The gemorah in Brachos Daf 2a asks 2 questions right away after learning the Mishnah. How could we ask about the time of Krias Shema before learning about the mitzvah. Second, why is it that the Mishnah taught about the time at night for Krias Shema first, really we should have taught the time for the day first.
The gemorah gives 2 answers to this. One because of the pasuk of "u'b'shachbecha u'b'kumecha" -- therefore we teach the time of night first. The other because of what we find by brias ha'olam that it says "v'yehi erev, v'yehi boker..." Since it spoke about night first so to here by krias Shema.
A few questions:
What significance in p'shat that the gemorah had to give davka these 2 teretzim. The first answer I can understand. However the second, what does it have to do with Krias Shema? Why to bring this as a way to teach that we should first deal with the zman krias shema at night before day. What does Brias ha'olam have to do with Krias Shema?
I think perhaps one could ask a kasha on this from the first amud in Rosh HaShanah Yerushalmi. Over there (discussing a different point) the gemorah makes the statement, "Ein Lemeidin mi'Beri'as ha'Olam". Although I'm perhaps taking this statement out of context if one looked into the Yerushalmi there and the sugia however I wonder if the principle could be applied or used over here as well or in other cases. B'frat why the gemorah had to bring another teretz and why davka this (which is really my main question.)
Yehoshua, Yerushalayim, Eretz Yisrael
Your question is, why should the order of the Halachos of Keri'as Shema be based on the order of the Creation of the world?
Let me explain. The Gemara is working out a chicken-or-egg problem: Which came first, night or day? At first, it is assumed that day comes before night, so the Gemara asks why the Mishnah did not teach the laws of the day-Shema first. (Tosfos DH Lisnei explains why the Gemara makes this assumption: our prayer is taking the place of the Korbanos, and we find that those Korbanos which had a 24 hour time-allotment for eating were eaten by day and the following night. This implies that the day comes before the night.)
The Gemara's second answer is that since the night was created first (Erev and then Boker), from the time it was created and on it always comes before day. That is why the Mishnah lists the night-Shema first.
I hope this helps you,
Mordecai Kornfeld