1. On Berachos 10b it states that you should pray in a low place and quotes Psalms 130:1 "from the depths I called you, Hash-m." I thought I remembered that is the source for some shuls to have the place where the leader davens lower than the congregation. Yet I don't know of any shuls that do so. Is this some group's custom, and if so, who's custom is it?
2. Beis Shammai says you say the evening Shema lying down as he takes the verse literally. Beis Hillel says the verse refers to the TIME of the evening Shema (when people are going to sleep) and thus lying down is not a requirement. At the end of the Mishnah the Sages take R'Tarfon to task for laying down while on the road. They say "you have transgressed the words of Beis Hillel." But he hasn't!! Beis Hillel simply said that the verse refers to the TIME of the evening Shema and therefore one isn't REQUIRED to lie down when it is said. But Beis Hillel DID NOT PROHIBIT lying down. Thus, why does the Mishnah take R' Tarfon to task?
Barry Epstein, Dallas, TX 75252
1. You remembered correctly. The ARUCH HASHULCHAN (O.C. 90:2) indeed records that nowadays there are a few shuls where the Chazan davens in a spot that is lower than the rest of the congregation because of this Pasuk. However, I am not currently aware of any large group of Jews which has this custom.
2. The Mishna states that the Chachamim said to Rebbi Tarfon "It was appropriate for you that you put yourself in danger because you transgressed the words of Beis Hillel." The RAMBAM in PIRUSH HAMISHNAYOS explains that the Chachamim took Rebbi Tarfon to task not because of a violation in Hilchos Kriyas Shema, but because he put himself in danger because he went against the words of Beis Hillel. They explained to him that if he would have been killed by these bandits, it would have been his own fault.
There are others, including the RITVA and TIFERES YISRAEL, who say that the Chachamim were indeed reprimanding Rebbi Tarfon because he chose to act like Beis Shamai over Beis Hillel. There are many explanations for this train of thought. The Ritva explains that for someone to make a stringency of Beis Shamai as if it is the Halachah is wrong, as the person might come to ignore the entire Mitzva if he cannot do the Mitzvah with that stringency. A more novel explanation is that of the ONEG YOM TOV (#9), who explains that the Chachamim held this was a case akin to a Zaken Mamrei, who is Chayev Misa.
Kol Tuv,
Yaakov Montrose