עברית
Faith
When Should One Recite Kriyat Shema on the Bed When Sleeping Twice at Night?
Question
A person who sleeps a set sleep at night intending to wake and learn Torah, then return to sleep (for example: sleeps at 8:00 PM, wakes at 9:00 PM, learns until midnight, and then sleeps again until morning) -
1. When should he recite Kriyat Shema on the bed?
2. How does he handle netilat yadayim (ritual hand washing) in the morning?
3. And what about the Birkot HaTorah (blessings on Torah)? According to Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, of blessed memory.
Thank you very much.
Answer
1. Kriyat Shema should be recited on the bed before the main sleep (see Eshel Avraham, siman Reish Lamed Tet, se'if aleph, and She'elot U'Teshuvot Keren LeDovid, Orach Chaim, siman Samech).
2. If he woke the first time after midnight, he should wash his hands with a blessing, and upon waking in the morning, wash without a blessing. If he woke the first time before midnight, he should wash without a blessing, and upon getting up in the morning, wash with a blessing (see Or LeTziyon, part 2, pages 19-20, and Halacha Brura, part 1, pages 86-97).
3. According to Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, of blessed memory, someone who sleeps a set sleep at night on his bed and wakes to learn Torah, whether he woke before or after midnight, must recite the Birkot HaTorah before studying. If thereafter he returns to sleep again during the night on his bed, he must repeat the Birkot HaTorah in the morning, since he interrupted a set night’s sleep (She'elot U'Teshuvot Yabia Omer, part 8, Orach Chaim, siman Hei).
