Kriyat Shema Al HaMitah
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Order of the Kriyat Shema Al HaMitah
- It's a מצוה to say קריאת שמע על מטתו even if your read the three פרשיות at the right time [1] , so then you say only the first פרשה, however it's better to say all three with א-ל מלך נאמן b/c there are רמ"ח (248) letters and then saying this is a שמירה for all 248 bones in your body. [2]
- You also say the ברכה of המפיל, and you add pasukim and מזמורים after it. One should follow the order of the siddur of one’s minhag. Some say that you say this ברכה before שמע, some say you say it at the end of all the תפילה. Some say that you should say it right after שמע. The Sephardic minhag is to say the Bracha before Shema. [3]
- If you are sick you don’t need to say the whole order of קריאת שמע שעל המאה, it's enough just to say the first פרשה of שמע and then say the ברכה of המפיל. [4]
- You only need to say קריאת שמע על המטה and the ברכה of המפיל once a night, so if you fall asleep and then wake up and you want to go back to bed you don’t need to say everything again.
The Bracha
- Sephardim shouldn’t say the Bracha of HaMapil with Shem UMalchut unless one goes to sleep before Chatzot (midnight by halachic hours). [5]
Not speaking after Kriyat Shema Al HaMitah
- Once you have said קריאת שמע על המטה you shouldn’t speak, eat, or drink. Before one said the Bracha of HaMapil, if one needs to eat, drink, or say something really important there is a possibility to be lenient, and one should repeat Shema. However, if one already said the Bracha of HaMapil one shouldn’t make any interruption. [6]
Position it should be said
- It's good to read the שמע on your bed sitting or standing, if you already laid down you don’t need to get up rather say it on your side, but it is אסור to say it while lying on your back or on your belly, בדיעבד any way is יוצא. [7]
Other practices prior to sleep
- It's good for a person that before he goes to bed he should look at all the things he did that day and if he finds that he did עבירות he be מקבל on himself that he won’t do those again, and also it's good to be מוחל anyone who might have sinned against you. [8]
Sleeping alone
- It’s forbidden to sleep at night in a room by oneself. However, if there’s others in the house and not the room, one should leave the room door ajar at night (unless a man is sleeping alone in a room and the only other person in the house is a women in which case it’s forbidden to leave the door open because of Yichud.) . [9]
References
- ↑ S”A 239:1. Also look at Mishna Brurah 239:1 which says that if you said שמע at its right time you should say one but if you didn’t then say all three, and have in mind the מצוה of saying שמע and also to remember being taken out of מצרים.
- ↑ Mishna Brurah 239:1
- ↑ Mishna Brurah 239:2 writes that the people who say that you should say it before and everything else after don’t have to worry about it being a הפסק because it's all a שמירה and that isn't a הפסק. And the one who says that you say it after שמע goes like the S”A in סעיף א and then you say ישב and it isn't a הפסק because it is a שמירה. Yalkut Yosef (Brachot pg 667) writes that the Sephardic minhag is to say the Bracha before Shema.
- ↑ Mishna Brurah 239:9
- ↑ Yalkut Yosef (Brachot pg 664)
- ↑ Mishna Brurah 239:4 says that it is מותר to speak if it is important, but once you said המפיל it is a הפסק between the ברכה and the sleeping. The רמ"א says that you shouldn’t speak rather one should go to bed right after Kriyat Shema Al HaMitah. So holds the Yalkut Yosef (Brachot pg 664).
- ↑ Mishna Brurah 239:6 writes that there are those that are more חמור and make you stand but we are מיקל.
- ↑ Mishna Brurah 239:9
- ↑ Mishna Brurah 239:9 writes that one shouldn’t sleep alone at night alone and this includes even sleeping in a room alone. However, Shaar HaTzion 239:17 writes that one may leave the door ajar if there are others in the house. Yalkut Yosef (Brachot pg 669, Sherit Yosef vol 3 pg 369) also holds that it’s forbidden but writes that if there’s no other option one should leave a light on in the room.
