Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe Podcast Collection

00:01 - Intro (Announcement)
You are listening to Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe of Torch in Houston, Texas. This is the Living Jewishly podcast.

00:09 - Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe (Host)
All right, welcome back everybody to the Everyday Judaism podcast. It's so wonderful to see everyone here live at the Torch Center and those of you online on Zoom. Thank you for joining us this morning. Last week we discussed discussed Semen 21, the laws of a compensatory prayer. What happens if you forget for by mistake you forget to recite one of the prayers. You can compensate for it by doubling the next prayer that is adjacent to it. Today we're going in order, as the halacha does. We're going to go. What happens now?

00:46
After the Amidah, we have a section of prayer called Tachanun supplications. So, halacha, number one, after the Amidah. What is supplications? We're basically asking for forgiveness for any mistakes that we may have performed in our daily activities. And after the Amidah, and or the repetition, when there is a Minyan, we begin the first part of the end of prayer with Tachnun supplications, number two.

01:13
While most of the prayer is recited sitting or standing, tachnun is recited while falling on one's face, signifying total submission to Hashem. The proper posture for reciting Tachnun is sitting with our head on our left arm, like this, or right hand when tefillin are wrapped on our left hand. So you don't put your, you don't fall on your left hand. If you're tefillin on your left hand, instead you'll use your left hand. If you're a tefillin on your left hand, instead you'll use your right hand. Number four it is inappropriate to talk between the completion of the Amidah and the beginning of Tachnun. While it is proper to sit during the recitation of Tachnun, it may be recited while standing as well. So if someone is standing, there's no place to sit. The shul is full. There's no seats available. You can still recite the Tachnun while standing as well. Number six after Tachnun, we recite Ve'anachnu Lo'nedah while still sitting and stand. When saying Ma'ana Haseh, the following words until the end of the Tachnun prayer.

02:21
We lower our heads for Tachnun only when a Torah scroll is present. If no Torah scroll is present, then the head is not lowered, even if there are holy books present. So if you're doing a prayer service not in a synagogue where there's no Torah scroll there, no Torah scroll present you do not lower your head onto your hands and you say it just sitting upright. If the room the prayer is being conducted in is adjacent to the synagogue with a Torah scroll and the doors are open to one another, it is considered a room with a Torah scroll as well and therefore you do recite the Tachanun, as you would normally do in a synagogue.

03:08
Tachanun is not recited in the house of a mourner, even if the mourner is not present. So if, for example, you're in the house of a mourner, the mourner steps out of the room at the end of the Amidah and goes into another room, whatever it is. So now the congregation is just the minion is just praying there and they're up to Tachnon. Even though he's not in the room, you still do not recite the Tachnon because it's a house of a mourner. If a mourner is praying in a synagogue, the synagogue does recite Tachnon, but not the mourner themselves. Number 11, tachnun, but not the mourner themselves. Number 11, tachnun supplications is not recited in the synagogue where a bris will take place there, or in a synagogue where the father, the sanduk, the godfather or the mohel are praying there. So even if they're all in three separate synagogues and later they're going to have the bris in a different place, so you can have a total of four different congregations that are not going to recite Tachanon one where the father prayed, one where the godfather prayed, one where the moel prayed and one where the bris is going to be. All four will not recite the Tachanon. Now, if the bris is going to be, all four will not recite the Tachnun. Now, if the bris takes place in the afternoon when Mincha is being recited before or during the meal of the bris, then Tachnun is not recited. But if Mincha is recited after the conclusion of the meal, tachnun is recited by Mincha, since for the father, the sandek and the sandek is the godfather and the moel it is a yom tov, it is a festival-like day. Tachnun is not recited all day for them. Okay. So even if they're in a place you know in the afternoon synagogue will say the entire congregation will recite tachnun, but not the father of the baby or the person themselves having the bris, if they're older, or the sandik, the godfather, or the moel.

05:16
Number 14. Additionally, a minyan, where a groom prays, does not recite Tachnun for all seven days. A groom is not just someone who's engaged, but rather someone who's getting married that day or is in the seven days. A groom is not just someone who's engaged, but rather someone who's getting married that day or is in the seven days of celebration post the wedding. Number 15,. If the groom or bride are a widow, then the tachnon exemption is only for three days because the celebration is only for three days, not for a full seven days like a young bride and groom who've never been married before is a full seven days. On the wedding day. Only mincha is exempt from tachnun, but shachrez does include the recitation of tachnun. On these days, tachnun. On the following days, tachnun is never recited.

06:04
Now I put this in order of a chronological order. Now Kitzel Shochon Och does not put it in this order. I reorganize it so that we can understand it from the beginning to the end. Our first month of the year is Nisan. So from Rosh Chodesh, any Rosh Chodesh, the entire month of Nisan, lag BaOmer, from Rosh Chodesh, sivan, till after Yisru Chag, meaning the day after Shavuot, tishabav Tu Ba'av, the 9th of Av, the 15th of Av. From after Yom Kippur, through Yisru Chag, the day after Sukkos, chanukah Tu B'Shvat, which is the 15th of Shavat.

06:46
Purim, both days, the 14th and 15th of Adar, purim Katan, which is, if you have a leap year, so you have two months of Adar. So both days, the 14th and 15th of Purim Katan, no Tachnun is recited ever on these days. On all of the aforementioned days, tachnun is not recited. Also, on the Mincha prior to these days. The Mincha prior is like the eve of these days. So the Mincha before Rosh Chodesh, the Mincha before Lag BaOmer, the Mincha before Tisha B'Av all of those do not have a Tachnun either. On the Mincha before Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, tachnun is recited during the Mincha prayer.

07:34
On Mondays and Thursdays we recite an extended version of Tachnun supplications. This is because they are favorable days in our relationship with Hashem, since Moshe ascended to receive the Torah, the second tablets, on a Thursday and descended 40 days later on a Monday, and therefore every Monday and Thursday we have an extended supplications that are recited. Next week we're going to talk about the prayer reading that is done every Monday and Thursday in synagogue, which is a takana, which is a decree from Moses that we read from the Torah every Monday and Thursday. Number 21, the extended portion of Tachnun is recited before the regular part and while standing. So what happens? The extended portion of Tachnun is recited before the regular part and while standing. So what happens? The extended portion of Tachnon is a sort of an introduction to the regular Tachnon that is going to be recited, that it's recited every day. So it's an extended pre-Tachnon and it is recited while standing.

08:45
Number 22, it is proper to recite Tachnun with focus and intention, with great kavana and slowly. I remember I asked my rabbi when I was a young yeshiva student. I said I'm reading all these words every single day, word for word. I don't understand a word of what I'm saying. So he said what the halacha says, that it is better to recite a little bit, with focus and intention, kavana than to recite a lot with no kavana, with no intention, with no focus. So he said, take one paragraph and read it slowly, understand every word and if you don't finish the rest, it's okay, but read what you can. And it's very important because we're asking for forgiveness, we're asking for all of our mistakes. Have mercy on us, on the entire Jewish people. We shouldn't rush through that and not understand what we are saying. Number 22, it is proper to recite Tachnun with focus and intention. Number 23, after Tachnun, a half Kaddish is recited by the Chazan. And finally, number 24, on Mondays and Thursdays we remain standing for Kel Erech HaPayim, which is the beginning part of removing the Torah from the Ark, as we will discuss in the upcoming Semen 25, when we get to that part of our Kitzah Shulchan Aruch study. So this concludes Semen number 22,.

10:18
Semen Chaf Beis in the Kitzah Shulchan Aruch, and I would love to open the floor to your questions. My dear friends, those of you online, you are welcome to ask your questions by writing them in. If you're watching on Facebook, on YouTube, we see your comments and we'll try to address your questions. But for the meantime, those of you who are here, please share your questions. Yes, a good question.

10:41
Are all of these parts that we're mentioning here part of our Siddur? Yes, they are. In all of our Siddurim they have these supplications. They're all there and in fact so if you open up your beautiful art scroll, wasserman Edition Siddur, that we use for our prayer class, you will see that after the Amidah, we have on page 124, we have Tachanon, and this is the extended portion of Tachanon on 124. And it goes all the way till 132, which is the regular part of Tachanon that is recited on an ordinary day, not on Monday and Thursday. Monday and Thursday it would begin on page 124. And on an ordinary day it will begin on 132. And it tells you exactly that this is only Monday and Thursday mornings and this is on the regular day, except for Monday and Thursday, okay, and that you will have.

11:40
I know, I know. I know there's a lot to learn. There's so much Torah to learn. I am sorry it may feel overwhelming, but that's, you're getting there. You're getting there. You see how much more we know today than we knew four weeks ago. It's not only things are. The picture is coming together.

11:56
Halacha is giving us guidance in what to do and how to do. We know we're supposed to pray, but we know what to do, but how to do it. The halacha goes into great details, which is why I urge every one of us, if you get a chance, go through the podcast from the beginning, everyday. Judaism from class number one. We go through each simen, piece by piece, each chapter of halacha we go and organize. Today we just concluded simen number 22,. But I urge you, catch up if you haven't done so yet, so that you're up to date. And every week, hopefully, we will continue to add another simon to our repertoire.

12:39
Yes, halacha can get very, very complicated in certain, in every area. The less you know, the more complicated it is. The more you know, the more complicated it is. The more you know, the less complicated it's like.

12:51
Imagine someone who is unfamiliar with any profession in the world. You're unfamiliar with paint, with colors. You're unfamiliar with music and how to edit music and how to record music and how to play music, how to record music and how to play music. It seems so daunting and complicated, but when you learn the chords and you go to Mark's training at the guitar center, you learn oh, there's an A minor and there's a C and there's a this and that. So you learn and once you practice, practice, practice suddenly become very familiar and it's a pleasure because like, oh, it all makes sense, it all falls into place. But when you're afraid and you don't know, you're afraid to ask, I don't know, then it remains a mystery. My encouragement to everyone here in the classroom and those of you who are not here in the classroom, those of you who are watching or listening online familiarize yourself with halacha, take the plunge, learn it. It is so beautiful to know how to conduct ourselves as Jewish people. All right any questions.

13:56
The next holiday in the council. So on Friday we not celebrated, we commemorated the 10th of Tevet. 10th of Tevet, which is a fast day. We fasted all the way through into Shabbos. So when reciting Kiddush on Friday night we ended the fast. So the first time any of us in our family ate on Friday was the Shabbos meal. Straight into the Shabbos meal is the beginning of our eating for the Friday day and it's commemorating the day that Jerusalem was being attacked, first day that Jerusalem was being attacked.

14:43
And we use a fast day to remember our tragedies. Because why did tragedies befall the Jewish people? Because we weren't living up to the standard that the Almighty expected of us. And when we don't live up to the standard that the Almighty expects of us, he punishes us. So to commemorate that, we fast, so that we remember not to fall into that again, to not make that mistake again. The next fast that we're going to have is going to be in almost two months, on the 12th, the 13th day of the month of Adar, which is going to be on a Thursday. We're going to have a fast day called the Fast of Esther, tanit Esther, and that is going to commemorate the tragic decree that the king of the king Achashverosh and Haman plotted against the Jewish people. Thank God, that turned from a day of terrible tragedy to a day of great celebration, which is the next day of Purim, where we celebrate and do a lot of incredible things. But that is on Friday. This year is going to be on Friday, which is always difficult. We're going to learn those halachas. I believe we've done a segment of our podcast in this series of Everyday Judaism about the laws of Purim. If we didn't, then when we get closer to it, we will go through it and learn it so that we know what to be prepared for.

16:22
All right, any other questions? Yes, on Shabbos. No, we don't say Tachanun on Shabbat Ever. Okay, unless Yom Kippur falls on Shabbat. On Yom Kippur, we do recite Tachanun, many different types of Rosh Hashanah as well. We recite certain supplications. Okay, I'm going to add that to the notes. Yeah, it's only during the weekday that we recite. That's a great question. We do not recite Tachnun on Shabbat. Shabbos is a day of incredible connection and closeness to Hashem. We don't need that prayer asking for forgiveness. We don't either ask for our personal needs on Shabbat, because everything is taken care of on Shabbat, so we don't need to ask for our personal requests on Shabbat Before, shabbat, after, shabbat, during the entire week. We do, but not on Shabbat itself. Excellent question, alright, my dear friends, this concludes today's episode of the Everyday Judaism podcast. Have a magnificent week, everyone.

17:28 - Intro (Announcement)
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