Pre-Fast reminders

Hi,

A few reminders before the fast:

At sunset on Monday afternoon, the fast and the prohibitions against bathing or annointing one's skin for pleasure and the prohibition against marital relations begin. We do not wear leather shoes.

We sit on the floor or a low stool until midday on Tuesday; midday is the midpoint between sunrise and sunset, and calculating it depends upon your location.

We do not wash ourselves on Tisha b'Av; if our hands are dirty, we use a little bit of water on the dirty spot to clean that dirt off. Upon rising from sleep, and after using the bathroom, we wash up to the knuckle where the fingers meet the hand.

May this be the last year when we need to observe Tisha b'Av,
Mordechai

Laws of Tisha b'Av

Hi,

For laws of Tisha b'Av from previous years' posts, click here. Note that particular fasting times have not been updated to reflect this year's schedule.

המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai

A different nusach, Part II

Hi,

Following up on yesterday's email:

When one davens in a shul which has a nusach that differs from his own, one may continue to use his personal nusach for parts that are recited quietly and do not require a minyan.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 2:23)

המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai

A different nusach

Hi,

If one davens with a minyan in which the standard nusach is different from his own, then for all parts of the davening which require a minyan, whether recited aloud or recited quietly, one should use the nusach of the minyan.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 2:23)

Note: In Orach Chaim 2:104 Rav Moshe stated that one should use the nusach of the minyan for everything other than the silent amidah.

המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai

Chazzanim who repeat words

Hi,

If chazzanim repeat words in the course of a berachah, but they do not actually jumble the order of the words, this does not constitute an interruption.

If chazzanim jumble the words (as in וקוראי עונג שבת וקדשתו שבת), then if the new order changes the meaning of the sentence so that it indicates something different, the chazzan must return to the start of the berachah. If the new order is consistent with the original meaning of the sentence, the chazzan did interrupt, but he need not return to the beginning of the berachah. If the new order renders the words meaningless, then if the change was intentional, then he must return to the beginning of the berachah.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 2:22)

המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai

Changing communal minhag

Hi,

If a community has the customs of a certain ethnic group (Ashkenazi, Sephardi, Yemenite, etc) which constitute the majority of its population, and then the population shifts such that other ethnic groups join, they should not change the original communal customs. Only if no members remain from that original ethnic group may they alter the communal custom.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 2:21)

המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai

Counting a child as the tenth for a minyan

Hi,

[Note: This topic is somewhat controversial.]

In a case of great need, such as where there will absolutely be no minyan otherwise, one may rely on the minority view which accepts a minor male as the tenth for a minyan, ideally if the male is already twelve, and he should sit beside a Torah which is placed on a table.

There are two caveats:

1. This may be used for things which require a minyan rabbinically, but not for things which require a minyan biblically. Therefore, the chazan should wait while the rest of the minyan davens shemoneh esreih, and then start his once they have finished. This prevents the biblical issue of berachah l'vatalah (reciting a berachah in vain); only kedushah and kaddish and the berachot for kriat haTorah remain, which are rabbinic.

2. The sefer torah should not be held by the child, since then the minyan could not sit down.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 2:18)

המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai