Can Birchos HaTorah be said before daybreak?

One who arises before daybreak should say Birchos HaTorah if he wishes to learn. This will cover all his learning for the entire day, even if he wishes to go back to sleep before daybreak. According to the opinion that a person should recite Birchos HaTorah again if he sleeps for a significant amount of time during the day, one should also recite it again upon arising if he went back to sleep after learning. According to some poskim, if a person went to sleep in bed at the beginning of the night with plans to wake up soon afterwards and continue learning, he must recite Birchos HaTorah when he wakes up. He should have in mind that these brachos will only cover the learning which he plans to do until morning. He may then recite Birchos HaTorah again the next morning. Others maintain that reciting Birchos HaTorah is not necessary after a brief nighttime sleep with the intention of continuing to learn afterwards. Some say that the text should be recited in Aramaic, without saying Hashem’s name.

סעיף יג, ס"ק כט, וביה"ל ד"ה המשכים; ביאורים ומוספים דרשו, 31

Why do women say Birchos HaTorah?

Women are obligated to recite Birchos HaTorah. Although they are exempt from talmud Torah, there are various reasons why they are obligated to make this brocha: 1) They are obligated to learn the halochos which are pertinent to them. 2) Parts of davening which they must recite contain divrei Torah. 3) Learning is like other time-sensitive mitzvos for which women may recite brochos. 4) Some understand that Birchos HaTorah are not merely birchos hamitzvos. Rather, a brocha is required for talmud Torah simply because of its importance. Therefore, even though women are exempt from the mitzvah, they are not excluded from showing this respect to Torah.

סעיף יד וביה"ל ד"ה נשים; ביאורים ומוספים דרשו, 33  

Which of the Birchos Hashachar may be said while it is still nighttime?

All of the Birchos Hashachar may be recited before daybreak, except for Hanosein Lasechvi Binah. If one did recite this brocha, he is yotzei b’dieved. If a person heard the crow of a rooster, many Achronim hold that he may even say the brocha l’chatchilah. If one plans to go back to sleep, he should not say the brochos of Elokai Neshama and Hama’avir Sheinah. The parshios of korbonos should not be said before daybreak either, since korbonos were only brought after alos hashachar.

סעיף יג, ס"ק ל-לב, וביה"ל המשכים קודם וד"ה מברך; ביאורים ומוספים דרשו, 3

• Many opinions hold that Birchos HaTorah are like standard birchos hamitzvah in that if one does not immediately perform the mitzvah after saying the brocha, the brocha is invalid. According to this view, one must learn immediately after saying Birchos HaTorah. One should not even answer Kaddish or Kedushah before learning a bit.

• Birchos HaTorah cover all the talmud Torah which will take place that day. If one plans to return to his learning after attending to his daily activities, they are not considered interruptions of the mitzvah. If one did not intend to return to learning, the poskim disagree about whether it is necessary to make a new brocha. Daily activities include business involvement, napping, and tending to bodily needs.

• If one did not sleep all night, the Achronim disagree about whether it is necessary to recite Birchos HaTorah in the morning.

• Is there special value in reading the korbonos with comprehension?

• Why do we shuckel?

• Is it permissible to read parts of Tanach by heart?