welcome to the dat minyan! lighting shabbat hazon · pdf file · 2017-07-28israel...

Where Will You Be Tuesday Morning by Rabbi Joseph Friedman

The DAT Minyan is a proud Religious Zionist organization. Of that we can all agree. But what does “Religious Zionist” mean?

Dr. David Berger once wrote, “Poised between the aggressively anti-religious nationalism of mainstream secular Zionists and the passive Messianic faith of the bulk of believing Jews, nineteenth-century Religious Zionism was born on the horns of a dilemma. Embracing both horns, its leaders affirmed the validity of tradition and its divinely-assured Messianic Age, while arguing that human initiative, hardly distinguishable from the behavior of secular nationalists, was crucial to the Redemption of Israel. For some, the redemptive dimension receded, and the religious aspect of their nationalism was expressed in terms of the commandment to settle the Land and the opportunity to establish a state that would function in accordance with the laws of the Torah. Whether the primary religious objective was Messiah or mitzvah, the national arousal of the Jewish people would, they believed, elicit a divine response allowing the fulfillment, in whole or in part, of a millennial dream.” (Jewish Action, Sep 7, 1999)

There is little question that Religious Zionism from its inception, and all the more so since the Six Day War, saw the creation of the State of Israel as a sign of the Atchalta D’Geula, the beginning of the Redemption. The Hand of G-d was at work, returning us to our

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Welcome to the DAT Minyan! Shabbat Chazon (Devarim)

July 29, 2017 - 6 Av, 5777 Joseph Friedman, Rabbi | David Fishman, President

Candle Lighting

Havdalah

8:04pm 9:02pm

Shabbat Schedule

Please help make our prayer service more meaningful by refraining from talking during

the service.

FRIDAY

6:30 pm: Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat/Maariv (Shema should be recited after 9:03 pm)

SHABBAT

Parasha: Page 938 / Haftarah: 195

7:30 am: Hashkama Minyan

Tefillah Warm-up with Ellyn Hutt is cancelled this week but will resume August 19th

9:00 am: Shacharit

Kiddush this week is sponsored by the shul

5:40 pm: SHAWL, our women’s only Shabbat learning program, with guest presenters Sari Horovitz and her granddaughter, Batya Hoffman, discussing “Exploring Women’s Participation in the Beit HaMikdash”

6:30 pm: HS Boys Gemara w/ Nathan Rabinovitch at the Rabinovitch home

6:45 pm Shabbat Afternoon Class with Rabbi Friedman discussing “Here an Og, There an Og, Everywhere an Og, Og: The Importance of the King of Bashan”

7:45 pm: Mincha

Seudah Shlisheet (FLEISHIG) this week is sponsored by the shul, Donny Basch, Mark Raphaely, Rabbi Friedman and one other.

9:02 pm: Maariv / Havdalah

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Weekday Schedule

SHACHARIT Sunday: 8:00 am (followed by breakfast shiur

with Rabbi Friedman on the topic “Yom Hashoah or Tisha B’Av?”

Monday, Wednesday — Friday: 6:35 am Tuesday : 8:00 am

See page 6 of Newsletter for complete Tisha B’Av schedule for Monday night and Tuesday

MINCHA/MAARIV Sunday, Wednesday — Friday: 6:25 pm Monday-Tuesday: See Tisha B’Av Schedule

DAT Minyan is a dynamic and friendly Modern Orthodox synagogue for all ages and dedicated to meaningful personal spiritual development, community growth, youth involvement, Torah education, and Religious Zionism.

DAT Minyan - 6825 E. Alameda Ave. Denver, CO 80224 - 720-941-0479 - www.datminyan.org

Learning Opportunities @ the DAT Minyan

• Kitzur Shulchan Aruch: Daily, after Shacharit

• Mishnayot: Daily, between Mincha and Maariv

• Nefesh HaChaim: Sat & Sun, after Maariv

• Women’s Tuesday Parsha Class: on recess until August 29th

FEATURE ARTICLE

homeland and preparing us for the coming of the Mashiach. However, the whole concept of “Geula,” redemption, presumes the concept of “Galut,” of exile.

You may be thinking, “Of course, there is a concept of Galut! We’re in America! We are in Denver, we were in Poland, we were in the Pale of Settlement, we were in Yemen!” I would respond by stealing from the famous philosophical thought experiment, and ask in return, “If you are in Galut and it doesn’t bother you, are you actually in Galut?” If you don’t feel something spiritually missing from your life living in this admittedly great country, can you really be waiting for the Mashiach? And if you are not really waiting for Mashiach or desiring to live in Israel, can you possibly call yourself a Religious Zionist?

Which brings me to the title of this essay: where will you be on Tuesday morning? This Monday evening begins Tisha B’Av, the saddest, most heartbreaking day of the Jewish calendar. There are other fasts during the year, and on most of them, all we try to do is “get through it.” There is little introspection, little meaningful prayer, or little of anything else which spiritually connects us to the grumbling in our stomach. Tisha B’Av, however, should be different. Tisha B’Av is the day when we should feel Galut in its most profound sense. And if we cannot take the time to recognize the existential tragedy of Galut, we have no business expecting Geula (redemption).

Ideally, each of us would take off the entire day from work in order to use the day as one for introspection and mourning. Minimally, there is a custom to abstain from work until after midday on Tisha B’Av (1:05 pm this year). Rather, the morning should be spent sitting on the floor in shul reciting the many Kinnot (elegies) which have been written over the millennia to mourn the destruction of both Temples, as well as subsequent tragedies which befell the Jewish people on this day.

The problem for most of us is the Kinnot are almost impossible to understand, even if one is fluent in Hebrew. It was not long ago that Tisha B’Av morning consisted of men spending the morning reciting Kinnot by rote, mumbling words they did not understand. Until about 40 years ago, Kinnot booklets were exclusively the cheap, poorly printed white paper booklets, photocopied from the 1904 originals, which seemed to scream out, “Use me and discard me” – and that was how we treated the entire day.

Two things changed all of that: summer camps and Rabbi Yosef Dov HaLevi Soloveitchik, ל‘‘ז . Camps, desperate to keep the attention of hungry, hot, bored kids, began innovating. They started telling stories, putting on skits, using psycho-drama, all with the goal of making the message of Tisha B’Av – how broken we are over loss of our Temple and the reality of Galut – something real and meaningful. The second thing was the Rav’s famous day-long discourses on the Kinnot he would deliver in Boston on Tisha B’Av. Suddenly, these obscure, deeply symbolic and opaque elegies came to life. He uncovered profound meaning in the ancient poetry we had been mumbling for so long, which in turn led to the publication of new Kinnot books – with both translations and commentaries – from publishers like Judaica Press, Soncino, and ArtScroll (most recently, from Koren, as well). Now, any layperson could access the depth of these ancient poems and allow their heart and soul to connect with the authors – people like R’ Yehuda HaLevi, R’ Elazar HaKalir, even the Prophet Jeremiah – and share their pain.

I have spent weeks preparing a full morning of content to make the morning as meaningful and powerful as possible. People who attended last year’s program said they had never experienced Tisha B’Av that way before. Men and women are invited, and we are working on having child-care available. Shacharit starts at 8:00 am, and Kinnot at approximately 9:00 am. I challenge you to stay for at least one hour.

So, where will you be Tuesday morning? Can you give one hour to mourn the destruction of the Temple? Can you give one hour to better appreciate the reality of our Galut, our exile? Can you give one hour to realize just how much we need to be redeemed? I hope to see you there.

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Please help make our prayer service more meaningful by refraining from talking during the service.

DAT MINYAN MEMBER MILESTONES


The DAT Minyan wishes to acknowledge the following milestones* of our members in the coming week:

*These details were obtained from the DAT Minyan database, which contains information provided by the members when they joined. We apologize for any omissions or mistakes. For corrections or additions, please log on to your account and provide the information, or contact

the synagogue office at 720-941-0479.

Refuah Shelayma Please include the following names in your prayers. May each be granted a Refuah Shelayma. Names are kept on the list until the next Rosh Chodesh. Help us keep the list accurate by verifying the necessary details each month on the Cholim Document

at https://goo.gl/aeyJG2.

Ariella Leah bas Yael Meira

Avraham Ben Mirel

Ayelet bas Aliza Yaffa

Baruch ben Dora

Baruch Getzel ha Cohen ben Esther

Borukh ben Eydya

Carmel ben Tirtza

Chaim Tuvia ben Dina

Chana Yetta bat Bryna

Chaya Chanah Elisheva Rivka bat Sarah

Chaya Miriam bat Shoshana

Chaya Orah Bat Sarah

Chaya Sarah bat Tzirel

Devorah Leah bat Chanah

Dinah bat Chayala

Doniel ben Chana

Dovid ben Ita Sheva

Dovid ben Leah

Eitan Naftali ben Yael Bracha

Eliyahu Chaim ha Cohen ben Sara Rifka

Ephraim Ben Henna

Eunice bat Sarah

Faigel bat Shaindel

Feigie bat Sarah

Guy Chaim ben Rita

Hadassh Bat Fruma Rahel

Hillel Yerachmiel ben Ariella

Ida bat Esa

Ilana Dintza bat Ita Mirrel

Ita Sheiva bas Udyah

Kalia bat Miriam

Laizer ben Yaffa

Leah bat Sarah

Leah Devora Kivitiya bat Chaya

Leya bat Sara

Lyudmila bat Roza

Malka bat Sarah

Menachem Yitzchak ben Yisraela

Miriam Tova Chaya bat Chanah

Moshe Feivel ben Rose

Naftali Yisroel ben Yisraela

Nataniel ben Eslisheva

Nechama bat Chaya

Raphael Yotam ben Efrat

Rina bat Lea

Sara Chana bat Shaina

Sarah bat Leebah

Sarah Shoshanna bat Sarah

Shaina Meryl Bat Rivka

Shashi bat Batya Baila

Shifra Hadassah bat Chaya Leah

Shira Chana bat Sara

Shirley Hasia bat Devorah

Shoshana Michal bat Sarah

Shoshanna bat Liora

Shoshanna Bat Smadar

Shoshanna Miriam bat Chanah

Shulamit Leah bat Chava

Tirtza bat Sarah

Tomas ben Galit

Tziporah Rut bat Cissie

Tzvi Gershon ben Shaindel Shaina Raizel

Yaakov Roni ben Margolit

Yehuda Mordechai Shrage ben Roiza Feige

Yehudit bat Leah

Yoel Menucha ben Sarah

Yona Malka bat Pola

Yonatan Zeev ben Netaa

Yosef ben Malka

Zacharya Mordechai ben Miriam

Zev ben Yehudis

Ziporah Sarah Mirrel bat Miriam

This Day In Jewish History - Jul 29 / 6 Av 1656 — Philosopher Baruch Spinoza is excommunicated by the Jewish community of Amsterdam for advocating Apikoros,

abandoning rabbinic traditions and questioning Jewish practices and beliefs. The Jewish elders of Amsterdam issued the excommunication notice against Spinoza for postulating that G-d and nature are equivalent, that the Bible is purely allegorical and that there is no such thing as Divine intervention. Spinoza is known as the "Jewish Atheist," and he is considered the founder of modern biblical criticism.

1772 — The first of the three territorial partitions of Poland is created (the other two occurring in 1793 and 1795) which caused huge changes in the Jewish world. Ukraine went to Russia, Galicia to Austria (which doubled that country’s Jewish population) and Lithuania to Prussia. Each monarch made an effort to integrate and assimilate its Jews into the “State of Order” and central administration, expediting the advance of the movement for Jewish Enlightenment (Haskalah) throughout these countries.

1833 — The British House of Commons votes in favor of the emancipation of the Jews while the House of Lords refuses to do so for another 11 years (1845).

Izzy Gordon-Bennett, Claudia Braunstein, Zev Jankovic, Grace Lampert, Jonathan Prostak, Joshua Rubin, Eric Shafran, Myles Steiner, Emunah Zalkin

Esther Cohen — Wed., 8/2/17 (10 Av)

DAT MINYAN NEWS, EVENTS AND LEARNING


COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS

The Jewish Life Center at Chabad Denver North invites the community to a free screening of the fascinating documentary "Surviving Skokie," in partnership with the Mizel Museum and the Brave Coalition - a Stapleton Non Profit, Sunday July 30th, 10:00 am at the Hanger at Stanley, 2501 Dallas St., in Aurora. The screening will be followed by a discussion with Holocaust Survivor and Denver resident Jack Adler who is featured in the film. Seating is limited and an RSVP is required. Visit tinyurl.com/skokiescreening to reserve tickets or call Penny Nisson at 303-749-5016 for additional information.

Come join R’ Yoel Unger and explore the Haftorahs, known as the Shiva D’Nechemta, “The Seven of Comfort”, that take us from Shabbat Nachamu through Rosh Hashanah, from mourning to rebuilding. This four-part bi-weekly shiur will take place at Merkaz, 295 S. Locust, from 8 – 9 pm, on Thursdays, August 3rd, 17th, 31st, and September 14th. Shiurim are open to men and women.

The Denver Community Kollel invites the entire community, to a kumzitz on Motzoei Shabbos Nachamu, August 5th, 9:45 pm, at the Kollel West Denver Bais Medrash, 1395 Wolff St. Live music, inspirational singing, divrei Torah and refreshments. For men and women.

Americans Against Terrorism, along with B'nai B'rith Denver, is presenting a riveting talk by a Muslim Woman Who Dares to Speak Out: Raheel Raza. Hear Raheel on Sunday August 6th at 4:30 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center, 350 South Dahlia Street, Denver, in the Perlmutter Room.

Save-the-Date of Sunday, August 13th, 7:00 pm at BMH-BJ for an exclusive evening with Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, who will share his personal riveting drama of torment, survival and renewal from life as a child survivor of Buchenwald to becoming Chief Rabbi of Israel. To purchase tickets online, please visit https://denverjewishcentercom.clhosting.org/templates/articlecco_cdo/aid/3739286/jewish/Exclusive-Evening-with-Rabbi-Lau.htm.

Jewish National Fund Mountain States invites the community to a program on Tuesday, August 15th, with Lt. Colonel (Res.) Tiran Attia, Director of Special in Uniform, a unique program which integrates young men and women with disabilities into the Israel Defense Forces. The program takes place at Temple Sinai, 3509 S. Glencoe St., at 7:00 pm. This is a free program but an RSVP is required by August 9th at jnf.org/denvertiran17 or by calling 303-573-7095 ext.968.

Work is underway designing our davening space at BMH-BJ for the High Holidays. We would greatly appreciate some help with decorating the space to enhance the ambiance. If you can assist us, please contact the shul office at 720-941-0479.

Our Social Committee, under the leadership of our new Chairs, James and Ramona Harris, has put together a full calendar of events for the New Year. Just to highlight a couple of them, please SAVE-THE-DATES of Sunday, September 10th for an End -of-Summer Event, and Sunday, January 21st for our Annual Event. More information coming soon!

Minutes from the last Board of Trustees meeting can be viewed online at https://images.shulcloud.com/395/uploads/Documents/BoardMinutes/Thursday-July-13-2017DAT-Board-Notes.pdf

Thank-you to all of those who contribute to our Shabbat services by signing up to help with our weekly leining. We remain in need of continued help with this and all able-lainers are encouraged to please volunteer! In addition, with a goal of expanding our roster of Haftarah readers, we have now opened up the weekly Haftarah portions for sign-up as well. The sign-up website is www.datminyan.org/laining. Please contact Steve Hutt for questions and additional information.

Looking for a way to make your donation to the shul really go the distance? We can use your Frequent Flyer miles to fly in our Scholars in Residence, saving the shul a great deal of money! Please contact the synagogue office to make a mileage donation.

Your help in maintaining the order of our DAT Minyan davening space is most appreciated. With seating sometimes challenging, please utilize the tables in the hallway for your tallit bags and other items that may require storage during davening. Please make every effort to retrieve these items after davening and motzei Shabbat. The tables are removed after Shabbat and we cannot be responsible for items that are left with us. Similarly, we thank you for helping us by returning chumashim and siddurim to the bookshelves from which you found them at the conclusion of davening.

Rabbi Tuvia Negreann, a Denver native, is an expert Sofer specializing in writing and checking Mezuzot, Tefillin, and Megilot. For a testimonial of his services, feel free to speak with Aryeh Fischer as Rabbi Negreann served as the Sofer for Ezra Fischer’s Tefillin. Rabbi Negreann’s contact information is 720-271-5555 or [email protected].


Attention Incoming 8th Graders and Up

We are looking for new Advisors for next years’ groups.

If you are interested in working or subbing, please email Mor at

[email protected]

MORE DAT MINYAN EVENTS AND LEARNING

Rabbi Reuven Taragin and Rabbanit Shani Taragin

Shabbat, August 4th and 5th

We welcome Rabbi Reuven Taragin and his wife Rabbanit Shani Taragin to the DAT Community on the Shabbat of August 4 — 5 for a series of inspiring presentations. Rabbi Taragin is the Dean of Overseas Students at Yeshivat Hakotel in Jerusalem. He is well-known for his shiurim in Gemara, Tanach and Machshava, his meaningful talks, signature tisches and the personal

advice he gives to talmidim. Shani Taragin is the Coordinator of the Intensive Tanach Track for post-high school students in Midreshet Lindenbaum. She lectures throughout Israel, serves on the first women’s hotline to deal with issues of Jewish law and is currently pursuing her Ph.D in Tanach. To help sponsor this Scholar-in-Residence Shabbat, please visit our donation webpage at www.datminyan.org/form/taragin/sir4aug17.

Our thanks to Josh and Mara Baraban for their generous donation of books and toys to the Shabbat Youth Groups. For donations to the Youth Program, please contact Mor at [email protected] .

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS Thursday, August 3rd

· 7:30 pm : DAT Minyan Beit Midrash night in shul with source sheets provided by Taragins in advance of their shiurim

Friday, August 4th

· 6:25 pm: Mincha/Maariv, Rabbi Taragin will give a drasha following Kabbalat Shabbat

· 9:30 pm: Outdoor Oneg Shabbat at the Rabinovitch home , 151 S. Olive St., with singing and Q&A.

Shabbat Day, August 5th

· 9:00 am: Davening main minyan, after which Rabbanit Taragin will give the drasha, entitled: “Mesorah & Mesirut - Continuity & Commitment”

· 5:30 pm: Rabbanit Taragin will present a shiur on the subject of “Yerushalayim: Who Chooses Whom?”

· 6:30 pm : Rabbi Taragin will present a shiur entitled “Who Will Be The Zeidies of Our Children? How To Get Our Children To Identify With Their Past.”

· 7:40 pm: Mincha, followed by Seudah Shlishit at which Rabbi Taragin will discuss “How To Live a Life Without Worries: A Reading of Rav Nachman MiBreslov”

SUMMER GUEST SPEAKERS AT THE DAT MINYAN

TISHA B’AV SCHEDULE—5777/2017

Monday evening, July 31

6:30 pm: Mincha

After Mincha: Return home for Seudah HaMafseket

8:13 pm: Fast begins (no more eating)

8:30 pm: Maariv, Eicha and Kinnot at shul

Tuesday, August 1

8:00 am: Shacharit followed by morning-long Kinnot Program

1:05 pm: Chatzot (Halachic midday)

Afternoon schedule (subject to change)

1:10 pm: Beit Midrash Program: the story of Kamtza and Bar Kamtza 3:00 - 4:00 pm: Rabbi Fohrman: “Tisha B’Av: Is This Ancient Tragedy Still Meaningful?” 4:10 - 5:55 pm: Rabbi Fohrman: “Tisha B'Av and Mashiach: What Mourning Says About Our Destiny” 6:00 – 7:00 pm: “Pikuach Nefesh”: The dramatic and neglected stories of two of the great heroes during the

Holocaust, Rav Michoel Ber Weissmandl, ל“ז , of Nitra and Rav Shlomo Schonfeld, ל“ז , of the Kindertransport.

7:05 – 7:40 pm: Rabbi J.J. Schacter: “From Tragedy To Rebirth: Reflections On Seventy Years After The Shoah”

7:45 pm: Mincha (Tallit/Tefillin)

8:20 pm: Closing Thoughts

8:35 pm: Maariv/Kiddush Levana

8:58 pm: Fast ends


THE NINE DAYS AND TISHA B’AV

Rabbi Joseph Friedman, DAT Minyan

The laws of Aveilut, of mourning, guide the individual from a period of the most intense mourning – immediately following the loss of a loved one – felt, through stages of decreasing intensity as the pain of the loss abates. Beginning with the burial, the profound grieving of Shivah is followed by the subtler sadness of the Sheloshim, which in turn is muted further during the Yud-Bet Chodesh, the year-long observance of mourning for the loss of a parent. Rav Soloveitchik, ל“ז , famously explained that each summer, as we mourn the destruction of both Temples, our rabbis reversed the usual pattern of mourning for us. As we did not personally experience the destructions, we have to “reconstruct” the mourning process. Instead of lessening our mourning as time goes on, we gradually increase the intensity of our sadness, beginning with the fast of Shivah Asar B’Tammuz and culminating three weeks later with the deep mourning of Tishah B’Av (Monday evening, July 31 - Tuesday, August 1). Just as there are three significant stages of personal mourning (Shiva, Shloshim, Yud Bet Chodesh, or the year), so are there three stages in the communal mourning for the Temples. In each, our expressions of mourning become more apparent: 1. Shivah Asar B’Tammuz: The 17th of Tammuz (observed on July 11th), commemorates – among other things – the Roman army’s

breach of Jerusalem’s walls, and the beginning of the Second Temple’s destruction. Starting from this day, we do not hold weddings or take haircuts. We also avoid saying the SheHecheyanu blessing, and therefore refrain from eating new fruits and buying or wearing expensive new clothing. On each Shabbat during this period, we read a haftarah which expresses these themes and warnings of destruction.

2. Rosh Chodesh Av: The Gemara Ta’anit 26b teaches us, “MiSheNichnas Av, M’Ma’atim B’Simcha – when the month of Av begins, we decrease our joy.” Av is the month in which – among other things – both Temples were destroyed. Consequently, the restrictions which began on the 17th of Tamuz are increased (see laws on next page).

3. Tisha B’Av: Our mourning reaches its apex on Tishah B’Av itself. Jewish History has singled out this day for catastrophe; besides the destruction of both Temples, the 9th of Av commemorates many other tragic events:

The horrible report of the Meraglim, the spies who were sent to reconnoiter the Land of Israel.

During the Great Revolt and the subsequent Bar Kochba revolt against the Roman Empire, it is estimated some 2,500,000 Jews died as a result of battle, famine and disease. Over 1,000,000 Jews were exiled throughout the Roman Empire. Over 100,000 Jews were sold as slaves by Romans, and countless Jews were killed and tortured in gladiatorial games and other pagan celebrations.

The Romans plowed over Temple Mount

The First Crusade was declared by Pope Urban II in 1095. Some 10,000 Jews were killed in just the first month of the First Crusade. The Crusades brought death and destruction to thousands of Jews, totally obliterating many communities in the Rhineland and France.

The Jews were expelled from England in 1290 CE, an event which was accompanied by bloody pogroms and book burnings.

The Expulsion from Spain in 1492

The beginning of World War I in 1914, a war in which 75% of world Jewry lived in the war zone. Jews fought in the armies of both sides, often fighting and killing each other. There were 120,000 Jewish military casualties. Over 400 pogroms immediately followed the war in Hungary, Ukraine, Poland and Russia.

The deportations from the Warsaw Ghetto in 1942 to the Treblinka concentration camp began.

In 1994, the deadly bombing of the AMIA (the Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, Argentina), which killed 86 people and wounded some 300 others.

The Gemarah Ta’anit 30a teaches us, “Whoever mourns over Jerusalem shall merit witnessing its rejoicing.” May our observance of this sad time enable us to merit greeting Tishah B’Av in the future with rejoicing at the rebuilding of the Temple and the return of God’s presence to our midst.

LAWS OF TISHA B’AV THE WEEK OF TISHA B'AV – “Shavua SheChal Bo” (begins Saturday night. July 29)

• Even if one had been shaving up until this time for business purposes, it is forbidden to shave or take a haircut from this point, even if it will have a negative effect on one’s business.

• It is forbidden to wash clothing except for infants’ clothing (2-3 year olds) which constantly become soiled.

• Many Poskim forbid cutting nails with an instrument, except for a woman before Tevila. Biting/pulling with fingers is always permitted.

EREV TISHA B'AV (Monday, July 31)

• Prior to the fast one should eat a regular meal so as to be properly prepared to fast.

• Following this meal, close to the fast one should eat the Seuda Hamafsekes. LAWS REGARDING SEUDA HAMAFSEKET Regardless of the foods that a person eats on Erev Tisha B’Av to prepare for the fast, the last meal before the fast begins, the


TISHA B’AV

• Seuda Hamafseket, has specific guidelines:

It is prohibited to consume more than 1 cooked dish during this meal. Therefore, after whatever pre-fast foods are eaten (with a bracha achrona), one should break for a short while, then wash Hamotzee and eat bread and hardboiled egg [according to Ashkenazi minhag] followed by Birkat Hamazon.

At the outset of the meal one should say “This is Seudat Tisha B’Av.”

Spreads/dips should not be put on the bread [since they are often cooked/pasteurized, they may constitute a second cooked dish, which is prohibited].

It is proper to dip the bread into ashes.

This meal should be eaten on the floor, although after bentching, one may sit on regular chairs until the fast begins.

Leather shoes can be worn during the meal.

The meal should not be eaten as a family/group, but each individual should eat alone.

After one finishes eating the bread & egg and bentches, it IS PERMITTED to continue eating snacks/fruits/drinks [just not a full meal] until the fast begins, EVEN if one did NOT have in mind to continue eating. Only if one said that they will not eat anymore, or that they accept the fast, is eating prohibited. 8. It is, nevertheless, proper to think or say “I may eat more,” before bentching.

TISHA B'AV (Monday evening, July 31)

• A woman who gave birth is exempt from fasting for 30 days after the actual birth.

• Pregnant and nursing mothers (who are in good health) should begin fasting. If in the duration of the fast they feel ill, faint, exceedingly weak, they may eat regularly (especially this year, when Tisha B’Av is pushed off). If there are any specific circumstances, please consult Rabbi Friedman prior to the fast.

For more on the topic, please see this excellent article from Nishmat: http://www.yoatzot.org/life-cycle/?id=620

• One suffering from even minor pain may swallow a Tylenol or Ibuprofen pill, etc. preferably without water. If a minimal amount of water is needed, it is permitted.

• It is forbidden to wear shoes or sneakers that contain any leather in their construction; ornamental strips of leather are permitted.

• It is forbidden to wash any part of one's body, even with cold water.

• Upon awaking in the morning, or after using the washroom, one should wash one’s hands three times to the end of the knuckles.

• There is no prohibition to wash any part of the body that becomes soiled with dirt. Similarly, anyone preparing food for after the fast may wash food even if their hands will get wet.

• If one is accustomed to sleep with two pillows, he should only use one pillow.

• Sitting on a chair is permissible after midday, which this year is 1:05 pm. This does not apply to the seats in one’s car.

• A woman who recently gave birth, or is pregnant or nursing, and finds it difficult to sit on a low chair may sit on a regular chair even on the night of Tisha B’Av.

• An older person or one who is not feeling well, who has difficulty sitting on a low chair may sit on a regular chair.

• One does not greet another on Tisha B'Av. If you are greeted by someone, you should nod your head in response or respond softly, thus indicating that regular greeting is not permissible. It is, however, permissible to wish a family member or child good night or to wish a Refuah Shleimah – even Mazal Tov – on Tisha B’Av.

• Perfume/cologne is not allowed. Anti-perspirants/deoderants are permitted to prevent unpleasant odors.

• Women should not apply make up on Tisha B’Av.

• Using mouthwash or brushing one's teeth is not permitted on Tisha B'Av (this is not a function of the prohibition of eating; it is function of the prohibition of washing).

• Housework (e.g. cleaning floors, making beds, washing dishes, etc.) should not be done prior to midday; grocery shopping for after the fast is permitted before midday.

• Our focus should be on the theme of Tisha B’Av - mourning the destruction of our Temples, and the subsequent ravages of the Galut from which we still suffer today. As a result, it is inappropriate to play games, watch TV, read novels or magazines of any type.

• One who is accustomed to saying chapters of Tehilim may do so after midday. Tehilim for a Choleh may be said at any time throughout the day.

AFTER TISHA B'AV

• Since the fires of destruction burned on the tenth of Av, the following prohibitions extend until Chatzot (1:05 pm) of Motazei Tisha B’Av: meat, wine, music, showering, haircuts, laundry, cutting nails.

• There is no special havdala said when Tisha B’Av falls out on a weekday.