Ein Yaakov

Berachoth: Chapter One

From what time on may we read the Sh’m’a of the evening? “From the time the priests enter to eat their Terumah until the end of the first watch,” said R. Eliezer. But the other sages say “Until midnight,” and Rabban Gamaliel says “Until the appearance of the morning star.” It happened that the sons of Rabban Gamaliel came [very late at night] from a banquet and told Rabban Gamaliel that they had not yet read the Sh’m’a, whereupon he said to them: “If the morning star has not yet appeared you must read it.”

(Gemara) Let us see: when do the priests enter to eat the Terumah? Is it not when the stars appear? Let then the Mishnah say: “From the time the stars appear!” In using this expression, he lets us hear something by the way; namely, that with the appearing of the stars, the priests are allowed to eat their Terumah, because the forgiveness-offering [which will be brought on the morrow] is not a hindrance, as we have been taught: “And when the sun hath set, he shall be clean” (Lev. 22:7.) i.e., the waiting for the setting of the sun prevents him from eating the Terumah, but not his forgiveness-offering.