Introduction to Shema and its Berachot (9) – The relationship between the blessings (1) – Bavli, Berachot 11b/12a
The last few essays addressed the question of סמיכת גאולה לתפילה: the juxtaposition of the beracha of geula to the Amida. We looked at the relationship between one of the berachot of Shema and what follows. The remaining installments will analyze the relationship of these berachot to each other and to the Shema itself.
We will address these two final questions together.
- First, how do the various berachot interact with each other? For example, what if you said them out of order, or what if you skipped one?
- Second, are the berachot recited before the Shema meant as a normal blessing on a Mitzvah or as something else? If they are like other berachot on Mitzvot, why is their formulation so different? If they are not like other berachot on Mitzvot, then what are they?
I hope to show the ways in which these two questions are, in fact, interrelated. …