[Avodah] Maariv Bezman

[David E Cohen]

A or C Walters asked:
> There is a similar halocho brought down beshaim the Gr"o, that
> davening maariv bezaman (after tzais) without a minyan is better
> than davening earlier (from Plag) with a minyan, even on shabbos.
> Does anyone know what his mekor for this is, befrat the Gemoro
> says "Ravi Tzali shabbos beerev shabbos"

I don't know for sure if the following is actually the Gr"a's reasoning, but
here is my guess:

Rav was able to daven the tefilah of Shabbos on Erev Shabbos because the
question of whether or not there needs to be semikhas ge'ulah lisfilah at
night (machalokes R' Yochanan and R' Yehoshua` ben Leivi on Berakhos 4b) was
still unresolved.  Thus, the Gr"a would say, Rav was davening early, but
saying Keri'as Shema` (not repeating it, but saying it for the first time --
with its berakhos) at night.  Now that the halakhah has been set like R'
Yochanan, and we do have to be someikhh ge'ulah lisfilah at night, that
option is not available.

The working assumption here is that according to the Gr"a (unlike the minhag
ha`olam), one may not say birkhos Keri'as Shema` before the time for Keri'as
Shema` itself.

--D.C.