Kitzur Shulchan Aruch Yomi

1. There are seasons of the year when special prayers are added to the Shemoneh Esrei. This chapter deals with three such additions: Mashiv haruach, tal u'motor, and yaaleh v'yovoh. It also deals with the laws of Aneinu which is said on Fast days. During the winter we add mashiv haruach (Causer of the wind to blow) umorid hageshem (and the rain to fall) to the second berachah of Shemoneh Esrei. We begin (this addition) with the Musaf prayer of Shemini Atzeres. The shamash (sexton) announces before [Musaf:] Mashiv haruach umorid hageshem. If he did not announce it it is not said then at the silent Musaf prayer. An ill person who prays at home privately, likewise the villagers who have no minyan, should wait with [their] Musaf prayers until the hour of which it is certain that the city synagogues have completed Musaf prayers, and then they, too, can pray Musaf and say mashiv haruach umorid hageshem. It (mashiv haruach…) is said until Musaf of the first day of Pesach (Passover). The congregation as well as the chazzan still say it during the silent prayer. When the chazzan repeats [the Musaf prayer], he (the chazzan) discontinues saying it, and after that the congregation does not say it at the Minchah prayer, because they have already heard that the chazzan has discontinued saying it. A person praying privately, should say the Musaf prayer early enough, in order [to be sure] that the chazzan has not yet discontinued saying it in the city synagogues, because whoever prays [Musaf on the first day of Pesach] after the chazzan has discontinued saying [mashiv haruach] at Musaf, no longer says it [himself]. There are congregations that add, mashiv haruach umorid hatal during the summer. [In those places] the shamash should announce it before Musaf on the first day of Pesach, and then the [congregation] begins to say it in the silent [Shemoneh Esrei of Musaf,] and they discontinue saying umorid hageshem.

2. If by mistake you did not say: mashiv haruach umorid hageshem, if you remembered before you completed the berachah mechaye hameisim, then you may say it at the place you remembered, but only if you are not in mid-phrase. For instance, if you remembered after you said: umekayim emunaso, (and fulfiller of His faithfulness) [you continue and] say also i. e. lisheinei afar (to those who sleep in the dust) and [then] you say mashiv haruach … [and continue] mi chamocha … (who is like You). If you prefer, you may repeat the whole paragraph, that is, mashiv haruach umorid hageshem, and then continue: mechalkeil chaim … But, if you did not remember [the omission] until after you completed the berachah: mechayei hameisim, you are required to return to the beginning of Shemoneh Esrei. (And it will not suffice to begin [again] [from] atah gibor (You are mighty), because the first three berachos are considered as one [unit] in this regard, [meaning] that if you completed [any] berachah [of these three] improperly, you must return to the beginning of Shemoneh Esrei. If by error during the Ma'ariv service of Pesach or during the Shacharis service or during Musaf you failed to say it (mashiv haruach), you need not return to the beginning to say it.

3. Some congregations add mashiv haruach umorid hatal, in the summertime (see footnote 2.) If you erred and said it also during the winter, or if you did not remember [that you should have said:… umorid hageshem] until after you said Baruch atah Hashem, you should complete the berachah mechayei hameisim. You are not required to repeat the berachos in order to mention geshem, since you already mentioned tal (dew). But if you remembered before you said Hashem, (you said Baruch atah, but not yet Hashem) then you should say: morid hageshem at the place you left off.

4. If you erred during the summer and said: mashiv haruach umorid hageshem, if you remembered (realized your error) before you completed the berachah, mechayei hameisim, you should go back and begin Atoh gibor (i. e. the beginning of the berachah). (This is not because the berachah is invalid, but so that it is apparent that the berachah does not include mashiv haruach umorid hageshem). But if you did not realize [your error] until after you completed [Baruch atah Hashem] mechayei hameisim, you must return to the beginning of Shemoneh Esrei. If you only said mashiv haruach [and realized your error] and did not say morid hageshem, [the berachah] is not invalid at all and you may continue mechalkeil chayim … If you erred at maariv or in Shacharis of Shemini Atzeres and added (Mashiv haruach …) you need not go back to the beginning.

5. Introduction: The sixth berachah of Shemoneh Esrei begins, "Bareich aleinu …" It is a prayer for bountiful harvests and ample rainfall for the earth and its inhabitants. Therefore, when the season for rain arrives, we add a special prayer for "dew and rain" (tal umatar). We begin to say tal umatar in the Shemoneh Esrei of Maariv of the sixtieth day after the Tishri (Fall) season, which comes on the fourth or the fifth of December, and it is said, until [the first day of] Pesach.

6. If you erred and did not say tal umatar: If you remembered before ending the berachah of mevarech hashanim, say: [before the close of the berachah] vesein tal umatar livrachah al pnei ha'adama vesabeinu … and conclude [the berachah] properly (i. e. Baruch… mavarech hashanim). If you did not remember until having completed the berachah, continue on, and in the berachah of Shema koleinu, after the words: "reikom al tisheveinu" ["Do not turn us away empty-handed,"] say: vesein tal umatar livrachah Ki atah shomea … And even if you did not remember then, but only after you said, Baruch atah, as long as you had not yet said Hashem, you may say: vesin tal umatar livrachah, ki ata shomea … But, if you did not realize [that you forgot to add tal umatar] until after you completed the berachah Shomea tefillah, [then] you must go back and begin Bareich aleinu … And if you did not remember until you said the verse [at the end of Shemoneh Esrei]: Yihyu le'ratzon … you must go back to the very beginning of the Shemoneh Esrei.

7. If you erred during the summer and added tal umatar you must return to the beginning [and say:] Bareich aleinu. But, if you did not realize [that you added tal umatar] until after you said the verse, Yihyu le'ratzon, you must go back to the beginning of the Shemoneh Esrei.

8. If you are in doubt [about] whether you added mashiv haruach or not, [then] if thirty days have passed, [meaning:] you already said Shemoneh Esrei ninety times properly, it can be assumed that now, too, you prayed [and added mashiv haruach] by virtue of habit. But [if the doubt arose] within [or before] thirty days [elapsed], you are required to repeat Shemoneh Esrei. The same [rule applies] to tal umatar. If the doubt arose after you already prayed ninety Shemoneh Esreis properly, we presume that now, too, you prayed properly. But before that (before 30 days), you must repeat the Shemoneh Esrei.

9. If you erred at Maariv on the first night of Pesach, and you prayed the Shemoneh Esrei of the weekdays, and you realized [your error] after you began Bareich oleinu, the law being [that even having begun a berachah in error] you must complete that full berachah, but do not add tal umatar, since the congregation also omits it. If the she'eila (petition) (that is, the day that we begin to pray— or "petition" for tal umatar) falls on Shabbos, and by mistake you prayed [the Shemoneh Esrei] of the weekdays and also began [the berachah] Bareich aleinu, you do not say tal umatar, since the congregation has not yet started, and the individual always follows the congregation.

10. If you forgot [to add] Yaaleh veyavo on Rosh Chodesh in the Shacharis or Minchah service, or on Chol Hamo'ed either in Shacharis, Minchah, or Maariv, if you realized [your error] before you said: Yihyu le'ratzon you should go back and begin Retzeih. Even if you remembered before you started Modim, as long as you have completed the berachah: hamachazir shechinaso letzion, you must begin [again] at Retzeih, (as we wrote, above, in regard to mashiv haruach). However, if your realized before [completing] the berachah: hamachazir shechinaso letzion, you say it there (at the point where you realized) and you conclude: vesechezena eineinu … If you did not remember until after Yihyu le'ratzon … you must go back to the beginning of Shemoneh Esrei. On Rosh Chodesh [however,] if you forgot Yaaleh veyavo in the Maariv service, whether Rosh Chodesh be two days or only one day, once you [already] said: Baruch atah Hashem, and mentioned: Hashem, you no longer need to go back, [to insert Yaaleh veyavo] but complete [the berachah] hamachazir shechinaso letzion and [go on] to complete Shemoneh Esrei. The reason for this [allowing the completion of Shemoneh Esrei without Yaaleh veyavo] is because [Rosh Chodesh] was not sanctified at night.

11. If you forgot to say Yaaleh veyavo on Rosh Chodesh or Chol Hamoed, in Shacharis, although you did not realize it until after you prayed Musaf (where you already mentioned Rosh Chodesh or the festival), nevertheless, you are required to repeat the prayers of Shacharis. If the time [of Shacharis] has passed you may compensate for it at Minchah.

12. Whenever you must repeat the Shemoneh Esrei prayer, you are required to wait the time it takes to walk four amos.

13. If the chazzan erred during the silent Shemoneh Esrei, he does not repeat Shemoneh Esrei because it would be a burden on the congregation, but he may rely on the prayer that he will pray aloud. (Therefore, after he repeats the Shemoneh Esrei [aloud] he should say: Elokai netzor… and step back three paces.) But if he erred in the first three berachos and realized it before he completed his [silent] Shemoneh Esrei, in a manner that his repetition will not constitute a burden on the congregation, he should go back and repeat Shemoneh Esrei.

14. On fast days, whether a communal fast day or a private fast day, we add aneinu to the Minchah prayer in the berachah Shema koleinu. After reciting the words: bechol eis tzarah vetzukah, we conclude: ki atah shomea … If you forgot to say aneinu, and you did not remember until after you said: [Baruch Atah] Hashem of the berachah Shomea tefillah, you do not repeat [the berachah] to say [aneinu.] But rather after completing the entire Shemoneh Esrei, after Elokai netzor, before you move your feet, you say it (the aneinu prayer) until [the closing words]: bechol eis tzarah vetzukah and [then] conclude [with the usual] Yihyu le'ratzon …. If you did not remember until after you moved your feet [back] you no longer say it (aneinu).

1. When the chazzan steps back upon completing the silent Shemoneh Esrei, he remains standing there for the time it takes to walk four amos, returns to his original place and says quietly: Hashem sefasai tiftach … and begins aloud: Baruch atah Hashem. Everyone [in the congregation] must be careful to remain silent, (during the repetition of Shemoneh Esrei), to listen carefully and be attentive [to] what (the chazzan is saying, and to say Baruch hu uvaruch shemo and Amein after each berachah. Even the study [of Torah] is prohibited while the chazzan is repeating the [Shemoneh Esrei] prayer; and needless to say that you must take care to avoid idle conversation. If it is not difficult for you, it is proper to stand as if you yourself are praying Shemoneh Esrei; your eyes either closed or following the chazzan's chanting in the siddur. There are some whose custom it is that after the Kedusha, they remove the Rashi tefillin and put on Rabbeinu Tam tefillin. But what they do is not in accordance with the law.

2. Since the chazzan has already prayed his own prayer silently and is repeating Shemoneh Esrei only for the benefit of the listeners, it is, therefore, required that during the repetition of Shemoneh Esrei, there be no less than nine listening [to the chazzan] and answering [Amein] lest his berachos be in vain. Therefore, when there is an exact minyan, care should be taken that the chazzan not begin the repetition of Shemoneh Esrei until all have completed their [silent] Shemoneh Esrei so that they are able to answer [Amein].

3. The chazzan must be careful when completing a berachah, not to begin the following berachah until after most of the congregation have answered Amein. If he did begin the next berachah immediately, for instance, after completing [the berachah] Magein Avraham he began to say Atah gibor at once, then since he already started saying Atah gibor, no longer [does the congregation] say Amein." The penalty for vacating the Amein is now upon him (the chazzan).

4. When the Kedusha [is said], you should be careful to join your feet so that both are together as if they were one foot, as it is written [of the angels who say Kedusha] "And their feet (plural) are a straight foot" (singular). When saying: Kadosh, kadosh, kadosh, also Baruch [kevod Hashem mimekomo], and Yimloch [Hashem leolam …] you should raise your body and heels upward. It is the custom to raise the eyes upward [during Kedusha], and preferrably they should be closed.

5. When the chazzan reaches [the berachah] modim, the entire congregation bows and says the entire modim derabanan in a bowed posture. If you are standing [in the midst of] the Shemoneh Esrei prayer and you hear the chazzan about to say modim, if you are in the midst of a berachah, you should also bow. But if you are at the beginning or end of a berachah, you should not bow, because it is prohibited to add bowings either at the beginning or end of a berachah besides those that were ordained by our Rabbis, of blessed memory. See chapter 18, paragraph 11.

6. Before the chazzan starts [the berachah] Sim shalom, he says Elokeinu veilokei avoseinu barcheinu … when he reaches veyishmerecha, the congregation responds, Kein yehi ratzon and does not say Amein. The same applies when he reaches vichuneka and shalom. It [the Birchas Kohanim] is said only at Shacharis and Musaf prayers, but not at Minchah, with the exception of a communal fast day when we say Sim shalom at Minchah; then the chazzan also says: Elokeinu veilokei avoseinu …. It is not said [at the minyan] at the house of a mourner nor on Tisha Be'av at Shacharis.

7. After the chazzan completes the Shemoneh Esrei he should say quietly Yihyu leratzon … but he need not step back three paces because he may rely on the paces at the end of the full Kaddish.

8. If there are ten [men, a minyan], in the synagogue, on a communal fast day who are fasting and completing [the fast], the chazzan adds the prayer aneinu before Refa'einu at Shacharis and Minchah. If he erred and did not say it, if he realized [his omission] before he said "Hashem" of the berachah: Rofei cholei amo Yisrael, he goes back and says aneinu and [then] Refa'einu. But, if he did not realize [his omission] until after he said "Hashem," he completes the berachah Rofei cholei amo Yisrael, and says aneinu in the midst of the berachah Shomea tefillah, and closes the berachah [with] [Baruch atah Hashem] shomea tefillah, as would an individual. If he also forgot there, he adds it after completing Shemoneh Esrei but without a closing berachah.

9. We do not repeat the Shemoneh Esrei aloud, unless there are at least six men who constitute a majority of the minyan, who have finished praying. But, if there aren't six men who are now praying, we do not repeat the entire Shemoneh Esrei aloud. Instead, one [of those praying] says [from the beginning of Shemoneh Esrei] until Ha'el hakadosh aloud, and everyone says Kedusha, and [the one who said the berachos aloud] completes his Shemoneh Esrei quietly.

10. In all cases where the individual who erred goes back [and repeats] the Shemoneh Esrei, so too, if the chazzan erred in the repetition of Shemoneh Esrei, he must repeat the Shemoneh Esrei [aloud], except at Shacharis of Rosh Chodesh and Chol Hamoed. There [if the chazzan] forgot to say Yaaleh veyavo and did not realize it until he completed the [loud] Shemoneh Esrei, he does not go back, for since [it would result in] an imposition on the congregation, we rely on the reference [to Rosh Chodesh] [to be said] in the Musaf prayer. But if the chazzan realized [his omission] before he completed the Shemoneh Esrei, he goes back to [the berachah] Retzei as this [would not constitute] a burden on the congregation.

11. It is incumbent upon every man to say Kedusha together with the congregation; and also the Amein which is said after [the berachah] Ha'el Hakadosh and after [the berachah] Shomea tefillah. These Ameins are obligations equivalent to Kedusha. Likewise it is obligatory to respond to the kaddeishim which the chazzan says. Also [when the chazzan says] Modim you are obligated to bow together with the congregation. Therefore, if you were late in coming to the synagogue, having arrived too late to catch up and pray the Shemoneh Esrei together with the congregation and will perforce pray Shemoneh Esrei individually, if [by waiting still longer to start] the time for tefillah will not pass, you must be mindful not to begin praying Shemoneh Esrei at a time [which will cause you] to lose the opportunity of answering [Amein] to any of the above. Rather you should wait until you respond [Amein to them] and then start to pray Shemoneh Esrei. But, you should not wait between ga'al Yisrael and [the start of] Shemoneh Esrei, for you are required to connect "the Redemption" to the Shemoneh Esrei, and it is forbidden to interrupt between them. But you should [rather] wait [silently] before [saying] Shirah Chadashah.

12. An individual standing in [silent] Shemoneh Esrei, who completes the berachah, mechayei hameisim [as] the congregation is saying the Kedusha in Uva Letzion or the Kedusha [in the berachah] Yotzer or should not say kadosh, kadosh, kadosh, with them because these kedushos are not the same as the Kedusha of Shemoneh Esrei. But, if the congregation is saying the Kedusha of Musaf, though he is praying Shacharis, he says kadosh,kadosh, kadosh. along with them. The same [applies] in reverse, because the Kedusha of Shacharis and the Kedusha of Musaf are the same [kedusha].

1. Preface: The general rule is that omitting one of the prayers requires a make-up-prayer. This will compensate for having omitted a tefillah, but only where the omission occurred unwillingly (אוֹנֵס) or unintentionally (שׁוֹגֵג). But if one willfully and deliberately omitted a tefillah, there is no way to compensate. An important fact to keep in mind while studying this chapter: The compensation tefillah is performed by repeating the particular tefillah that is due at that time. For example, if at Maariv one compensates for an omitted Mincha, he does this by praying two Maariv Shemoneh Esrei's. Due to this, a number of unique situations arise: e. g. Omitting Mincha on Friday afternoon requires two Maariv Shemoneh Esreis on Friday night, both, being the Shabbos eve Shemoneh Esreis.This chapter discusses the form this compensation takes as well as what is considered deliberate and what is considered unintentional and unwilling. It has already been explained (in Chapter Eighteen) that if [you allowed] the time of tefillah to pass intentionally, there is no compensation. But if [it was] unintentional, or due to something beyond your control, that you did not pray, or [if you did pray, but] erred in your tefillah in a way that requires that you repeat the tefillah, [then] you may compensate for it following the next tefillah. You must first pray the tefillah that is due at that time and [only] afterwards the make-up tefillah, for example: if you did not pray the Shacharis tefillah, then when the time for Minchah arrives, you first pray a tefillah for Minchah, followed by the Tachanun prayer, and immediately afterwards you should say Ashrei, and then pray another Shemoneh Esrei for the sake of [the omitted] Shacharis. [Similarly] if you omitted Minchah, then you should first say the Maariv prayer, and then pause only for the time it takes to walk four amos, do not say Ashrei, but, immediately, pray the Shemoneh Esrei prayer for the sake of [the omitted] Minchah. [Similarly] if you omitted Maariv, then after the Shacharis prayer you should say Tachanun and Ashrei, and [then] pray the Shemoneh Esrei prayer for the sake of Maariv. After that you should say Lamenatzeiach and Uva letzion, etc. You may not eat until you also complete the make-up tefillah, which is for the sake of Maariv.

2. If you did not pray when there was time to pray, because you thought that there would still be time after you finished whatever you were doing, but in the meantime the time [for prayer] passed; similarly, if you were preoccupied in business matters, in order to prevent a loss, and as a result the time for prayer passed, [then] despite the fact that it is prohibited to allow the time of prayer to pass [merely] to avoid a monetary loss, nevertheless, it is considered oneis, (an extreme situation) and you may make up the missed prayer. Similarly if as a result of intoxication you were not permitted to pray, you are considered an oneis, despite the fact that drinking is prohibited once the time for prayer has arrived.

3. Compensation for [an omitted] prayer is valid only at the very next tefillah, but if the delay was greater, [compensation] is no longer possible. For example: if you did not pray Shacharis and Minchah, then compensation for Minchah is possible [immediately] after Maariv, but for Shacharis, compensation is not possible, since two periods of prayer have passed [and] you failed to pray [Shacharis], neither at its (Shacharis') designated time nor at the time of Minchah.

4. However, on a day when there is an additional Musaf prayer, if you omitted Shacharis [unintentionally], you may compensate for it after the Minchah prayer, (because the period for Musaf extends, as a last resort, until nightfall as does [the period] for Minchah; as a result, two periods of tefillah have not passed). But, after the Musaf prayer you may not compensate for [the omitted] Shacharis, (because having already mentioned the Musaf sacrifice, it is inappropriate as a make up for the Shacharis prayer). But, if the Shacharis period has not yet passed, you may still pray the Shacharis prayer despite already having prayed Musaf.

5. The omitted tefillah can be made up only at the time of the next tefillah, but not after the time of the next tefillah. For example: if much time has elapsed since you prayed the tefillah which was due at that time, you can no longer pray the compensatory tefillah for the one omitted, because [the Sages] instituted compensation for the omitted tefillah only at the time you are occupied with the prayer due then, because [only] while being occupied with prayers can you also make up [for] what you missed.

6. The make-up tefillah that you pray must be the same as the tefillah that is due at that time. For example, if you omitted Mincha on Friday afternoon, [then] you pray two Shabbos-Maariv tefillos at Maariv, notwithstanding the fact that the second tefillah comes as compensation for a weekday tefillah, nevertheless, since now (at the time of the make-up tefillah) it is Shabbos, you pray a Shabbos tefillah. If [being ignorant of the above halachah] you said a weekday tefillah as compensation you must repeat [the Shabbos] Shemoneh Esrei. Similarly, on the day preceeding Rosh Chodesh, if you omitted Minchah [then] you pray two Maariv Shemoneh Esreis and at both you say Ya'aleh ve'yavo. If you omitted Maariv on Rosh Chodesh, requiring you to pray two Shacharis tefillos, and if you inadvertently omitted Ya'aleh ve'yavo even during the second [Shemoneh Esrei] you must repeat the Shemoneh Esrei; (despite the fact that it is compensation for the night and, then, [had you omitted Ya'aleh ve'yavo] you were not required to repeat [the tefillah], nevertheless, now it is day.) If you omitted Minchah, on Shabbos here, too, you pray two weekday [Shemoneh Esreis] at Maariv. However [in this case] there is a difference [regarding] the Atah Chonantanu prayer. In the first Shemoneh Esrei you should say Atah Chonantanu, but in the second prayer, you do not say it. The reason for this is since Atah Chonantanu is like the Havdalah blessing, and Havdalah is not said twice in tefillah. The same applies in the opposite situation: If you omitted Maariv at the conclusion of Shabbos, [then,] you pray two Shacharis Shemoneh Esreis and during the make-up prayer say Atah Chonantanu, because originally it was instituted that Havdalah be said during Shemoneh Esrei.

7. If you erred at Minchah on Rosh Chodesh by omitting Ya'aleh ve'yavo, and the following day it is not Rosh Chodesh, and as a result, even if you pray two [Shemoneh Esreis] at Maariv, you will gain nothing, since you can no longer say Ya'aleh ve'yavo, and you already prayed once without Ya'aleh ve'yavo, therefore, you do not pray a make-up tefillah at all.

8. Regarding the Musaf prayer—although its time period is the entire day (till nightfall), thereby making Maariv the next tefillah, nevertheless it [musaf] cannot be compensated at night, because the musaf prayer was instituted based on the verse. "Let the offerings of our lips replace bullocks," and once the time has passed the sacrifice can no longer be brought.

9. If you require two Shacharis tefillos or two Minchah tefillos, and you are the chazzan, you fulfill your obligation with the repeating of Shemoneh Esrei aloud.

10. If you are in doubt as to whether or not you prayed, in our time (since a voluntary Shemoneh Esrei is not said) you do not repeat the tefillah.

1. Preface Concerning his many prayers, Moses said of himself: 1) וָאֵשֶׁב בָּהָר אַרְבָּעִים יוֹם—"I sat on the mountain for forty days…" (Deut. 9: 9), 2) וְאָנֹכִי עָמַדְתִּי בָּהָר — "I stood on the mountain …" (Ibid. 10: 10), 3) וָאֶתְנַפַּל לִפְנֵי ה׳ —"I prostrated myself before Adonoy." Jews, symbolically, also assume these three positions during prayer by: 1) sitting before the Amidah (Shemoneh Esrei), 2) standing during the Amidah and 3) נְפִילַת אַפַּיִם (lit. falling on the face) after the Amidah. This is called tachanun (Supplication). (Based on Tur 131).Originally nefilas apayim was performed by entirely prostrating one's body upon the ground while praying and pleading for one's needs. However, with the destruction of the Temple this practice was discouraged. Also, the Talmud (Megillah 22a) states that only a righteous person comparable to Joshua, who is assured of a response to a prayer in this manner, may assume this position in prayer.Therefore, the custom has become to perform nefilas apayim only perfunctorily by sitting and tilting one's head downward (Aruch Hashulchan 131: 4). Upon completing the shemoneh esrei, tachanun is said with nefilas apayim (falling on the face). Idle talk is prohibited between shemoneh esrei and tachanun.

2. During the shacharis [morning prayers] when tefillin are worn on the left hand, [tachanun is said] leaning on the right [hand] out of respect for the tefillin. But at the minchah prayers the leaning is on the left [hand].

3. Nefilas apayim is preferably done while sitting. But, when necessary it may be done while standing. After tachanun Ve'ananchnu lo neida is said. It is preferable that it be said while sitting, afterwards you should stand [and continue] saying: mah na'aseh …

4. Nefilas apayim is done only in a place where a Seifer Torah is present. Where there is no Seifer Torah, even though there are other sacred books there, nefilas apayim is not done but, instead, the psalm is said without nefilas apayim. When praying in the synagogue vestibule and the door to the synagogue is open, it is considered as if the Seifer Torah is there.

5. When praying in the house of a mourner or in the house of the deceased, even if there is no mourner present, tachanun is not said during the seven days of mourning, even at minchah of the seventh day. It is customary, that even if the mourners return home they do not say Tachanun. If a mourner is present in the synagogue [during prayers] the congregation is not drawn after him and they do say tachanun, whereas, the mourner, does not.

6. Tachanun is omitted in a synagogue where a circumcision will take place, or if the father of the child to be circumcised, or the sandik who holds the child at the circumcision; or the mohel is praying there, even if the circumcision will take place at another location. If the minchah prayer is said, in the child's home, before the bris feast or during the feast [there,] too, [tachanun] is omitted. But, if [the mincha] prayer is said after birkas hamazon [tachanun] is said. However, the father of the child, the one holding the child and the mohel do not say [tachanun] even after birkas hamazon because it is their holiday

7. Likewise, [tachanun] is omitted in a synagogue where a groom is present, during all seven days of feasting, provided that the groom was a bochur or the bride a besulah. But if a widower married a widow there are only three days, after which [tachanun] is resumed. On the day of the marriage ceremony [tachanun] is said at shacharis prayers, but at the minchah preceeding the ceremony it is not said.

8. Tachanun is not said on the following days: Rosh Chodesh, the fifteenth of Av, the fifteenth of Shevat, during Chanukah, the two days of greater Purim, the two days of minor Purim, the thirty-third day of the Omer, during the entire month of Nissan, Tishah Be'Av, the days between Yom Kippur and Sukkos, from Rosh Chodesh Sivan until the day following the day after Shavuos, the day following Succos. On all these days tachanun is also not said at minchah on the preceeding days. However, on the day before erev Rosh Hashanah, and on the day before erev Yom Kippur, Tachanun is said at Minchah. On the day before Rosh Hashana [tachanun] is said at selichos, but after that [tachanun] is omitted.

9. On Mondays and Thursdays, are especially favorable days [for prayer] because during the forty days the second luchos were received, Moses ascended on a Thursday and descended on a Monday, therefore, additional supplications are recited and before tachanun, vehu rachum is said. It (vehu rachum) is said standing. It must be said with concentration and with deliberation in a pleading manner. On days when tachanun is omitted it (vehu rachum) is not said.

10. After tachanun [is completed] half-kaddish is said. On Mondays and Thursdays Keil erech apayim is said while standing.