The Talmud Begins with a Question
From when does one recite Shema‘ in the evening? [With regard to this question, the Gemara asks:] On the basis of what [prior knowledge] does [the] tanna1 of our mishnah ask: From when? [It would seem from his question that the obligation to recite Shema‘ in the evening was already established, and that the tanna seeks only to clarify details that relate to it. But our mishnah is the very first mishnah in the Talmud.]
[The Gemara asks:] And furthermore, what distinguishes the evening [Shema‘, that it was taught] first? Let [the tanna] teach [regarding the recitation of] the morning [Shema‘] first. [Since most mitzvot apply during the day, the tanna should discuss the morning Shema‘ before discussing the evening Shema‘.] [ . . . ]
[Response:—Ed.] The tanna bases himself on the verse as it is written: [You will talk of them when you sit in your home, and when you walk along the way,] when you lie down, and when you arise (Deuteronomy 6:7).
Translation from the Noé Edition of the Koren Talmud Bavli.
Notes
Words in brackets appear in the original translation unless otherwise noted.
[A tanna is a rabbi from the period when the Mishnah was being composed.—Ed.]
Credits
Bavli Berakhot 2a, from Koren Talmud Bavli, Noé Edition, trans. Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz (Jerusalem: Koren Publishers Jerusalem, 2019). Accessed via the William Davidson digital edition, sefaria.org.