Mishnayos Brachos Perek 1 Mishnah 1

מאימתי קורין את שמעו בערבית? משעה שהכהנים נכנסים לאכול בתרומתן – Kohanim (Priests) who became defiled and immersed [in the Mikveh/Ritual Bath] are not able to eat of the Terumah/heave offering (2% of a yield that a person initially tithes for a Kohen), until after sunset, which is, (at the time) when the stars appear. And the fact the Mishnah does not teach, “from the time when the stars appear” is an incidental matter, which comes to tell us, that if Kohanim were defiled with an uncleanness whose purification is dependent upon [the offering of] a sacrifice, such as one afflicted with gonorrhea or leprosy – their [form of] atonement does not prevent them from eating the heave offering, as it written (Leviticus 22:7): “As soon as the sun sets, he shall be pure; and afterward he may eat of the sacred donations [for they are his food].” The setting of the sun prevents him from his eating the heave offering, but his atonement [sacrifice] does not prevent him from eating his heave offering.

עד סוף האשמורה הראשונה – The first third of the night (is the end of the first “watch”), as the night is divided into three watches, and from then onwards is no longer called the time [for the] Recitation of the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4-9; 11:13-21; Numbers 15:37-41) when lying down, and we do not refer to it as “when you lie down” (Deuteronomy 6:7), and prior to the stars coming out (literally, “going out”), it is also considered daytime and not the time of lying down. And those who recite Evening Shema early while it is still day, rely upon that [opinion] of Rabbi Yehuda who said further on in Chapter “Tefillat HaShahar”/The Morning Prayer/Amidah (Chapter 4 of Berakhot, Mishnah 1), that the Afternoon prayer is recited until “Plag HaMinhah”/the middle of the afternoon (the half-way point between the time when the Tamid/Daily Sacrifice was offered – 3:30 pm and 6:00 pm when the time of sunset arrives at the Vernal and Autumnal Equinoxes), which is an hour and a quarter prior to the night time. And we establish (literally, “hold”), that he followed [the opinion of] Rabbi Yehudah, and immediately when the time for Minhah ends, the time for the Evening Recitation of the Shema begins.

עד שיעלה עמוד השחר – Since all night long is called the time for lying down, and the Halakha/law follows [the opinion of] Rabban Gamaliel since the Sages also agree with him, and they [the Sages] did not say, “Until Midnight” (for the recitation of the Evening Shema) other than to distance a person from [the possibility of committing a] sin. However, ab initio, when the time for the recitation of the Evening Shema of our Mishnah arrives, that is, from the time that the stars come out, it is forbidden to eat, and all the more so, to lie down until he recites and the Shema and recites the [Amidah] prayer.

מעשה שבאו בניו מבית המשתה – The sons of Rabban Gamaliel followed the teaching of the Rabbis (regarding the ending time to recite the Evening Shema) who said, “until midnight,” and this is what they said to him: That when the Rabbis are in dispute with you, especially when they say, “until midnight” and not any longer, and [when there is a dispute between] and individual and a majority [view], the law follows the majority [view] (see Mishnah Eduyot, Chapter 1, Mishnah 5) or perhaps (alternatively), The Rabbis [hold] like you thinking and that which states, “until midnight, in order to distance a person from committing a sin,” and he (Rabban Gamaliel) said to the Rabbis that they hold like him, and that which [the Mishnah] states “until Midnight” in order to distance a person from [committing] a sin and you are required to recite the Shema [now].

ולא זו בלבד– It is entirely the words of Rabban Gamaliel which he said to his sons.

הקטר חלבים – of the Temple sacrifices.

ואברים – [the limbs of] the burnt offering sacrifice offered daily at even-time in which its blood is cast on the day he is commanded to offer up the pieces all night long, as it written (Leviticus 6:2): “The burnt offering itself shall remain where it is burned upon the altar all night [until morning]…”

וכל הנאכלים ליום אחד – such as the thanksgiving offering, and the sin offering and the guilt offering and others like them, which are eaten in the daytime, but the nighttime is when they are eaten until the crack of dawn and he is the one who brings remnants [of the sacrifices left over beyond the legal time and bound to be burnt].

אם כן למה אמרו חכמים עד חצות – Regarding the Recitation of the [Evening] Shema and the eating of the Holy Things, but concerning the burning of the fats and limbs on the altar, the Sages did not say regarding it “until midnight” at all and [the Mishnah] did not hold this tradition other than to inform [us] that any Mitzvah which is to be performed at night is appropriate to be performed all night long (see Mishnah Megillah, Chapter 2, Mishnah 6).

כדי להרחיק את האדם מן העבירה – [Concerning the fats and limbs ]that he should not come to eat them after the crack of dawn and be liable for extirpation, and similarly regarding the Recitation of the Shema, that he shouldn’t say, “I still have time” and the time period would pass.