Missing davening due to business

Hi,

One who missed davening [prayer] due to business should recite the next amidah twice; he is not viewed as having been careless. This is true even if there had been time to pray earlier in the day, and it was only at the end that he became embroiled in his work and he missed the time to pray.

Of course, one should make sure to pray early in the acceptable timeframe if he anticipates that such a circumstance might arise.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:166:1)

גמר חתימה טובה,
Mordechai

Do we go back to say Tachanun?

Hi,

Normally, after the morning shacharit and afternoon minchah amidah, we recite Tachanun, and then the chazan recites kaddish. If the chazan mistakenly goes straight to kaddish, what should the community do?

The chazan does finish kaddish, but there are multiple practices regarding what happens next, including:
1. The community continues from there, without reciting Tachanun, because Tachanun was supposed to be linked to the amidah;
2. The community recites Tachanun, since they did not interrupt between the amidah and Tachanun, but the chazan does not recite it;
3. Everyone recites Tachanun.

Communities should follow their own practice. However, even if Tachanun is recited, the kaddish should not be repeated.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:165)

Gmar tov,
Mordechai

The Fast of Gedalyah

Hi,

We fast on the day after Rosh haShanah; this is called "Tzom Gedalyah," "The Fast of Gedalyah."

The Meaning of the Fast: After the Babylonians destroyed the Temple, they appointed Gedalyah as governor of Israel's Jews. A group of Jews, supported by another nation, wanted the Jews to rebel against the Babylonians, and they accused Gedalyah of sympathizing with the Babylonians. They ambushed him and killed him, and in the aftermath the remaining Jews in Israel went into exile.

This day is commemorated as a public fast from first light to the emergence of the stars. In a year like this one, when the day after Rosh HaShanah is Shabbat, we fast on the following day.

(Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 549:1; Mishneh Berurah 549:2)

Have an easy and meaningful fast,
Mordechai

Kiddush Levanah before Yom Kippur?

Hi,

Some say that one should not recite Kiddush Levanah during the Aseret Yemei Teshuvah, the days between Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur, because those are days of fear and worry regarding the outcome of one's Judgment, and Kiddush Levanah is to be recited in joy.

Others disagree, because we want to accumulate mitzvot and because we are concerned that clouds might cause a person to miss Kiddush Levanah altogether because of the long delay.

(Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 426:2; Magen Avraham 426:5; Aruch haShulchan Orach Chaim 426:8; Mishneh Berurah 426:9)

כתיבה וחתימה טובה,
Mordechai

Preparing an eruv tavshilin for others

Hi,

Although the purpose of the Eruv Tavshilin is for each household to individually begin its Shabbat preparations before the preceding Yom Tov, one may actually create an Eruv Tavshilin on behalf of others who have forgotten to create their own.

When one does this, one includes an additional phrase in the Eruv dedication, stating that the Eruv is "for us and for all Jews living in this town," as noted in the Artscroll Siddur pg. 654. One must also give the Eruv Tavshilin to someone else to acquire on behalf of those other people.

However, those who forget to create their own Eruv Tavshilin may only rely on this on rare occasion; because this method really defeats the purpose of Eruv Tavshilin, one may not regularly rely on others' Eruvei Tavshilin.

(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chaim 527:7; Mishneh Berurah 527:22)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Eruv Tavshilin as a guest

Hi,

First, a personal request: I would like to take a moment to ask everyone receiving this email/RSS feed for mechilah (forgiveness) for anything hurtful or offensive I wrote, or should have written and did not, in the past year. I know that people's sensitivities are varied, but I am not always as careful as I could be. If there was anything at all, please do let me know. I can grow by learning from my mistakes.

I will be a guest in someone else's home during the upcoming Yom Tov and Shabbos, and they will prepare meals for everyone in the home. Should I make my own eruv tavshilin, or may I rely on their eruv tavshilin?

The rule is that if someone does not prepare an eruv tavshilin, then others may not cook on Yom Tov for his Shabbos meal. However, those who are expected to eat their meals at another person's table are automatically included in the host's eruv tavshilin.

There are those who are strict and create their own eruv tavshilin, particularly if they will be lighting Shabbos candles in their own space. However, because the obligation is uncertain, they do not recite a berachah.

(Biur Halachah Orach Chaim 527:19 mi, Piskei Teshuvos 527:17)

כתיבה וחתימה טובה,

Mordechai

Reciting Selichot alone

Hi,

What changes should I make in Selichos if I say them without a minyan?

We recite Selichos in the days leading up to Rosh haShanah and Yom Kippur, as well as on fast days. One may recite these prayers in private, although prayer in a group is always preferable.

One who prays alone should omit the Aramaic portions. One should also skip the portions of Selichos which list the 13 attributes of Divine mercy, but many authorities rule that one may recite them with the notes of the trop, as though reading a verse from the Torah rather than a prayer.

On a separate note: One who recites Selichos after sunrise should alter the wording of those lines which claim that he is reciting Selichos "at night".

(Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 565:5; Mishneh Berurah 565:12, 581:4; Kaf haChaim 581:26; Aruch haShulchan Orach Chaim 581:4, 13; Yabia Omer 1:Orach Chaim 35; Yalkut Yosef 581:14)

Have a great day,

Mordechai

When do I write a prozbul?

Hi,

Do all of my loans become void this Rosh haShanah, when the shemitah year begins?

The Torah states that we should allow loans to go unclaimed every seven years, with the shemitah year. We are instructed to annul these debts, and not to pursue their collection. There is some debate regarding the applicability of these laws in a time when the laws of yovel do not apply, but the general consensus is that they apply at least rabbinically, and perhaps biblically.

Loans are nullified at Rosh haShanah at the end of the shemitah year, not at its beginning. Also, only loans that were due for collection before that Rosh haShanah are cancelled; loans that are due later are not cancelled.

The prozbul document, formalized by Hillel, enables loans to survive shemitah. Ideally, a prozbul should be drafted before the shemitah year begins, but it may also be prepared during the shemitah year.

(Devarim 15:1-3; Gittin 36a-b; Arachin 28b; Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Shemitah 9:1-4; Rosh to Gittin 4:18-20; Shulchan Aruch Choshen Mishpat 67:30-31; Shulchan Aruch haRav Choshen Mishpat Halvaah 36; Aruch haShulchan Choshen Mishpat 67:2, 10)

Have a great day,

Mordechai

Saying kaddish at multiple minyanim

Hi,

A mourner who attends an early minyan, and recites kaddish there, is not obligated to recite it again were he to be present at a later minyan. However, if people there would not realize why he was silent, and would take it as laxity regarding kaddish, then he should recite kaddish at the later minyan as well.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:164:2)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Birkat haMazon or Minchah?

Hi,

We are taught that one may recite the birkat hamazon blessing after meals only up to 72 minutes after the conclusion of a meal. What if the latest time to recite minchah is arriving, but by the end of minchah the 72 minutes would elapse and he would lose the chance to recite birkat hamazon?

Ideally, one should eat a little more and so extend the 72 minutes. Where that is not possible, one should recite birkat hamazon. First, birkat hamazon is a biblical obligation [if the meal was to the point of satiation - MT]. Second, one who is unable to recite minchah due to circumstances beyond his control is then allowed to recite maariv twice, as a make-up.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:162)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

A berachah on seeing a friend

Hi,

The Talmud (Berachot 58b) and Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 225:1) record that one who sees a friend after an absence of thirty days should recite the blessing of Shehechiyanu; the Shulchan adds that this is only if the friend is beloved, such that seeing him brings great joy.

Today we do not recite this berachah, perhaps because of uncertainty as to the level of joy specified in the Shulchan Aruch.

[MT - Perhaps another reason this has fallen out of practice is because the joy came from discovering that the friend was alive, after an extended absence. Indeed, after 12 months they would recite a stronger berachah, "Blessed is the One who revives the dead"! So perhaps in the modern age, when modern communications have made it more likely that people are alive unless one hears otherwise, the sense of happy relief associated with the meeting has become less powerful.]

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:161:2)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Cutting down a fruit tree

Hi,

When may one cut down a fruit tree?

Parshat Shoftim (Devarim 20:19) warns Jewish soldiers against destroying trees which bear edible fruit, and the sages understood this to prohibit cutting down such trees in general. Some debate whether this expansion is biblical or rabbinic. The prohibition includes permitting a non-Jewish landscaper to cut down the tree.

One may cut back or destroy such a tree if it is harming a plant which produces fruit of greater importance, or if its space is needed for other activities, or if one needs its branches for a mitzvah.

One must cut back such a tree if it blocks light from reaching a neighbor's window, or if it blocks traffic through a public road.

(Bava Kama 91b-92a; Makkot 22a; Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Melachim 6:8; Shulchan Aruch Choshen Mishpat 155:26-27; Taz Yoreh Deah 116:6; Chavos Yair 195; Yachel Yisrael 34; Noam 8 pp. 117-135)

Have a great day,

Mordechai

Reciting Tehillim on Shabbat

Hi,

May I recite Tehillim for someone who is ill or in danger on Shabbos?

As a general rule, we avoid instituting special prayers for Divine assistance on Shabbos, lest the prayer itself incite a feeling of pain and detract from the enjoyment of Shabbos. For this reason, some even omit the HaRachaman portions appended to birkat hamazon, but standard practice is to include all "official" prayers and only eschew special additions.

There are three exceptions to this rule:

1. Where an individual or community faces immediate danger to life, we are obligated to recite special prayers for their assistance.
2. Where an ill person has requested special prayer, and he is not in immediate danger but failure to accede could upset him and increase the danger, we are obligated to comply;
3. One who is greatly disturbed by a particular dangerous situation, such that refraining from additional prayer would ruin his Shabbos, should pray privately.

(Taanis 19a,22b; Talmud Yerushalmi Shabbat 15:3; Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Shabbat 2:24 and Hilchot Taaniyot 1:6; Pe'er haDor 130; Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 288:9, 576:13; Torah Lishmah 103; Mishneh Berurah 188:9, 288:22; Aruch haShulchan Orach Chaim 288:5-6, 288:16-17, 576:17-20; B'Tzel haChachmah 5:41;Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 1:105; Shemirat Shabbat k'Hilchatah 40:49; Az Nidbiru 14:21-23; Ishei Yisrael 23:(187), 36:(63); Nishmat Shabbat 2:384)

Have a great day,

Mordechai

A grandfather's Baruch shePetarani

Hi,

A paternal grandfather is obligated to teach his grandson Torah, where the father doesn't do it. Therefore, in the absence of a father, the paternal grandfather should recite "Baruch shePetarani" when his grandson becomes Bar Mitzvah. However, because the grandfather's obligation is not entirely clear, he should not recite the blessing with Gd's Name.

[Of course, there is a prominent view that suggests that Gd's Name should never be used for this blessing.]

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:157:2)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The timing for Baruch shePetarani

Hi,

There is a practice of having the father of a boy recite a blessing, "Baruch shePetarani", when his son becomes 13. [There is discussion regarding having the mother recite this, and regarding reciting the berachah for a daughter; perhaps we will return to this at some point.]

The berachah should be recited with the son present, and within 3 days of when the son becomes bar mitzvah.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:157:1)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Birchat haGomeil: Sitting or Standing?

Hi,

The one who is reciting the birchat hagomeil blessing for being saved from harm should stand; those who are listening should be seated.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:156:2)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Answering to Birkat HaGomeil

Hi,

My apologies for my absence these past few days; it was due to illness.

One who hears someone recite the Birkat haGomeil blessing (which thanks Gd for protection from harm) should first say "Amen", and only afterward recite the Mi sheGemalcha formula found in the siddur.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:155)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Birkat haGomeil on a trip with multiple stops

Hi,

One who takes a trip involving multiple brief stops should wait to recite the Birkat haGomeil blessings of thanks until arriving at the final destination, even should that be the point from which the journey originated. [Rivivot Ephraim does not define "brief", although one example is "a day or two".]

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:155)

Have a great day,
Mordechai