Lighting Shabbat candles when invited out for dinner on Friday night

Hi,

When a family is invited out for dinner on Friday night, they should light Shabbat candles in the place where they are sleeping, both because of the value of having light where one sleeps, and because the host family is already lighting in the place where dinner takes place. This is true even when they will not return home in time to use the light of the Shabbat candles.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:183)

Have a great day,

Mordechai

Putting on a blech on Shabbat

Hi,

One who forgot to put the blech on a flame before Shabbat may put it in place on Shabbat, if the flame is so low that it will not heat up the blech to the point of making it like a coal. Heating the blech in this way would be an act of quasi-cooking, according to some authorities. If the flame is that high, one should not do this, other than in case of need.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:185)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Preparing for Shabbat

Hi,

One should engage in whatever physical work is needed to prepare for Shabbat; this is considered part of honouring the day, and the more one does, the better. Even though this will take away time from other mitzvot, including Torah study, it is performance of a mitzvah and so it has priority.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:181)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

After the maariv amidah

Hi,

After the amidah at the evening maariv service, one should wait until the chazan reaches Titkabel in kaddish before taking three steps forward. However, if this would involve a long wait then one may step forward after waiting the time it takes to walk four amot (about seven feet).

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:176)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The odd status of "Baruch HaShem l'Olam" at maariv

Hi,

As part of the weekday maariv service in many communities outside of Israel, a special blessing which begins "Baruch HaShem l'Olam" precedes the amidah. The blessing is composed of a series of biblical verses, followed by a paragraph which is a blessing. Are the opening verses considered part of the blessing, or are they independent? One practical distinction is in a situation in which one is reciting the verses and then one hears someone recite a blessing; if they are independent verses, then one may answer 'Amen' between the verses. If they are part of the blessing, one may not answer 'Amen'.

Per Rivivot Ephraim 1:175:2, the verses are viewed only as verses, and therefore one may answer 'Amen' between the verses.

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Missed a kaddish at maariv

Hi,

In the maariv evening service, the chazan is supposed to recite a half-kaddish before beginning the amidah. However, this half-kaddish is not a firm requirement. Therefore, if the chazan forgets the half-kaddish and begins the amidah, there is no corrective; the service proceeds from there.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:175:1)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Hecha Kedushah, expanded

Hi,

Expanding on this recent Jewish Law post:

What is hecha kedushah, and how is it conducted?

When time is short, such as at minchah when sunset is near, a minyan may abbreviate the davening by having the chazan recite the amidah first, through kedushah, and then having the community complete the amidah silently. This is called hecha kedushah, a Yiddish term meaning "loud kedushah".

There are multiple views regarding how the pre-kedushah portion of the amidah should be recited. The two most common practices in contemporary Ashkenazi minyanim are:

• The minyan recites the first three berachot silently along with the chazan's loud recitation, responds to kedushah, and then concludes the amidah silently.
• The minyan listens to the first three berachot and responds "Amen", responds to kedushah, and then recites the entire amidah, from the beginning, silently.

Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik practiced the former approach, but the latter approach seems to be the more widespread practice.

(Shibolei haLeket 47; Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 124:2, 232:1; Pri Megadim Orach Chaim 124:Eishel Avraham 5; Kaf haChaim Orach Chaim 124:2 and footnote 10; Aruch haShulchan Orach Chaim 232:3-6; Mishneh Berurah 124:8, 232:4; Rivivot Ephraim 1:166:2; Az Nidbiru 12:23)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Mixing up Shabbat and weekday texts for Hashkiveinu

Hi,

One of the pre-amidahs blessing of the evening maariv service, Hashkiveinu, has different endings for Shabbat/holidays and weekdays. However, both endings fit the format of the blessing. Therefore, one who uses the wrong ending for that particular day has fulfilled the obligation and need not repeat the blessing.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:174)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Barchu, then Minchah?

Hi,

One who comes to shul in the evening and finds the minyan beginning an early maariv with Barchu may respond and then daven minchah afterward, if this is a weekday. However, one may not do so on Friday night, as he will have accepted Shabbat by responding to Barchu.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:172)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Pausing before re-starting the amidah

Hi,

Normally, one must wait at least several seconds between one amidah and another, per Berachot 30b and Tosafot there. However, one who realizes that he missed a key part of the amidah, such as Yaaleh v'yavo, so that he must start again from the beginning, need not wait at all.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:170)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Making up Pesukei d'Zimra

Hi,

One who misses the morning shacharit prayer due to a reason other than carelessness recites the amidah for minchah twice. The second amidah counts as the morning shacharit amidah, but one does not precede it with the pesukei d'zimra paragraphs which would have been used as part of shacharit.

One who misses pesukei d'zimra may recite its paragraphs at any point during the day, but one would not recite the beginning and ending blessings.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:169)

חג סוכות שמח,
Mordechai

Burial on Chol haMoed Succot

Hello,

When a person is buried during chol hamoed of Succot, Shemini Atzeret counts toward only one day of the 30 days of shloshim, not as seven days like a full Yom Tov.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Yoreh Deah 1:256)

Have a good day,
Mordechai

Oops, no minyan!

Hi,

If the chazan begins the repetition of the amidah, and then realizes that he never had a minyan, he should stop where he is. Should a tenth arrive, the chazan would need to start from the beginning.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:168)

חג סוכות שמח,
Mordechai

Putting a lulav in water on Yom Tov

Hi,

May I put a lulav in water to keep it fresh on Yom Tov?

One may put a lulav in water; we are not concerned about the forbidden melachah of "planting", because placing the lulav in water will not lead to any detectible growth.

However, inappropriate exertion on Yom Tov is prohibited. Therefore, one may only place a lulav in water which was prepared before Yom Tov; ideally, the lulav should actually be in that water before Yom Tov begins. One may add water on Yom Tov, so long as the majority of the water was there before Yom Tov.

One may not handle a lulav at all on Shabbat.

(Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 336:11, 654:1; Mishneh Berurah 336:54, 654:3; Shaar haTziyyun 336:48; Shemirat Shabbat k'Hilchatah 26:27)

חג סוכות שמח,

Mordechai

Dismantling a succah during Succot

Hi,

[Note: Other laws of Succot may be found by clicking the relevant topics in the righthand sidebar.]

I am leaving town for the last days of Succot; may I dismantle my succah during chol hamoed?

There are three concerns involved in dismantling a succah on chol hamoed:

1. Performing labour during chol hamoed for a non-Yom Tov purpose;
2. Degrading the sanctity of the succah materials;
3. The possibility that one might need the succah again.

Because of these concerns, we do not dismantle a succah on chol hamoed. However, one may dismantle a succah if its materials are needed for another succah at one's destination. Also, one may remove succah decorations if he is concerned that they might be damaged before his return.

What if one needs to build a succah during chol hamoed for temporary use, e.g. camping? One should declare before building the succah that he intends to dismantle it during chol hamoed. However, even in such a case one may dismantle it only in an amateur way, lest he violate the prohibition against performing labour during chol hamoed, and one may dismantle only after it is clear that he will not need it again.

(Shoel uMeishiv IV 3:28; Shemirat Shabbat k'Hilchatah 67:footnote 177; Piskei Teshuvot 637:1, 638:3; Chevel Nachalato 4:16)

חג סוכות שמח,

Mordechai

Taking medication on Yom Kippur

Hi,

Note: The following is Rabbi Moshe Feinstein's position regarding a particular circumstance, and is brought only for illustrative purposes. For personal questions, please consult a competent halachic authority who knows you and understands your medical condition.
One who is suffering from an illness which, left untreated, could result in a potentially fatal illness, is considered to be 'dangerously ill' in the eyes of Jewish law. Such a person may take a pill (for his current illness) on Yom Kippur with water, if he cannot take the pill dry.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 3:91)

גמר חתימה טובה,
Mordechai

"Hecha Kedushah"

Hi,

Rabbi Moshe Isserles wrote that when the time available for minchah is short, one should begin reciting the amidah along with the chazan's repetition. However, contemporary practice is to have the chazan recite the beginning of his repetition, through kedushah, and then have the community recite their silent amidah, and have the chazan finish his recitation silently.

[This is the phenomenon known as "hecha kedushah".]

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:166:2)

גמר חתימה טובה,
Mordechai