THE ART OF SAYING SHEMA ON YOUR BED
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THE ART OF SAYING SHEMA ON YOUR BED
The Sefer Hassidim writes that only if a person goes to sleep like a spiritual lion, can he wake up like a spiritual lion. He derives this from this week’s Parasha.
The Passuk says in this week’s Parasha, הֶן־עָם֙ כְּלָבִ֣יא יָק֔וּם וְכַאֲרִ֖י יִתְנַשָּׂ֑א לֹ֤א יִשְׁכַּב֙ עַד־יֹ֣אכַל טֶ֔רֶף Behold, a People that rises like a lioness and raises itself like a lion. It does not lie down until it eats its prey. (Bamidbar 23 ;24) Rashi explains that getting up like a lion, is how one gets up to put on Tallit, Tefillin, and say the Shema. What does this mean, that we don’t go to sleep until we eat our prey? Rashi explains: לא ישכב – בלילה על מטתו עד שהוא אוכל ומחבל כל מזיק הבא לטרפו. כיצד, קורא את שמע על מטתו ומפקיד רוחו ביד המקום, בא מחנה וגייס להזיקם, הקדוש ברוך הוא שומרם ונלחם מלחמותם ומפילם חללים.: The Jew won’t go to sleep on his bed, until he eats and destroys all the damagers who come to devour him. How so? He reads Shema on his bed, and he deposits his soul in the Hands of Hashem. Then, when an army comes to hurt the Jews, HKBH watches over them, and fights their wars, and knocks them down as corpses.
The Sefer Hasidim, then, reads the passuk, that if you want to get up a like a spiritual lion, to do the Mitzvoth with fervor and passion – כְּלָבִ֣יא יָק֔וּם וְכַאֲרִ֖י יִתְנַשָּׂ֑א , you need to go to sleep like a lion – לֹ֤א יִשְׁכַּב֙ עַד־יֹ֣אכַל טֶ֔רֶף, by saying the Shema in the right way. What does this mean, that by saying Shema before going to bed properly, one can sleep like a lion?
We can be a spiritual lion, in the mindset of how we sleep. The Talmud says, that when a person goes to bed, he needs to thank G-d for allowing him to fall asleep, with the blessing ברוך המפיל. The Abudraham writes that sleep is a need, so we bless G-d over it, as it says in the Midrash, that when G-d created sleep, he referred to it as טוב מאוד, for through a good sleep, a person can learn Torah properly. (M. Rabbah 9,6) If you go to sleep, with the intent that you want to wake up with spiritual and mental energy, your whole sleep transcends into a Mitzvah. This is why we make the Hamapil blessing. (Ben Ish Chai) We say in the morning in Modeh Ani, רבה אמונתך, Faith in You is great. This means, that we have faith in G-d, each night, to give Him our worn-out souls from a long day, and that He will return our souls to us, refreshed and reenergized, each morning.
There is another explanation how a person can be like a lion in the way one goes to sleep. Self-Improvement. The Seder Hayom explains why one should say viduy before going to sleep. We know that sleep is one sixtieth of death. (Berachot 57b) A person does not know when he goes to sleep if he will wake up the next morning, as we say in the blessing of Hamapil, והאר עיני פן אישן המוות. And lighten my eyes (in the morning), lest I will sleep a sleep of death. It says in the Mishna in Avot, to do Teshuva the day before you die. (Avot 2 10) No one knows his last day. Unfortunately, there were people that just did not wake up in the morning. Therefore, a Jew, like a lion, admits that he is dependent on G-d to wake up in the morning, and therefore, recognizes the option that he might not. This is why, we say viduy, we repent, like a lion, before going to sleep. The Mishna Berurah writes, that the main things that a person should say viduy before going to sleep is on the common sins, like showing respect to the Rasha in his wickedness- חנופה, lying to G-d, others and ourselves- שקר , making light of important thing ליצנות , and lashon hara. But most of all, a person needs to do a calculation and repent, from not learning Torah when he could. (MB 239;9) The Zohar tells us that this is the best time of the day, for a person to do Cheshbon Hanefesh, to make an accounting of his soul and become a master at it -מרא דחושבנא . The Chafetz Chaim would say, that the biggest Chehbon Hanefesh, the greatest accounting a person will have to answer on Judgement Day, is why he lived without a Cheshbon Hanefesh, without an accounting. In the Shulchan Aruch it mentions that we are supposed to say some Tehillim and some Pesukim before we go to sleep, such as יֹ֭שֵׁב בְּסֵ֣תֶר עֶלְי֑וֹן , which has in it the wordsיִפֹּ֤ל מִצִּדְּךָ֨׀ אֶ֗לֶף וּרְבָבָ֥ה מִימִינֶ֑ךָ It will fall from your left side 1000 demons and bad angels that were created by the negative commandments that you have done (left – negative commandments גבורה) and 10,000 will fall from your right side, that were created by the positive commandments that you did not do (right- positive commandmentsחסד ) This is the meaning of the passuk of Shema on the bed יְ֝רַנְּנ֗וּ עַל־מִשְׁכְּבוֹתָֽם They, the pious, will sing on their beds to G-d a song… רוֹמְמ֣וֹת אֵ֭ל בִּגְרוֹנָ֑ם וְחֶ֖רֶב פִּֽיפִיּ֣וֹת בְּיָדָֽםexalting the Almighty with their throats, and a double edged sword in their hands. This double-edged sword, is to fight off the two types of bad angels, the ones who were created from the good deeds that one could have done but did not do, and the ones that were created from the bad things that were done. Mostly, when a person repents, they think and focus on what they have done wrong, but do not focus enough on what they did not do right. There is a ten to one ratio, ten times more good things we did not do, then bad things that we did do. By doing Teshuvah before going to sleep, we get rid of all these bad spirits and demons.
What are these bad spirits and demons? The Meiri writes that these are negative thoughts that a person has, especially thoughts that a person thinks that he is alone in the world without G-d, thoughts that you have control over things when you don’t, thoughts that you can be perfect and do more than then best you can, thoughts that things and people and circumstances can hurt you, when G-d does not allow them to. (see Meiri Berachot 5a) When one says Shema, he pledges allegiance to a One G-d, that there is nothing else in the world, except G-d, and this helps to overcome and fight all these bad spirits. At night time, the time of Din, Judgment, is the time when these demon thoughts and feelings have more power on the rational, causing one anxiety and to not have a good night sleep, which has a ripple effect on not waking up refreshed and energized in the morning. Only through the Shema can one fight off these demons.
A third reason why saying Shema before going to bed properly compares us to a lion, is that we start off forgiving all those who may have wronged me, physically, emotionally, or spiritually. We are like lions in not taking anything personal, even if the person embarrassed me in front of others! This habit of forgiveness before going to sleep is crucial. Not only does it cause G-d to reflect and forgive you for all of your wrongdoings to Him, but it ensures that you wake up the next morning! After all, when a person forgives others, he merits longevity! (Megilah 28a)
So the Sefer Hassidim writes, that when a person does Teshvua before going to sleep, and he hands over his soul to G-d when he says the words בְּיָדְךָ֘ אַפְקִ֪יד ר֫וּחִ֥י , then he when he wakes up, כארי יתנשא , he will wake up like a lion! Like Rashi says, how we wake up like a lion. We wear Tzitzit, we read the Shema, we put on Tefillin. It is not just that we will do these Mitzvoth to check them off our to do list, and get on with our daily routine. It is that, if you go to sleep the right way, then when you wake up, those Mitzvoth of the morning, you will do them with a spiritual fire. This is why, the Torah starts off with the message, וַֽיְהִי־עֶ֥רֶב וַֽיְהִי־בֹ֖קֶר It was night, and then it was day. Because the day, the state of mind of how you wake up, goes after the night, of how you went to sleep. No wonder then, when one says the Shema, slowly, polishing each word like a gem, G-d cools down Gehinom for that person. (Berachot 15b) And when fathers put their kids to sleep and say with them Shema, the father is promised that when he sleeps his own final sleep after 120, his children will cause him Jewish Nachat. (Kaf Hachaim 2;4)
