Shulchan Arukh Orach Chayim · Siman 58

Shulchan Arukh Orach Chayim 58 — English translation

Translation: Sefaria Community Translation. Section numbers match the Hebrew text above.

1. 1The time of reciting the morning Shema is from when one can see a slightly familiar friend at a distance of four amos and can recognize him. It continues until the end of three [halachic] hours, which is a fourth of the day[light]. The most ideal fulfillment of the mitzvah is to read it like the "vatikim" (students; and Rashi: people who are humble and love the commandments) who would prepare to recite it a little before the "budding of the sun" (the coming out of the sun like pomegranates bud) in order that one should finish the recitation of the Shema and its blessings with the budding of the sun and to adjoin the Prayer [Amidah] to it immediately to the budding of the sun. Whoever is able to prepare to do this, his reward will be very great. Gloss: The measurement of the budding of the sun is about one hour before the entire body [disk] of the sun has ascended above the land.
2. 2If one didn't recite it before the budding of the sun, one should recite it as soon as possible.
3. 3And whoever is unavoidably prevented, such as one who got up early to travel and in a place where there are bands of wild animals and bandits such that one is not able to concentrate, even for the first section until "(upon) your heart," or members of the caravan are going quickly and won't wait for one at all, then one can recite it with its blessings from daybreak, because it's still fitting that we call daybreak "when you rise up" and it's also fitting to call it "creation of light." But, if one is not in a place that has bands of wild animals or bandits and the members of the caravan are not so rushed, even if one left to travel after daybreak, one shouldn't recite until the proper time arrives.
4. 4If one recited it from daybreak [but before the proper time to recite Shema], even though one wasn't unavoidably prevented [from reciting Shema at the appropriate time], one fulfilled his obligated after the fact. If one recited it without [its] blessings, one should return to recite it in its appropriate time with blessings - see below Siman 60. (Beit Yosef Siman 46).
5. 5If one was unavoidably prevented [from reading Shema at the appropriate time], and didn't recite the evening recitation of the Shema until daybreak, since the sun has not yet budded, one may recite the recitation of the Shema and fulfill the obligation of the evening recitation of the Shema. And if one was unavoidably prevented at that time - [for instance] to travel in a place with bands of wild animals and bandits - one should not recite the recitation of the Shema a second time to fulfill the obligation of the daytime recitation of the Shema because once one made that time "night," it's impossible to retract and make it "day."
6. 6Even though its [proper] time continues until the end of the third hour, if the third hour passed and one did not read it, one may read it with its berakhot all the fourth hour, since it's [within] a third of the day. And [if one does this] one doesn't have a reward like one who reads in its [proper] time. And if the fourth hour passed and he didn't read it, one may read it without its berakhot all day.
7. 7If one did not read it [the recitation Shema] by day, there are those who say that there can be recompense for it [by reading it] at night, and that if one did not read the Shema at night that there can be recompense for it [by reading it] during the day, and there are those who disagree.

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