Sleeping Late

There is a Torah commandment to recite the שמע when we lie down, בשכבך, and when we rise up, ובקומך. This refers to the nighttime שמע and the morning שמע. There is great discussion in the Gemara as to the exact times to perform this Mitzva. The evening שמע is less problematic as it can be said as long as it is night. It is preferable to say it from צאת הכוכבים, when the stars come out until midnight. But the Mitzva can still be fulfilled as long as it’s before עמוד השחר, daybreak. The morning שמע is based on the time that most people wake up. And since most Jews were farmers, it was common to arise early in the morning. Only a king was afforded the luxury of sleeping late, which was three hours after sunrise. We do follow this three hour rule, but it is calculated in a more complicated manner. The זמן קריאת שמע is clearly available on most Jewish calendars. What all of this means is that a sincere, religious Jew, can never sleep late unless he wakes up briefly to say שמע and pray. This is an important Mitzva but not as easy as it looks!