Bedtime Shema — what you say, when, and where HaMapil goes

Three questions come back every night: what exactly do I say, when do I say it, and where does the blessing HaMapil go. On the third the Mishnah Berurah gives three views and settles none of them — he hands the choice back to each person. Here is the core text with transliteration, then every rule with the words of the source.

The text — the core of the order

This is the heart of what is said, in the order the siddur prints it. The full order continues with more chapters and verses of protection; the link at the foot of the page has all of it.

The spacing around the ע of Shema and the ד of echad is not a typo: every siddur and every Torah scroll writes those two letters enlarged. Together they spell עֵד — witness. Saying the verse is bearing witness.

The siddur then instructs: יש להפסיק מעט בין אחד לברוך כי עיקר קבול עול מלכות שמים היא פסוק ראשון. ויאמר בלחש: — pause briefly after echad, since the acceptance of the yoke of Heaven is chiefly the first verse; and say the next line quietly:

Then the first paragraph, Ve’ahavta, and — for those who say the full order — the remaining paragraphs, Yoshev be’seter, Hashkiveinu, the priestly blessing, Hinei mitato shelishlomo and Adon Olam.

Text from the siddur — The Metsudah siddur, 1981. The spelling of the Divine Name is that edition’s.

What is actually required, and what is custom

…קורא על מטתו פרשה ראשונה של שמע ומברך המפיל חבלי שינה על עיני וכו'…
He reads upon his bed the first paragraph of the Shema, and recites the blessing HaMapil, who casts the bonds of sleep upon my eyes.Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 239:1

Two things, and only two, in the body of the seif: the first paragraph of the Shema and the blessing HaMapil. Everything else — the extra paragraphs, the verses of mercy — is the custom the siddurim arranged, and the Rama lists it further on in the same seif.

One case is different, and it is common:

…ואם התפלל ערבית מבעוד יום צריך לקרות כל הפרשיות ויכוין לצאת בהן המ"ע של ק"ש וגם המצוה של זכירת יציאת מצרים…
And if he prayed Maariv while it was still day, he must read all the paragraphs, and intend with them to fulfil the positive commandment of reciting the Shema, and also the mitzvah of remembering the Exodus from Egypt.Mishnah Berurah 239:1

Someone who davened Maariv early has not yet fulfilled the obligation of the evening Shema at its proper time; the bedtime reading is what discharges it, so it must be the whole thing, said with that intention. The same passage adds a reason to say the whole Shema in any case: with the words El Melech ne’eman it comes to 248 words, corresponding to the 248 limbs.

And a distinction worth keeping straight — the Rama notes that no blessing is made over this reading (ואין מברכין על ק"ש של ערבית). HaMapil is not a blessing on reading the Shema; it is a blessing on sleep.

Where HaMapil goes — three views, and no ruling

This is the open question of the siman, and for good reason: siddurim print HaMapil before the Shema, while the wording of the Shulchan Aruch suggests after it. The Mishnah Berurah lays out all three positions:

…מלשון השו"ע משמע דברכת המפיל אומר אחר ק"ש כדי שתהא הברכה סמוכה לשינה ומה שקורא אח"כ יושב בסתר ואינך כיון דהוי משום שמירה לא הוי הפסק [ויש מדקדקין לברך המפיל בסוף אחר כל הפסוקים] ויש מאחרונים שהסכימו שיברך ברכת המפיל קודם ואח"כ ק"ש ויתר פסוקי דרחמי (כמו שנדפס בסידורים…
From the wording of the Shulchan Aruch it appears that he recites HaMapil after the reading of the Shema, so that the blessing should be adjacent to sleep… and some are exacting to recite HaMapil at the very end… and there are those who say he should recite the blessing HaMapil first, as it is printed in the siddurim.Mishnah Berurah 239:2

And then, instead of deciding, he hands the decision back:

…ונראה דלמעשה יתנהג האדם כפי טבעו דהיינו אם טבעו להרדם באמצע ק"ש טוב יותר שיקדים ברכת המפיל מה דאפשר ואם אין טבעו לזה טוב יותר לאחר ברכת המפיל עד לבסוף:
And it appears that in practice a person should conduct himself according to his nature.Mishnah Berurah 239:2

Someone who tends to fall asleep in the middle should say HaMapil as early as he can. Someone who does not should leave it to the end. The principle behind all three views is one: the blessing should be adjacent to sleep.

When to say it

…ולא יקרא ק"ש כשיכנס לישן אלא כשרואה שהשינה באה עליו [סדה"י] אבל בכנה"ג כתב שיש לקרות מיד שמא יחטפנו שינה אח"כ ולא יקרא…
One should not read the Shema when he goes to lie down, but only when he sees that sleep is coming upon him… and there are those who hold that one should read immediately, lest sleep seize him afterwards and he not read at all.Mishnah Berurah 239:3

Two opposite views, both practical. Wait until sleep is coming, so that the reading is adjacent to sleep — or read at once, before sleep takes you and you read nothing.

And in the same passage he settles a worry many people have: sitting quietly between the reading and sleep is not an interruption, even for some time — אבל מה שיושב ודומם לא מקרי הפסק. Only doing other things in between is.

Drinking or talking afterwards

…ואין אוכלים ושותים ולא מדברים אחר קריאת שמע על מטתו אלא ישן מיד…
And one does not eat or drink or speak after the blessing HaMapil, but sleeps immediately.Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 239:1, Rama’s gloss

That is the Rama, and it sounds absolute. The Mishnah Berurah qualifies it:

…ואם תאב לשתות או לדבר איזה ענין נחוץ נראה שמותר אך יחזור ויקרא פרשת שמע אכן אם כבר אמר ברכת המפיל יזהר בזה כי יפסיק בין הברכה להשינה…
And if he is thirsty and wishes to drink, or he has some pressing matter, it appears that it is permitted — but he should go back and read the paragraph of the Shema… However, if he has already recited the blessing HaMapil, he should be careful about this, so as not to interrupt between the blessing and sleep.Mishnah Berurah 239:4

So: thirsty, or something urgent — permitted, provided you go back and read the paragraph again. The real care begins after HaMapil, because from that point an interruption comes between the blessing and the sleep it was said over.

You read it and sleep did not come

…ואם קרא קריאת שמע ולא יוכל לישן מיד אז חוזר וקורא כמה פעמים זה אחר זה עד שישתקע בשינה ושיהיה קריאתו סמוך לשינתו…
And if he read the Shema and cannot fall asleep immediately, then he goes back and reads several times, one after another, until he sinks into sleep, and so that his reading should be adjacent to his sleep.Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 239:1, Rama’s gloss

And when going back, two refinements:

…פרשה ראשונה [וראוי שלא לכפול פסוק ראשון] או שיאמר שאר פסוקים דרחמי. וה"ה אם מהרהר בד"ת שפיר דמי…
The first paragraph… and it is fitting not to repeat the first verse… if he meditates on words of Torah, that is well and good.Mishnah Berurah 239:7

Do not repeat the first verse. Other verses of mercy may be said in its place — and simply thinking words of Torah counts here too.

Daytime naps, and the blessing that is not said

(ח) ואין מברכין וכו' - פי' אשר קדשנו במצותיו וצונו על ק"ש אין לברך ולאפוקי מדעת איזה פוסק שמצריך לברך. כתבו הפוסקים הישן ביום א"צ לברך ברכת המפיל וטוב שיאמר ויהי נועם וגו' יושב בסתר וגו':
One who sleeps by day need not recite the blessing HaMapil.Mishnah Berurah 239:8

Two things in one passage. First, no blessing of asher kideshanu… al kriat Shema is made over this reading. Second, and this is the practical one: an afternoon nap does not take HaMapil — it is good to say Vihi noam and Yoshev be’seter instead.

Why the extra verses — and who is exempt from them

…כל אלו הפסוקים שנהגו לאומרם הוא להגן שלא יבוא עליו ח"ו דבר רע. ואם הוא חולה או אנוס די במה שיאמר פרשה ראשונה של ק"ש וברכת המפיל לבד…
All these verses that they customarily say… are to protect… and if he is ill or under constraint… the first paragraph and the blessing HaMapil alone.Mishnah Berurah 239:9

The verses are a custom of protection, not part of the obligation. So someone ill or unable fulfils it with the first paragraph and HaMapil alone. That is the answer to “I am exhausted, what is the minimum?”

The Mishnah Berurah closes the siman with two things that are not formal law but an order for the night: to examine the day’s deeds and confess what is found, and to forgive anyone who wronged him — ובזכות זה האדם מאריך ימים. That is exactly the Ribono shel olam paragraph the siddur places at the head of the order.

Sources

• Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 239:1 — first paragraph and HaMapil; Rama — sleep immediately, and if sleep does not come
• Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 239:2 — the siman’s second seif
• Mishnah Berurah 239:1 — davened Maariv early; 248 words
• Mishnah Berurah 239:2 — where HaMapil goes — three views, and one’s nature
• Mishnah Berurah 239:3 — when to read; sitting quietly is not an interruption
• Mishnah Berurah 239:4 — drinking or speaking afterwards
• Mishnah Berurah 239:7 — reading again; not repeating the first verse
• Mishnah Berurah 239:8 — no blessing on the reading; daytime sleep
• Mishnah Berurah 239:9 — the verses as protection; the ill and the constrained
• Siddur Ashkenaz — Keri’at Shema al Hamitah — the text of the order