Kriyat Shema Al HaMitah: Difference between revisions

# You only need to say Kriyat Shema Al Hamita and the bracha of Hamapil 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 repeat Hamapil. If you know that you're going to wake up for some time and go back to sleep again, you should have in mind that your bracha should exempt the second period of sleep as well.<ref>Rabbi Zilber in [http://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=51658&st=&pgnum=390 Beyt Baruch 35:9]</ref>

# Birchat [[HaMapil]] should be made when one is going to sleep (one doesn’t need to wait until sleep over takes oneself) <ref>Mishna Brurah 239:3 </ref>  

# Sephardim, according to many poskim, shouldn’t say the Bracha of [[HaMapil]] with [[Shem UMalchut]] if they go to sleep after [[Chatzot]] (midnight by halachic hours). <Ref> Rav Ovadia Yosef in Yachava Daat 4:21 wrote that one should say hamapil after chatzot without shem umalchut and before chatzot with shem umalchut. This is also the opinion of Yalkut Yosef ([[Brachot]] pg 664) and Or Letzion 2:15:12.</ref> Others hold that it can be said all night.<ref>Halacha Brurah 239:9 quoting his father Rav Ovadia Yosef that he retracted that one should say it even initially after chatzot. See Rav Ovadia's formulation in Chazon Ovadia (Brachot p. 511). See also Orchot Maran 2:19:10 p. 834 where he writes that Rav Ovadia Yosef's personal practice changed in 5771 to say hamapil after chatzot with shem umalchut. [https://www.torahanytime.com/#/lectures?v=60107 Rav Yitzchak Yosef Motzei Shabbat Emor 5778 min 18] said that his father's opinion changed on the matter and therefore one should recite the bracha of hamapil with shem umalchut even after chatzot.</ref> Syrians have the tradition not to say it with shem umalchut at all.<ref>[http://www.dailyhalacha.com/displayRead.asp?readID=277&txtSearch=hamapil Rabbi Mansour on dailyhalacha.com] explained that the Syrian minhag was to say hamapil without shem umalchut in accordance with the Ben Ish Chai (Pekudei no. 12).</ref>

# If a person is going to sleep before sunset even if he is going to continue to sleep through the night he should not recite Hamapil.<ref>Betzel Chachma 5:166:9 writes that since the bracha is established only for sleep at night even though one is going to later sleep during the night the bracha needs to recited at the time that the action that obligates the bracha is performed. This is cited by Dirshu 239:7.</ref>

# If a person is on a night flight and plans on sleeping on the plane he should recite Hamapil since his chair is like a bed for that time. However, if one doesn’t plan to go to sleep and only accidentally dozed off he doesn’t need to recite Hamapil.<ref>Beer Moshe 7:114:3</ref>

# Someone who wants to say the Bracha before leaving the Bet Midrash and not to say it in the room not to be bothered one may do so (but afterwards one shouldn’t make any interruptions besides going to the room and going to sleep). <Ref>Halichot Shlomo ([[Tefilla]] pg 170) </ref>

# If after one already said [[Birkat HaMapil]] one's parent asks one something and one has to answer, then it is permitted to ask because of Kibbud Av VeEm.<ref>Yalkut Yosef (vol 3, 665)</ref>

# [http://he.wikisource.org/wiki/%D7%A1%D7%99%D7%93%D7%95%D7%A8_%D7%A1%D7%99%D7%9E%D7%9F_%D7%98%D7%95%D7%91/%D7%90%D7%A9%D7%9B%D7%A0%D7%96/%D7%A7%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%90%D7%AA_%D7%A9%D7%9E%D7%A2_%D7%A9%D7%A2%D7%9C_%D7%94%D7%9E%D7%99%D7%98%D7%94 Ashkenazic text of Kriyat Shema Al Hamita] (from wikisource.com)

# [[:File:Kriyat_Shema_Al_Hamita.pdf| Sephardic text of Kriyat Shema Al Hamita]] (from fxp.co.il)

==Sources==