keri'as Shema, as you pointed out, but on the other hand, sometimes there will be a benefit from knowing the Siman. That is why the Beraisa mentions it.

Best wishes,

M. Kornfeld

Kollel Iyun Hadaf