[Avodah] day definition

[Micha Berger]

On Wed, May 14, 2025 at 05:59:51AM +0300, Joel Rich via Avodah wrote:
> What are we trying to make of the fact that while the Jewish "day" starts
> at night, the tur chose to start his "day" (in orach chaim) in the AM (and
> that IIUC all siddurim did the same).

As RAM notes, most Siddurim start in the morning. Except those for
Shabbos, or Machazorim, which start the afternoon of erev.

I have one siddur that goes full Gregorian Calendar, and starts with
Tiqun Chatzos. (Which is just as well, because I lost the cover and the
first few pages. But this means Shacharis is still intact.)

In the Miqdash, days start in the morning, and you can see from Aveirim
and eating Qorbanos that night follows day. So it's poetic that siddurim
tend to as well -- avodah sheleiv and uneshalmah parim sefaseinu.

In the outside world, we rest to prepare for the next day, so the night
counts toward the day. In the Miqdash, there is no sleep schedule; the
night is to finish what didn't get done yet. They are very different
attitudes toward what down-time is for -- prep or finishing up.


The Mishnah starts with Shema shel aravis, although it doesn't run through
the day, that choice could be starting at the start of the halachic day.

But then why did the Tur start the first section of OC with morning until
sleep?

It could be because he wanted to start with waking up with the right
attitude. The start of the active part of the day. Segues into a lot
of Pirke Avos type stuff.

It could just be psychological. The day may halachically start at sheqi'ah,
but units of work are from sleep to sleep.


(I would note that calendars tend to do the year and the day in parallel
ways:
Jewish normal calendar: year starts in the fall, as the year gets darker,
day starts in the evening
Jewish miqdash caendar: year starts in Nissan (think of M' Sheqalim),
days starts in morning
Chinese calendar: spring and dawn
Western calendar: middle of winter and middle of night)

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger                 Today is the 31st day, which is
http://www.aishdas.org/asp   4 weeks and 3 days in/toward the omer.
Author: Widen Your Tent      Tifferes sheb'Hod: What level of submission
- https://amzn.to/2JRxnDF                    results in harmony and balance?