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    Chapter 1 · Me'eimatai

    Remembering the Exodus at Night

    Lesson 12 of 64 26 min

    The focus is mentioning the Exodus, not Shema’s starting time. Ben Zoma reads “all” as extending the obligation to nights; the Sages read it as including the messianic age. Compare the readings without merging their positions.

    Lesson goals
    • 01Identify the word supporting the interpretation.
    • 02Compare Ben Zoma’s extension with that of the Sages.
    01

    Source and decoding

    Berakhot 12b
    מזכירין יציאת מצרים בלילות. אמר רבי אלעזר בן עזריה: הרי אני כבן שבעים שנה, ולא זכיתי שתאמר יציאת מצרים בלילות, עד שדרשה בן זומא. שנאמר ״למען תזכר את יום צאתך מארץ מצרים כל ימי חייך״. ״ימי חייך״ — הימים, ״כל ימי חייך״ — הלילות.

    The Exodus is mentioned at night. Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya said he was like a man of seventy but had not established its nighttime recitation until Ben Zoma expounded: “the days of your life” means days, and “all the days of your life” includes nights.

    The focus is mentioning the Exodus, not Shema’s starting time. Ben Zoma reads “all” as extending the obligation to nights; the Sages read it as including the messianic age. Compare the readings without merging their positions.

    02

    Building the reasoning

    1. 1Identify the word supporting the interpretation.
    2. 2Compare Ben Zoma’s extension with that of the Sages.
    Practice

    Return to the source and identify the word supporting the interpretation. Then explain how the central distinction follows from the excerpt. Mark what is explicit and what is explained by the surrounding discussion.

    Lesson wrap-up

    The focus is mentioning the Exodus, not Shema’s starting time. Ben Zoma reads “all” as extending the obligation to nights; the Sages read it as including the messianic age. Compare the readings without merging their positions.

    Check your understanding

    Test yourself before marking the lesson complete.

    Question 1 of 1

    What does “all” add according to Ben Zoma?

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