Skipping the Recitation of Shema in Order to Pray the Amida With the Congregation

It occasionally happens that a person suspects that the congregation will reach the Shema recitation in the morning Shaharit prayer past the final time for fulfilling the Misva. In such a case, the proper course of action is to read Shema earlier on its own to fulfill the Misva, and then Shema is later repeated as part of the standard text before the Amida. Although one has already fulfilled the Misva of Shema, nevertheless, the Shema is read again before the Amida because it is appropriate to read words of Torah before standing before G-d in prayer.

An interesting question arises if a person fulfilled the Misva of Shema earlier, and now sees that he is trailing behind the congregation and will likely not reach the Amida by the time they do. A common example is a person who arrived a bit late and tries catching up to the congregation, but he realizes that he will not catch up before the congregation reaches the Amida. Should the individual in this case skip the repetition of Shema in order to be able to recite the Amida together with the congregation? Is it more important to recite Shema before the Amida, in order to begin the Amida prayer after reciting words of Torah, or to pray the Amida with the congregation? Meaning, does the value of Tefila Be’sibur (praying together with the congregation) outweigh the value of reciting Shema before the Amida?

Hacham Bension Abba Shaul (Israel, 1924-1998), in Or Le’sion (vol. 2, 7:26), surprisingly rules that the individual in this case should, indeed, skip the second recitation of Shema in order to be able to recite the Amida together with the congregation. Since he had already fulfilled the Misva of Shema, such that Shema would be repeated only for the sake of reading words of Torah before the Amida, it is preferable to skip this second reading, as the importance of Tefila Be’sibur supersedes the value of beginning the Amida after reading words of Torah.

A more common example of this principle, as Hacham Bension notes, is where one arrives in the synagogue late for Minha, after the congregation has recited Ashreh, as they begin the Amida. Ashreh is recited before the Amida for the purpose of reading words of Torah before the Amida. As important as this is, however, it is overridden by the value of Tefila Be’sibur. Therefore, if one enters the synagogue for Minha as the congregation begins the Amida, he should skip Ashreh in order to be able to recite the Amida together with the congregation.

Summary: If a person had recited Shema in the morning before Shaharit, in order to fulfill the Misva of Shema before the final time, and then arrives late to the synagogue, he should skip the Shema recitation before the Amida if necessary to catch up to the congregation and be able to recite the Amida together with them. Since he had already fulfilled the Misva of Shema, the repetition of Shema before the Amida is overridden by the importance of reciting the Amida together with the congregation.