Brachot 27 – When the sun grew hot, the manna would melt

The Sages allow to say the morning prayer until midday, while Rabbi Yehudah allows it only until the fourth hour of the day. They disagree about when does morning end. In view of their positions, who could have authored the following rule (remember, we don't want to introduce a third view unless absolutely necessary).

The Torah said, “When the sun grew hot, the manna would melt.” – and that is the fourth hour! Now, you say it is the forth hour, but may not, maybe it is midday?! – No, midday is called “The heat of the day.” So who is the author? Not Rabbi Yehudah, who considers all four hours as morning, and surely not the Sages, who consider all six hours morning!? If you want, I can tell you that this rule agrees with the Sages, and if you want – with Rabbi Yehudah. How so? With the Sages: since the Torah said, “Morning, every morning,” it really meant the first part of the morning, that is, three hours, just as we said. Or with Rabbi Yehudah: “Morning, every morning” means one hour before the end of morning, that is, one hour before four, which is three.

Art: Frederick Childe Hassam - Sunday Morning