The Time of Shaharit
זמן תפילת שחרית
As we learned (above, 2:2-5), according to most poskim, women must pray the Amidot of Shaḥarit and Minḥa every day, and this is the proper practice le-khatḥila. Hence, it is important to know when the times of Shaḥarit and Minḥa are.
Even the many women who recite only one daily Amida, be it Shaḥarit or Minḥa, must familiarize themselves with the prayer times so they can gauge the proper time for Shaḥarit or Minḥa.
The times of the prayers were fixed by the Men of the Great Assembly on the basis of the corresponding Tamid offerings: Shaḥarit with the morning Tamid and Minḥa with the afternoon Tamid. The time for Minḥa is explained below (18:1); we will now explain the time for Shaḥarit.
The morning Tamid could be brought starting from dawn (“amud ha-shaḥar,” when the first light appears in the east), and the time for praying Shaḥarit should begin at dawn le-khatḥila. Nonetheless, the Sages said that it is proper to recite the Amida after sunrise (“hanetz ha-ḥama”), as it is written: “They shall revere You along with the sun” (Tehilim 72:5; Berakhot 9b). Be-di’avad, if one recites the Amida after dawn but before sunrise, she fulfills her obligation because she prayed at the time when the morning Tamid offering was brought (SA 89:1; and see Peninei Halakha: Prayer, ch. 11 n. 4). The most praiseworthy time to pray is when the early saints, the “vatikin,” who would recite the Amida at the moment of sunrise to fulfill “They shall revere You along with the sun.”¹
The time to pray the Amida lasts four seasonal hours, for that is the last time that the morning Tamid offering may be brought. Be-di’avad, a woman who did not manage to pray during the first four hours of the day may pray Shaḥarit until ḥatzot. Although she does not receive reward for praying on time, nevertheless, she does receive reward for the prayer she recites (SA 89:1). However, a woman who wishes to recite Birkhot Keri’at Shema must not say them after four hours have passed, even be-di’avad.
A woman who customarily prays the Amida once a day, be it Shaḥarit or Minḥa: if four hours have passed and she has not yet prayed Shaḥarit, it is best that she pray Minḥa on that day. However, if she is concerned that she might forget to pray Minḥa, she may pray Shaḥarit until ḥatzot.²
Notes (2)
- There are various opinions about the precise time of amud ha-shaḥar, and they are detailed in Peninei Halakha: Prayer, 11:2 n. 1. As a rule, amud ha-shaḥar is never less than 72 minutes before hanetz ha-ḥama. Meaning, by the time it is 72 minutes before hanetz ha-ḥama, amud ha-shaḥar has definitely already occurred.
It is important to know that the earliest time for all daytime mitzvot, such as shofar blowing and brit mila, is sunrise, because the day is defined by the presence of the sun. However, be-di’avad if such mitzvot are performed from the time of amud ha-shaḥar, one’s obligation is fulfilled, because from a certain standpoint, the day begins from first light (Megilla 20a). - The Tanna’im disagree about the latest time to bring the Tamid offering and, consequently, about the latest time for Shaḥarit. According to R. Yehuda, it is until the end of the fourth hour, whereas the Sages maintain that it can be brought until ḥatzot. The halakha follows R. Yehuda because his opinion is cited in m. Eduyot, whose mishnayot were chosen as the prevailing halakhic position. Therefore, the final time to recite Shaḥarit is at the end of the first four hours of the day (Berakhot 27a). Even so, according to most poskim, the Sages’ opinion was not completely rejected, and be-di’avad it is permissible to pray Shaḥarit until ḥatzot. Although one who does so is not credited as fulfilling the mitzva on time, she neverthelessis credited for her prayer (SA 89:1). However, R. Shlomo Zalman Auerbach (Halikhot Shlomo 8:42) says that since there are poskim who maintain that according to R. Yehuda it is forbidden even be-di’avad to pray Shaḥarit later than four hours (see Peninei Halakha: Prayer, ch. 11 n. 16), and because a woman may fulfill her obligation to pray by reciting only Birkhot Ha-shaḥar, it is preferable that she avoids controversy and refrains from reciting the Amida after four hours have already passed. Still, he concedes that women customarily women pray until ḥatzot, and that this is the opinion of SA. It seems that women are also permitted to recite Pesukei De-zimra and their berakhot before the Amida. Responsa Maḥazeh Eliyahu 19:14 is careful not to urge women to pray within the first four hours of the day, due to their preoccupations. Women are considered anusot (coerced by elements out of their control) and therefore cannot pray on time. This opinion is cited in Halikhot Beitah 6:20 and Halikhot Bat Yisrael 2:11. I have already written what I deem to be the proper practice.
Concerning Birkhot Keri’at Shema, the poskim disagree about whether one may recite them be-di’avad until ḥatzot. Although MB maintains that, for men, one who does not recite them due to circumstances beyond his control may recite them until ḥatzot (see Peninei Halakha: Prayer, ch. 11 n. 7), regarding women, since they are not obligated to recite Birkhot Keri’at Shema and there is no option to recite them voluntarily, it seems evident that it is best for women to avoid uncertainty and refrain from reciting Birkhot Keri’at Shema after the first four hours of the day have passed.