Halakhah for Berakhot 21:18
וכי תימא בית הלל נמי אית להו מטין ה"מ דמטה ואתא מעיקרא אבל הכא כיון דעד השתא הוית זקוף והשתא מוטה אמרי ש"מ כב"ש סבירא להו שמא יראו התלמידים ויקבעו הלכה לדורות.
Shouldest thou say, "Bet Hillel also hold [that the Shema' may be read] in a reclining position!" that is so, but only when one was reclining from the first ; but in thy case, since hitherto thou has been sitting up and now thou reclinest, they will say, "We have to infer that [our teachers] agree with the opinion of Bet Shammai," and there is a fear, that the disciples seeing this, will fix the Halakah accordingly for future generations.
Peninei Halakhah, Women's Prayer
The Sages ordained that three berakhot are recited together with the morning recitation of Shema, two berakhot before Shema and one after. They also ordained that four berakhot are recited along with the evening Shema – two before and two after (m. Berakhot 1:4). These berakhot complement and supplement the themes of the Shema, and they praise and thank God for creating and governing the world. Women are also exempt from reciting these berakhot, since they too are time-dependent: Birkhot Keri’at Shema of Shaḥarit can only be recited until the end of the first four hours of the day, and of Ma’ariv can be recited all night.
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