Mezuman with people who don't respond

Hi,

For a full mezuman, in which the Name of Gd is invoked, we require a full minyan participating. People who do not understand and do not respond to the leader are not included, despite having eaten.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:144)

המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai

Kiddush Levanah during the Nine Days and after Tisha b'Av

Hi,

May I recite kiddush levanah during the Nine Days, or right after Tishah b'Av?

Kiddush levanah is meant to be joyous; therefore, many halachic authorities say that kiddush levanah should be postponed until after Tishah b'Av. Others rule that mitzvot should never be delayed, but they do refrain from singing and dancing at kiddush levanah during this period.

Those who wait to recite kiddush levanah may recite it at the close of Tishah b'Av, even though that is not yet a time for great joy. Indeed, some specifically recommend reciting kiddush levanah at this time; the text of kiddush levanah speaks of our renewal, and we are taught that Mashiach is born on Tishah b'Av. According to some, one should don shoes and eat first, to remove the influence of mourning. Some refrain from singing and dancing at kiddush levanah on this night.

Some wait to recite kiddush levanah until the Motzaei Shabbat after Tishah b'Av, to associate it with the joy of Shabbat. However, this year that would leave only two nights for kiddush levanah, and cloudy skies could eliminate the mitzvah entirely, so it may be better to recite kiddush levanah earlier in the week.

(Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 426:2, 551:8; Maaseh Rav 159; Shevut Yaakov 2:11, 3:32; Be'er Heiteiv 551:25; Aruch haShulchan Orach Chaim 426:8; Mishneh Berurah 426:8,11; 558:2; Biur Halachah 426 kodem; Siach Yitzchak 195; Mishneh Halachot 11:443; Teshuvot v'Hanhagot 1:206)

המצפה לישועה,

Mordechai

Rising during a mezuman

Hi,

Some have the practice of rising for the liturgical line that invokes Gd's Name, when participating in a mezuman before birkat hamazon with ten minyan. Within this point of view, this is considered a davar sheb'kedushah, a sanctified ritual that requires a minyan of ten, and warrants standing.

According to Rivivot Ephraim [others disagree; see the disclaimer at the top of this blog], rising is not required, but one may do so.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:140:4)

המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai

Going to the cemetery on Tisha b'Av

Hi,

Is it appropriate to visit a cemetery on Tishah b'Av?

The Talmud records a practice of visiting cemeteries on public fast days, and it offers two rationales:

• The visitor says he is "as though he is dead" in his suffering, and
• The visitor asks those who are buried there to pray on his behalf.

Commentators offer a third reason: the visitors are reminded that if they do not repent, they will meet the fate of those who are already in the cemetery.

Based on this ancient practice, many Jews visit cemeteries after concluding kinos on Tishah b'Av. For mystical reasons regarding impurity, some stay at least seven feet from the graves, or even refrain altogether.

Halachic authorities warn that people should not go to the cemetery on Tishah b'Av in groups, lest the visit lose the introspective and mournful character appropriate for Tishah b'Av.

(Taanit 16a, Tosafot ibid. Yotzin; Beit Yosef Orach Chaim 559:end; Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 559:10, 579:3; Magen Avraham 559:3, 15; Mishneh Berurah 559:12, 41; Aruch haShulchan Orach Chaim 554:18, 559:7; Piskei Teshuvos 559:11)

המצפה לישועה,

Mordechai

Mayim acharonim for women

Hi,

The Talmud states that one must wash his hands before reciting the birkat hamazon blessing after eating. Two different reasons are presented - one regarding sanctity, and the other regarding a coarse salt in one's food which could endanger one's eyes if he were to touch them. Either way, this applies for men and women alike.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:140:3)

[And of course, the note in the previous post regarding washing in order to have clean hands when reciting birkat hamazon also applies to men and women alike. - MT]

המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai

Clean hands for a blessing

Hi,

One must have clean hands when reciting any blessing; therefore, one who has been eating should wash his hands before reciting a blessing.

This is distinct from the practice of mayim acharonim recorded in the Talmud; it is a matter of respect for the blessing.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:140:2)

המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai

Shir haMaalot on Friday afternoon

Hi,

On festive occasions, it is tradition to precede the birkat hamazon blessing after meals with Chapter 126 of Tehillim (Psalms), Shir haMaalot.

Because Friday afternoon is considered festive, as seen in the omission of tachanun at that time, one should recite Shir haMaalot before birkat hamazon at that time. The same applies for a meal on Saturday night.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:140:1)

המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai

Polishing shoes during the period leading up to Tishah b'Av

Hi,

May one polish shoes during the Nine Days?

We do not launder clothing during the Nine Days leading up to Tisha b'Av. However, polishing shoes may be different from laundering clothing; the same question is raised regarding the prohibition against laundering clothing on chol hamoed, and diverse opinions are expressed.

Many halachic authorities permit blackening and shining shoes during the Nine Days, and only prohibit use of shoe polish. Further, authorities are more lenient regarding polishing shoes for use on Shabbat, within the view that one may wear beautiful Shabbat clothing on the Shabbat before Tisha b'Av.

(Melamed l'Hoil Orach Chaim 113; Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 3:80; Halichot Emet 14:12)

המצפה לישועה,

Mordechai

Saying "Retzeh" by accident in birkat hamazon

Hi,

A paragraph called Retzeh is added to the birkat hamazon blessing recited after meals on Shabbat. One who accidentally says Retzeh on a weekday should go back to the start.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:139)

המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai

Covering or removing a knife for the blessing after meals

Hi,

There is a practice of covering or removing knives from the table when reciting the birkat hamazon blessing after eating a meal. Various explanations are offered, including the idea that the table is like a mizbeiach [altar] when one gives from his food to the poor, and just as a mizbeiach may not have a blade upon it, so one's table should not.

The reasons that are suggested for this practice do not seem to apply to a snack, and so one would not need to cover or remove knives when reciting the al hamichyah or borei nefashot blessing after a snack.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:136:2)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Covering bread during Birkat haMazon

Hi,

Magen Avraham (Rabbi Avraham Gombiner; Magen Avraham 180:4) recommends covering the bread on the table during the birkat hamazon blessing after a meal.

It seems that this is specifically where one recites a blessing on a cup of wine after the blessing after the meal, since the bread is of a higher "rank" and is more deserving of a blessing. Therefore, one who is not reciting a blessing on a cup of wine after birkat hamazon need not cover the bread.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:136:1)

המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai

Leaving bread at the end of a meal

Hi,

We are taught to leave a little bit of bread at the end of our meals, for two reasons: (1) for a needy person to come take it, or (2) because in birkat hamazon we ask for G-d to bring blessing upon our table, and that requires that there be something present, to be blessed. [This is brought in Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 180:2.]

One who eats in a commercial setting, such as a workplace cafeteria, need not leave anything; it is not likely that a needy person would come take it, and the food will simply be thrown out.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:135)

המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai

The five tragedies of the 17th of Tammuz

Hi,

The fast day of the 17th of Tammuz, observed on Tuesday July 15th this year, commemorates five tragedies:

1. Moses descended from meeting Gd and receiving the Torah on Mount Sinai, saw the Jews celebrating with the Golden Calf, and broke the two tablets Gd had given him.

2. The daily Tamid offering, which had been brought regularly in the Jerusalem Beit haMikdash [Temple] from the time the Jews built the Mishkan for over one thousand years, was halted during the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem before the Beit haMikdash was destroyed.

3. The Romans invaded Jerusalem, prior to destroying the second Beit haMikdash. (According to the Talmud Bavli, the Babylonians invaded Jerusalem to destroy the first Temple on the 9th of Tammuz. According to the Talmud Yerushalmi, both invasions occurred on the 17th of Tammuz.)

4. A Greek or Roman official named Apostimos held a public burning of the Torah.

5. Idols were set up in the Temple itself; it is not clear what year this happened.

(Mishneh Berurah 549:2)

צום קל ומועיל,
Mordechai

Tuesday: The Fast of the 17th of Tammuz

Hi,

Tuesday July 15th is the fast of the 17th day of the month of Tammuz, and it begins a three-week national Jewish mourning period.

On the 17th of Tammuz one neither eats nor drinks, but - unlike the fasts of Tisha b'Av and Yom Kippur - one may wear leather shoes and wash normally.

(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chaim 550:2)

For more on the fast, click here; for more on the Three Weeks of mourning, click here.

צום קל ומועיל,
Mordechai

Speaking before hamotzi

Hi,

One should not speak at all after washing one's hands with the ritual netilat yadayim until after reciting the hamotzi blessing on the bread, and chewing and swallowing.

However: One who speaks briefly between netilat yadayim and hamotzi, such as by telling someone the time, need not wash again and recite a new blessing.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:132)

Have a good day,
Mordechai

Renovations during the period before Tishah b'Av

Hi,

May I have work done on my home during the period before Tishah b'Av?

The grief felt upon a relative's death is intense. After the funeral, the rituals of mourning gradually lessen in intensity, through shivah, shloshim and the year. In contrast, mourning for the millenia-old loss of the Beit haMikdash requires an intensification of grief leading up to Tishah b'Av, and so the rituals of mourning build, starting with the days following the fast of the 17^th of Tammuz, then the first nine days of the month of Av, then the week of Tishah b'Av, then Erev Tishah b'Av and then Tishah b'Av itself.

Until Rosh Chodesh Av, many authorities permit work of all kinds to be done in one's home. After Rosh Chodesh, one may have work done only if it is necessary for living in the home.

One who hired a non-Jewish contractor for cosmetic work before Rosh Chodesh may permit him to continue working after Rosh Chodesh. However, one should try to avoid this problem in advance. If it would not be a great hardship, one should pay him to wait until after Tishah b'Av.

One may have furniture built during the Nine Days, but if its presence in one's home would bring significant joy, then one should not introduce it into the home until after Tishah b'Av.

(Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 551:2; Mishneh Berurah 551:12; Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 3:82; and see Piskei Teshuvos 551:8)

Have a good day,

Mordechai

New tzitzit or tefillin during the Three Weeks

Hi,

May I wear new tzitzis or tefillin during the Three Weeks?

During the "Three Weeks" period between the 17^th of Tammuz and Tishah b'Av we do not wear clothing which would require a berachah of shehechiyanu, because of the joy involved. This includes wearing a new tallis; it also applies to wearing tzitzis, where new tzitzis garments are uncommon and bring joy.

Many authorities do permit wearing a new garment on Shabbat, before the Nine Days begin. Some specify not to recite shehechiyanu, although they permit wearing a new garment on Shabbat. One should follow communal custom.

New tefillin may be worn during the Three Weeks. Even though some do recite shehechiyanu on the first occasion of wearing tefillin, that is because of joy in the mitzvah, not because of the joy of wearing new clothing.

(Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Berachos 11:9; Beit Yosef Orach Chaim 22:1; Birkei Yosef Orach Chaim 551:10-11; Avnei Nezer Orach Chaim 428; Chayyei Adam 133:8; Aruch haShulchan Orach Chaim 551:18; Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 3:80)

Have a good day,

Mordechai

Berachah on drinking with a straw

Hi,

One who swallows food without chewing it, or who drinks with a straw so that the liquid is not in contact with his mouth, still recites a berachah.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:131)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Reciting a berachah with an empty mouth

Hello,

The Talmud (Berachot 51a) teaches that one's mouth must be empty when he recites a blessing, to fulfill the verse (Tehillim 71:8), "My mouth will be full of praise for You." This includes even crumbs and small particles.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:130)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Talking after netilat yadayim

Hi,

One should not speak after the ritual netilat yadayim hand-washing, before reciting the berachah and beginning to dry his hands. However, one who does speak at that point need not wash again, so long as he was careful not to touch anything that would trigger a new obligation to wash.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:128)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Rings and washing one's hands for bread

Hi,

One who always keeps his/her ring on may keep it on when washing the ritual netilat yadayim for bread as well. However, this person should make sure to use at least 4 ounces of water in each pouring of water, to effect ritual purification of the ring itself.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:127)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Standing for the berachah upon washing for bread

Hi,

Generally, a berachah recited before performing a mitzvah should be recited while standing. However, the berachah upon the ritual netilat yadayim washing for bread may be different because it leads to eating, and because the act of netilat yadayim itself may be performed while seated. Therefore, there is ample room to contend that one may sit for this berachah.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:125)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Contact after washing for bread

Hi,

One who has washed the ritual netilat yadayim for bread, and whose hands then touch another person's skin, needs to wash again. This is true even if the other person has also washed already.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:123)

המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai