Question:
Hi,
My son age 14 has had anxiety and depression sometimes, and my family has gone through a years long messy divorce so there is a lot of stress in the background and at some level ongoing..
I try for him to get enough sleep which helps for his issues. This is a challenge because he goes to yeshiva early.
The only minyan in our area davens a bit late which makes him get one and half hours less sleep each night then his doctor recommends.
Due to his fragile mental state, he has a problem falling asleep on Shabbos afternoon when he could have caught up on some sleep.
Is he allowed to say the bedtime krias shema before he goes to minyan for maariv? That way he would be able to go to sleep right after maariv.
Answer:
If he wants, he can say the pesukim of shmira before going to maariv, but the shema itself and hamapil have to be said right before going to sleep. Saying the two of them shouldn’t take more than 1 minute, which is not going to make a difference to his schedule.
H-shem should help him and the whole family, that everyone should have menuchas hanefesh.
Best wishes
