[Avodah] minhagei EY vs chul

[Kenneth Miller]

R' David Cohen made several very worthy comments about the timing of mincha and maariv in Eretz Yisrael. I'd like to add an additional point for the chevra's consideration, mostly because I don't remember where I heard it, and I don't even know how true it is.

One thing that I *am* pretty sure of is that in general, the psak of the Gra tends to carry much more weight in EY than in chu"l. I presume this is related to the influence of his talmidim who made aliyah so long ago. I once heard (and this is the part I'm *not* clear on) that the Gra held that the zmanim for Birchos Krias Shma are the same as the zmanim for Krias Shma itself. This contrasts with the halacha as I understand it, which is that Birchos Krias Shma actually follows the zmanim of Tefila.

If I am correct, then in the evening, the Gra would not permit one to say maariv before Tzeis, even if one would be careful to repeat Shma later. This would explain why, during my years in EY in the 70s and 80s, I never saw a maariv minyan before sunset, or even *at* sunset. On the other hand, they did not begin much afterward, in accordance with the Gra holding an earlier Tzeis than other poskim.

This theory also has implications for one who wants to say Shma early in the morning, but then say Shacharis during the fourth hour. I think it is also very relevant to a discussion we had here a few months(?) ago about answering "amen" to the chazan just before Krias Shma: If the zmanim for Birchos Krias Shma are the zmanim of Shmoneh Esreh, then it is very straightforward that the brachos are simple prayers not much different from Birchos Hashachar. But if the zmanim of Birchos Krias Shma are the same as the zmanim for Krias Shma itself, this points to a very intimate relationship, so much so that calling them a Birkas Hamitzvah sounds quite reasonable.

Has anyone else heard anything like this?

Akiva Miller
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