Memorial Prayers 1 - אב הרחמים

Following the Prayer for the Congregation and/or the Prayer for the Government, there is a מנהג in Eastern אשכנזי congregations to say a prayer in memory of martyrs. (Western אשכנזי congregations do so after אשרי, and that only twice a year: שבת חזון and the שבת before שבועות, where public memorial prayers are considered seasonally appropriate.) This prayer was written by the מהרם of Rothenburg in response to the Crusades (which would easily explain why ספרדי congregations don't say it at all, as they, by contrast, were experiencing the Golden Age around that juncture in history).

There are also specific joyous שבתות of the year where אב הרחמים is not said. While strictly speaking every congregation is entitled to establish their own מנהג, as there are not really any חיובים or איסורים one way or the other, nonetheless there are some basic guidelines given by the פוסקים, which we will present here:

1) We don't say אב הרחמים:

⦁ Wherever we don't say צדקתך צדק (itself a subject for its own article) by מנחה on שבת 

    ⦁ except תשעה באב

⦁ where there is a חתן present

⦁ where there is a ברית in shul 

    ⦁ except during ספירה, because the Crusades took place in that part of the year

        ⦁ unless ר"ח אייר is on שבת

        ⦁ Where ר"ח אב is on שבת is a מחלוקת מנהגים

    ⦁ on שבת מברכים (except during ספירה, as above)

2) We do say אב הרחמים all other weeks of the year (i.e. by default), including:

⦁ שבת מברכים חודש אב

⦁ The part of חודש ניסן that overlaps with ספירה

References:

רמא או"ח רפד, מ"א שם ס"ק ח, לבושי שרד שם ס"ק ט

The Prayer for the Government

Following the הפטורה and the Prayer for the Congregation on שבת morning, there is a מנהג in some congregations to say a תפלה on behalf of the government of the country in which one lives.

The source of this מנהג is ירמיה [1] who exhorts his listeners to seek the peace of the city to which they have been exiled and daven for it to Hashem, "for with its peace will be your peace".

Based on the above, רבי חנינא סגן הכהנים teaches that one should daven for the peace of the government, because if not for fear of the law, people would simply swallow each other alive (whether literally or figuratively). [2]

This exhortation includes not just the monarch themselves, but rather even the government as a whole, as is implied by רבי חנינא's language of 'מלכות' rather than מלך [3].

The reason why we should daven for the government is (not because of loyalty or patriotism per se, or because we necessarily agree with their political policies etc. but rather) because stability in society has a positive effect on all. To that end, we should daven for the government to have peace, for if the government is at peace, then society as a whole is at peace, and everyone benefits. [4]

Now, within the standard traditional text of the Prayer is a phrase asking for the downfall of the enemies of the monarch (monarchy being the most common form of government up until about a century ago), nevertheless we do not specifically mean his enemies in other countries against whom he may be waging war, because there may be fellow Jews in that country as well; rather, we mean the king's enemies in his own country (which, it is assumed, would not include any of our coreligionists). [5]

[1] כט:ז

[2] אבות ג:ב

[3] תפא"י שם אות ז

[4] ע"פ שם ושם אות יא

[5] מ"א או"ח רפד ס"ק ז, לבושי שרד שם, מחצית השקל שם

מעות חטים

There was a מנהג to buy wheat for distribution to the poor לצורך פסח [1]. This collection, referred to as מעות חטים (lit. wheat money) is from the oldest מנהגים in our tradition, dating back to the period of the תלמוד ירושלמי, where it is first mentioned [2].

The above is on the assumption that grinding one's own wheat into flour was common. In Prague, however, flour would be distributed instead of wheat [3]. Alternatively, money can be given out so that people can buy מצה on their own [4]. This is the common practice today (in addition to money distributed for other פסח-related expenses), as can be observed in just about any shul.

Now, what remains to be explained is why מעות חטים is different than any standard צדקה. -?-

מור וקציעה answers [1] that מעות חטים is distributed to the poor in addition to standard צדקה in honor of יו"ט on account of the חומרא of חמץ, because the poor cannot afford to buy משומר wheat, which is why we add to the צדקה fund now.

What still remains to be explained is why specifically פסח necessitates an established, formal מנהג to distribute extra financial assistance to those in need thereof more than other festivals. -?-

בית יעקב answers [5] that the עבודה of פסח is to serve Hashem out of wealth rather than poverty, which is why כלל ישראל accepted the מנהג to help the poor specifically before פסח so that even the poor should not miss anything in their עבודה of serving Hashem through wealth.

[1] שו"ע או"ח תכט:א

[2] ב"ב א:ד

[3] חוט שני א:ב ;מ"ב שם ס"ק ד ; אליה רבה על הלבוש או"ח שם ס"ק ג

[4] ערוה"ש או"ח שם סעיף ז

[5] cited in מנהג ישראל תורה שם אות ג

The full explanation is as follows: Hashem instructed בני ישראל to ask their Egyptian neighbors for gold and silver items before they left מצרים so that אברהם אבינו should not have any complaints that his descendants were slaves in a foreign country without being compensated, as per the ברית בין הבתרים. Now, this point is puzzling: אברהם withstood 10 tests; why would he suddenly be so lacking in אמונה such that he is questioning whether or not Hashem will compensate בני ישראל for their servitude?

בית יעקב answers that are two forms of עבודה: one form of עבודה is to serve Hashem out of poverty and distress, which is a significant challenge; on the other hand, serving Hashem out of wealth and plenty can potentially be an even bigger challenge! Now, אברהם wanted his descendants to serve Hashem from both ends of the economic spectrum, and, while enslaved, they already experienced serving Hashem from poverty; now that they were asking their neighbors for expensive items, they were then experiencing the challenge of wealth. From here we see that the עבודה of פסח is to serve Hashem from wealth and plenty.

ובזה מבואר ג"כ הדין שיש להשתמש בכלים נאים דוקא בליל הסדר [כדאי' בשו"ע תעב:ב וראה בחק יעקב ובמ"ב ובכה"ח שם], מה שלא מצינו אצל שום יו"ט אחר

קריאת עשרת בני המן בנשימה אחת

There is a דין [1] that the 10 sons of המן [2] have to be said all in one breath, to show that they were all killed and hanged in one shot. The source of this דין is רב אדא from יפו, who says that one must say the names of המן's 10 sons and עשרת (the following word) in one breath, to show that they all died the same moment as each other.

מהרי Segal, however, says that one should begin from חמש מאות איש in the previous פסוק because the 10 sons of המן were שרי חמשים over those 500 people [4]. דרכי משה wonders why, if, after all, the 'גמ only says the 10 sons of המן specifically. -?!- It must be that those who do so hold that one should not pause for breath between פסוקים [5].

Now, while רב אדא does not specify by whom it is that the 10 sons of המן should be said in one breath, the רמבם [6] specifies that the intended subject is the Reader. Though the רמבם is not specifically cited, nonetheless חיי אדם [7] references the מנהג of some places that everyone says the 10 sons of המן aloud in one breath, writing that this is not a (legitimate) מנהג.

ערוה"ש, however, considers the 10 sons of המן to be in the same category as other פסוקי גאולה that the congregation says aloud, in addition to the Reader [8]. Another reason argued by the [9] Rogatchover is that שומע כעונה, meaning that the congregation fulfills their duty of קריאת המגילה by listening to the Reader, only works with regards to the actual reading itself. Fulfillment of a specific way of reading, however, cannot be done by means of שומע כעונה. To that end, the Rogatchover would hold that the congregation actually must say the 10 sons of המן aloud in order to fulfill their obligation of saying them in one breath.

[1] שו"ע או"ח תרצ:טו

[2] אסתר ט:ז-י

[3] :מגילה טז

'תוס there specifies that בדיעבד one is יוצא even without doing so.

[4] מהריל הלכות פורים אות יג

[5] ועיין בב"י שם טור או"ח שם ס"ק ג

[6] מגילה ב:יב

[7] קנה:כב וכך הובא להלכה במ"ב ס"ק נב ובכה"ח שם אות צא

[8] או"ח שם סעיף כג

[9] שו"ת צופנת פענח השמטות להל' גירושין חלק ג עמ' 113

איסור-מלאכה לנשים בשעת הדלקת נר-חנוכה

There is a מנהג that women do not do מלאכה while the נרות חנוכה are lit [1]. The reason for this is so that they should have a reminder that it is אסור to use the light of the candles [2]. Additionally, in order that they shouldn't be distracted from remembering the miracle they therefore make that half-hour into a יו"ט [3].

This rule only applies to women because the נס occurred through them [3]. The מהריל, however, actually brings this מנהג as applying to men as well. Additionally, there are those who say that there is a general איסור-מלאכה on the first and last days (similar to the first and last days of סוכות/פסח) [5].

Practically, the ערוה"ש testifies that we have never heard of most of these מנהגים, to which end our women only refrain from מלאכה during הדלקה [6].

It would seem that today (to my knowledge) this מנהג has been largely forgotten (in some circles). This may be a result of the prevalence of electric lights, which render the entire דין of אסור להשתמש לאורה to be largely obsolete. (No one who has electric lights in their home would really need to rely on a few small candles for illumination.) To that end, a reminder that using the חנוכה candles is אסור is, to a significant degree, redundant, as few people would even have a הוה אמינא of doing so in the first place.

Addendum

In order to get a clearer demographic picture of where this מנהג is prevalent and where not, I have created a survey with pertinent questions that can be filled out here:

https://forms.gle/GcWEsgcuNgc84cno6

[1] שו"ע או"ח תרע:א. This only applies to the time that they need to be lit, which is half an hour. After that there is no איסור (מ"ב שם ס"ק ד).

[2] באר הגולה שם אות ג

[3] לבוש שם. Perhaps men don't need as much of a reminder as women because men are the ones that are actually lighting.

[3] מ"א שם ס"ק א

[5] הלכות חנוכה אות יא בהגה. See note 5 in the מכון ירושלים edition.

[6] שם סעיף ח. The precise language of the ערוה"ש is "בעת הדלקה". It is unclear if the ערוה"ש means so long as the candles are lit (as the other פוסקים say) or only while the candles are in the process of being lit.

הושענות - Part 1

This is the first article in a small series I hope to write on the subject of הושענות. The series aims to cover the halachic, minhagic, and liturgical aspects of הושענות. I do not plan to offer in-depth explanations of the meaning of the הושענא prayers themselves. For that there are many wonderful works available elsewhere. Just a disclaimer.

We are נוהג to bring a ספר תורה onto the בימה and encircle it once each day, and on the seventh day we encircle it seven times [1] זכר למקדש. In the בית המקדש the כהנים would conduct a procession around the מזבח once each day while saying אנא ה הושיעה נא אנא ה הצליחה נא [2]. (According to רבי יהודה, they would say אני והו הושיעה נא [3].) Today where, בעוה"ר, there is no מזבח, so the חזן (or other individual appointed by the ציבור) stands at the בימה holding a ס"ת, and the congregation encircles him, similar to what was done by the מזבח. The above was done every day of סוכות. (On הושענא רבה, however, the כהנים would encircle the מזבח seven times. To that end, we encircle the בימה seven times on הושענא רבה as well. This will IYH be covered as a subject of its own in a future article.)

Being that, in the בית המקדש, the מזבח was encircled following the קורבן מוסף (as evinced by the continuation of the משנה in which the כהנים would take leave of the מזבח - indicating that there were no more קורבנות to be brought), therefore we also encircle the בימה following מוסף [4]. 

רב סעדיה, however, thought that we should encircle the בימה immediately following the הפטורה while the ס"ת is still at the בימה, so as not to take the ס"ת out of the ארון unnecessarily. Perhaps רב סעדיה holds that הושענות have to be done as early as possible, even before מוסף (similar to נטילת לולב which also has to be done as early as possible, even before מוסף). To that end, רב סעדיה would understand the משנה to mean that the כהנים would take leave of the מזבח as the formal end of the ceremony, but not that they were finished for the day necessarily. The טור, however, reports that we are not נוהג that way. The reason for this, as the בח explains, is that our entire מנהג is only זכר למקדש, therefore we are actually acting properly where we delay הושענות to the end of the service, as in the plain understanding of the משנה [4].

שער הכוונות, however, says that the right place to do הושענות is after הלל, which was always the מנהג of ארץ ישראל [5]. While שער הכוונות does not offer any halachic reason to do so, nonetheless אגרות משה [6] writes that if one already is holding the ד מינים, then to put them away and then take them out again later looks like passing off a מצוה.

[1] שו"ע או"ח תרס:א

[2] משנה סוכה ד:ה

[3] This is a request of the One Who is Himself (הוא) with me (אני) בצרה to offer salvation from all the troubles that surround us in the merit of the תורה.

(ע"ד עמו אנכי בצרה; ואפשר שזה ג"כ כוונת דברי התפא"י שם באות כה)

[4] בח או"ח שם

[5] כף החיים שם אות ד. According to this, קדיש תתקבל is then said after הושענות, rather than after הלל.

[6] חלק ג סימן צט. This is in addition to זריזין מקדימין למצוה (מקראי קודש סוכות סימן צ). See also בכורי יעקב (תרס:א) who proves that, actually, even in the בית המקדש they would say הושענות before מוסף, and where the משנה references taking leave of the מזבח, the משנה does not mean taking leave of the מזבח after הושענות per se, but rather taking leave of the מזבח in general, after all the עבודות of that morning were finished.

הרחת בשמים ביו"כ

On יו"כ afternoon many have the custom (which I have, incidentally, never specifically come across in the minhagic literature, but rather 'only' observed being done myself [1]) to take advantage of the break between services and smell an אתרוג or the like (often one that is spiced with cloves). The purpose of doing so is twofold: 1) to revive one's senses after a tiring day and 2) on יו"כ we do not have festive meals; to that end, we may be missing some of the 100 ברכות that one is supposed to make on a daily basis [2].

One should only keep in mind that the proper ברכה on an אתרוג is ברוך...הנותן ריח טוב בפירות [3], not the generic בורא מיני בשמים that one makes for הבדלה.

[1] By this point in halachic history, nearly any מנהג that exists will written about somewhere (especially a straightforward one, as opposed to an esoteric one). There are still some, however, that are yet the domain of תורה שבעל פה (as all מנהגים ideally should be - by definition there are no מנהגים codified in תנך). Another example that comes to mind is decorating the shul in white for the High Holidays (a subject for an article in its own right), which merits nary a mention anywhere in our entire halachic corpus.

[2] as per :מנחות מג and שו"ע או"ח מו:ג

[3] שם או"ח קטז:ב