Berachot 10-11: 'As you travel on the road' as a kiyum

On the bottom of Berachot 10b, the following Mishna:

מתני' בית שמאי אומרים בערב כל אדם יטה ויקרא ובבקר יעמוד שנאמר (דברים ו, ז) ובשכבך ובקומך ובית הלל אומרים כל אדם קורא כדרכו שנאמר ובלכתך בדרך אם כן למה נאמר ובשכבך ובקומך בשעה שבני אדם שוכבים ובשעה שבני אדם עומדים א"ר טרפון אני הייתי בא בדרך והטתי לקרות כדברי ב"ש וסכנתי בעצמי מפני הלסטים אמרו לו כדי היית לחוב בעצמך שעברת על דברי ב"ה:

Or, in English:

MISHNAH. BETH SHAMMAI SAY: IN THE EVENING EVERY MAN SHOULD RECLINE AND RECITE [THE SHEMA'], AND IN THE MORNING HE SHOULD STAND, AS IT SAYS, AND WHEN THOU LIEST DOWN AND WHEN THOU RISEST UP.⁵²  

BETH HILLEL, HOWEVER, SAY THAT EVERY MAN SHOULD RECITE IN HIS OWN WAY, AS IT SAYS, AND WHEN THOU WALKEST BY THE WAY.⁵³  WHY THEN IS IT SAID, AND WHEN THOU LIEST DOWN AND WHEN THOU RISEST UP? [THIS MEANS], AT THE TIME WHEN PEOPLE LIE DOWN AND AT THE TIME WHEN PEOPLE RISE UP. 

R. TARFON SAID: I WAS ONCE WALKING BY THE WAY AND I RECLINED TO RECITE THE SHEMA' IN THE MANNER PRESCRIBED BY BETH SHAMMAI, AND I INCURRED DANGER FROM ROBBERS. THEY SAID TO HIM: YOU DESERVED TO COME TO HARM, BECAUSE YOU ACTED AGAINST THE OPINION OF BETH HILLEL.

I wonder whether we should treat Bet Hillel's position as a mattir or as a kiyum. That is:

Mattir: While Bet Shammai insist that you stop what you are doing in order to lie down to say Shema, Bet Hillel allow you to say Shema as you continue on your way.

Kiyyum: While Bet Shammai insist that you stop what you are doing in order to lie down to say Shema, Bet Hillel see a fulfillment of ובלכתך בדרך in reading the Shema, while continuing to travel on the road, just as you are.

To focus on the kiyyum theory, besides the differing interpretations of the pasuk, these two approaches would be based on an underlying philosophical difference. Should one's kabbalat ol malchut shamayim be something entirely apart from one's regular life, or should it be integrated into one's life. For Bet Hillel, there is a special kiyum in being mekabel ol malchut shamayim particularly while one is going on the road. To cite the brayta on daf 11, that makes this a bit clearer:

ת"ר בה"א עומדין וקורין יושבין וקורין ומטין וקורין הולכין בדרך וקורין עושין במלאכתן וקורין

Or, in English:

Our Rabbis taught: Beth Hillel say that one may recite the Shema' standing, one may recite it sitting, one may recite it reclining, one may recite it walking on the road, one may recite it at one's work.

That is, עושין במלאכתן וקורין, they are engaged in their work and recite it.

So too, we can understand just what it was that Rabbi Tarfon did that was so 'wrong':

א"ר טרפון אני הייתי בא בדרך והטתי לקרות כדברי ב"ש וסכנתי בעצמי מפני הלסטים אמרו לו כדי היית לחוב בעצמך שעברת על דברי ב"ה:

R. TARFON SAID: I WAS ONCE WALKING BY THE WAY AND I RECLINED TO RECITE THE SHEMA' IN THE MANNER PRESCRIBED BY BETH SHAMMAI, AND I INCURRED DANGER FROM ROBBERS. THEY SAID TO HIM: YOU DESERVED TO COME TO HARM, BECAUSE YOU ACTED AGAINST THE OPINION OF BETH HILLEL.

Note that Rabbi Tarfon was quite literally engaged in ובלכתך בדרך, since he was walking on the road. And rather than reciting it while he was traveling on the road, he went to the side of the road and reclined, so as to fulfill ובשכבך according the literal interpretation of Bet Shammai. So, he lost out on the kiyyum of ובלכתך בדרך.

I am reminded of the famous story of the Kedushas Levi, Rav Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev. He was well-known for his defenses of klal Yisrael. This is one such example (I've seen different versions):

The Jewish wagon drivers of Berdichev felt they had to be ready for work as soon as it became light, so in order to save time, they would wrap tefilin and pray speedily next to their wagons, and at the same time do all the little tasks necessary to prepare the wagons for the road that day. When the Berditchever first saw them doing this, he raised his eyes towards Heaven, and exclaimed, "O Merciful Father, how wonderful are your children, the Jewish people. Even while they work, they pray!"

Rather than criticizing them for not treating their tefillin and tefillah with proper respect, he praised them to Hakadosh Baruch Hu, exclaiming 'Even while they work, they daven!'

I told this thought over to Rabbi Shlomo Goldberg, and he mentioned that a similar idea could be found in the meforshei haRosh, that the reason that, for talmidei chachamim, lengthy interruptions with their daily activities is not considered a hefsek is that in their daily activities, they are implementing the Torah they have studies. That is, the Rosh (on daf 11) says that:

[13] Rav Yehuda said in the name of Shmuel: If one rose early to study [the Torah] before he had recited the Shema', he must say a benediction [over the study]. But if he had already recited the Shema', he need not say a benediction, because he has already become quit by saying Ahava Rabba.

In Yerushalmi, we place upon it: Rabbi Abba said: And this is where he is learning on the spot.

And it appears that this is specifically with the blessing of Ahava Rabba, which does not appear to be for the sake of birkat haTorah unless one learns on the same spot. And if he learned immediately, then it appears as a beracha for the sake of the engagement of Torah, just as it is for the sake of kriat Shema. And then, he does not need to bless all that day, even if he interrupts learning and then returns to learn. And so too one who blesses on the Torah and learns, he does not need to bless again if he interrupted in the middle. Therefore it is necessary to state 'and this is where he learns on the spot' regarding someone who exempts himself [of the blessing] via Ahava Rabba, and not regarding one who blesses the birchat haTorah.

For if you do not say this, then it should have informed us in general that an interruption in the middle with an engagement [of other activity] is an interruption, and he needs to bless again, and all the more so, one who exempts himself via Ahava Rabba.

And even if you say that there is no distinction between one who exempts himself with birchat haTorah to one who exempts himself via Ahava Rabba, still it is logical that people who are always accustomed to engage in Torah study, even when they go off to engage in their own activities, they hurry to perform their needs in order to return and continue to learn, to and their mind is always on their learning, this is not considered an interruption in terms of the bracha. 

And see what the meforshi haRosh say inside. Perhaps this is a reference to the Divrei Chamudos who says:

 לא חשיב הפסק כתבו הגהו' מיי׳ פ״ז מהל׳ תפלה בשם הר״ם שלא היה רגיל לחזור ולברך אפילו בהפסק מרחץ ובית הכסא לפי שאינו מסיח דעתו  מללמוד והאגור כתב טעם אחר לפי שאף כשהוא נפנה צריך לזהר בדינים כמו בגילוי  טפח וכיצד
 יקנח וכה״ג כדיני מרחץ כמו שאלת שלום והנחת תפילין:

Even Bet Shammai who maintains that one must lay down and stand up does not say that  ובשכבך is referring specifically to one going to sleep and ובקומך  is specifically when one is waking up. Yet, there does seem to be such an idea put forth in the gemara.

First, by Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi, who we saw beforehand on 4b:

R. Joshua b. Levi says: Though a man has recited the Shema' in the synagogue, it is a religious act to recite it again upon his bed.

The gemara there gives various reasons, such as keeping away impure thoughts when one sleeps, or keeping away mazikin. Yet the simple explanation of this 'religious act' is that it is a fulfillment of ובשכבך.

Indeed, looking a bit earlier on that amud, we see this:

The Master said:²  'Let him recite Shema' and say the Tefillah'. This accords with the view of R. Johanan.³  For R. Johanan says: Who inherits the world to come? The one who follows the Ge'ullah⁴  immediately with the evening Tefillah. R. Joshua b. Levi says: The Tefilloth were arranged to be said in the middle.⁵  What is the ground of their difference? — If you like, I can say it is [the interpretation of] a verse, and if you like, I can say that they reason differently. For R. Johanan argues: Though the complete deliverance from Egypt took place in the morning time only,⁶  there was also some kind of deliverance in the evening;⁷  whereas R. Joshua b. Levi argues that since the real deliverance happened in the morning [that of the evening] was no proper deliverance.⁸  'Or if you like, I can say it is [the interpretation of] a verse'. And both interpret one and the same verse, [viz.,] When thou liest down and when thou risest up.⁹  R. Johanan argues: There is here an analogy between lying down and rising. Just as [at the time of] rising, recital of Shema' precedes Tefillah, so also [at the time of] lying down, recital of Shema' precedes Tefillah. R. Joshua b. Levi argues [differently]: There is here an analogy between lying down and rising. Just as [at the time of] rising, the recital of Shema' is next to [rising from] bed,¹⁰  so also [at the time of] lying down, recital of Shema' must be next to [getting into] bed.¹¹

These are juxtaposed to the bed; rising from it and getting into it. And thus, the Shemoneh Esreis are placed in the middle.

And we see the following, in gemara and Rosh, on Berachot 5b:

{Brachot 5b} 

We learnt in a brayta: Abba Binyamin says: all my days I troubled myself about 2 things: that my tefillah should be close to my bed...

To explain, that he would not perform work when getting up from his bed [J: in the morning] until he prayed.

And Rashi explained that also for the sake of learning, he should not interrupt.

And this is astonishing, for from where does he [Rashi] get this? And it is possible that it is dealing with a person who prayed in his Bet Midrash and is not accustomed to go to the shul, that there is to worry that perhaps he will get overly engaged in his learning, and so the time of Shemoneh Esrei and kriat Shema will pass.

Perhaps this tefillah close to the bed is because Shema is close to the bed.

The idea of Shema, meaning kabbalat ol malchut Shamayim, at the very start of one's day, and at the very close of one's day, seems to have a philosophical underpinning, and is more than simply a clever derasha, or even a simple application of peshat in the pasuk.