Commentary for Berakhot 4:19
ורבי מאיר הכי קאמר ליה מי סברת דאנא אבין השמשות דידך קא אמינא אנא אבין השמשות דרבי יוסי קא אמינא דאמר רבי יוסי בין השמשות כהרף עין זה נכנס וזה יוצא ואי אפשר לעמוד עליו
But R. Meir answered him thus : Dost thou think that I agree with thy opinion of "twilight" ? I agree with R, Jose's opinion. For R. Jose said : The twilight is like a flicker of the eye ; the night comes on and the day passes without anyone being able to perceive it.
Abraham Cohen Footnotes to the English Translation of Masechet Berakhot
In Shab. 34 b R. Judah defines "twilight" thus: From the time the sun sets and so long as the sky in the East is coloured red. When the lower horizon is pale but not the upper horizon, it is still twilight; but when the upper horizon is pale like the lower, it is night. Cf. Lane, p. 74 n. 2.
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Abraham Cohen Footnotes to the English Translation of Masechet Berakhot
Should, therefore, the priest bathe about the time of twilight (according to B. Jose's view), although it is still day, it is legitimate to read the Shema' then, since it is practically night.
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