when the gemora says that shema is d'rabonon and emes viyatziv is min hatorah because of yetzias mitzraim, but shema has that too. whats the reason that emes... is better than shema?
Reuven Kasierer, Silver Spring, MD
If you look carefully at Tos. you will see that they actually ask your Kashya (i.e. Seeing as he is not sure whether he even said the Sh'ma [otherwise he wouldn't have a Safek in the first place], why not just say the Sh'ma, which contains Yetzi'as Mitzrayim [as you point out], and which is even preferable, since it also contains Kabalas Ol Malchus Shamayim?).
And they answer that the advantage of saying 'Emes ve'Yatziv' is that by doing so, he might just complete the Mitzvah of saying both the Sh'ma (which he may already have said) plus 'Emes ve'Yatziv', which he will not achieve if he says the Sh'ma.
be'Virkas Kol Tuv
Eliezer Chrysler.