Search results for: ""Shi'ur""

On How Much Food To Say Fore-Blessing (Bracha Rishona)
Always say one of the six fore-blessings (bracha rishona) before eating, as long as you expect to get enjoyment or benefit from whatever you ate, even when eating:
  • Less than a minimal quantity (minimal shiur), or
  • Eating a small (kolshehu) amount of food.
Examples
  • Say a fore-blessing before you taste food you are cooking.
  • Say a fore-blessing before you taste a tiny amount of honeysuckle nectar.
Exception Do not say a fore-blessing on water that you drink with medicine.
Shir HaMa'alot as Torah
Saying shir ha'ma'alot before birkat ha'mazon fulfills the custom to say Torah at the meal.
 
Shir HaMa'alot Hinei Bar'chu
Saying shir ha'ma'alot hinei bar'chu... before ma'ariv is a custom of some people, but it is not necessary.
Melave Malka Shir HaMa'alot until Midnight
Say shir ha'ma'alot until midnight (halachic chatzot) if you eat a meal with bread after Shabbat is over, but only if the meal is eaten as a melave malka.

Post-Yom Kippur Meal: Shir HaMa'alot
Shir ha'ma'alot should be said after eating a meal that you began after Yom Kippur ended.
Post-Yom Kippur Meal: Shir HaMa'alot
Shir ha'ma'alot should be said after eating a meal that you began after Yom Kippur ended.
See Fast Days.
Pre-Yom Kippur Meal: Shir HaMa'alot
Shir ha'ma'alot should be said before birkat ha'mazon at the final meal (se'uda ha'mafseket) before Yom Kippur (and also at a meal after Yom Kippur ends).
Shacharit: Psalm of the Day/Shir Shel Yom: Daytime
You may fulfill your requirement of saying Psalm of the Day (shir shel yom) only during the daytime.
Shiv'a: Entering Synagogue Friday Night
A mourner enters the synagogue on Friday evening before Mizmor shir l'yom haShabbat (after the main part of Kabbalat Shabbat has finished).
Reason Mizmor shir is the actual starting point of Shabbat.
The congregation stands and, as the mourners walk in, greets the mourners with “HaMakom yenacheim etchem b'toch she'ar aveilei tzion v'yrushalayim.
Kabbalat Shabbat and Jewish Festivals
Kabbalat Shabbat is mostly omitted when Shabbat falls on:
  • Jewish festivals,
  • Chol ha'moed, and
  • Right after the last day of a Jewish festival
On these days, only Mizmor shir... and Adonai malach... are said.
 
When Shabbat Starts: General
There are many approaches as to when to start Shabbat:

Men
For men, whichever is first:
  • At sunset, or
  • When they light candles intending to begin Shabbat then, or
  • When they say Mizmor shir l'yom haShabbat.

Women
For women, whichever is first:
  • When they light candles intending to begin Shabbat then (most people light 18 minutes before sunset but local customs can vary; e.g., Jerusalem), or
  • In case of urgent need, just before sunset if they have not lit candles.
 
Note Even if a husband has finished ma'ariv for Shabbat, his wife is not required to start Shabbat when he does, and she may still light her candles at the normal candle lighting time. The husband does not need to wait outside until she has lit. However, the ideal situation is for the home to be ready (including table set) by the time the husband has finished ma'ariv and has returned home from synagogue.
 
Community-Wide Considerations
  • If an entire community begins Shabbat at any time earlier than sunset on Friday, EVERYONE must begin Shabbat at that time.
     
  • If there are at least two minyans in any community, no one is required to start Shabbat with the earliest one (but if you associate yourself with one of those minyans, you must follow their custom).
Chanuka: Candles: Lighting on Friday
On Friday of Chanuka, light Shabbat candles after Chanuka candles; at least one Chanuka candle must burn until at least 30 minutes after dark.
If a man forgets to light the Chanuka candles, he may still light them until sunset or until he says Mizmor shir l'yom haShabbat, whichever comes earlier. 
But women start Shabbat when they light the Shabbat candles and so they may not light Chanuka candles after lighting Shabbat candles.
 
Birkat HaMazon Additions for Shabbat and Rosh Chodesh Saturday Night
Situation Rosh Chodesh begins on Saturday night. You started se'uda shlishit and continued to eat--including eating at least 1.3 fl. oz. (39 ml, or 1/6 cup) of bread after dark. It is time for birkat ha'mazon.
What To Do Say birkat ha'mazon additions for Shabbat (shir ha'ma'alot, retzei, migdol yeshuot) AND any others for the next day (such as ya'aleh v'yavo for Rosh Chodesh).
Note If you did not eat at least 1.3 fl. oz. (39 ml, or 1/6 cup) of bread after dark, only say the birkat ha'mazon additions for Shabbat.
 
When To Say Psalm 27/L'David Adonai Ori V'Yish'i
Begin saying L'David Adonai ori v'yish'i (Psalm 27) on the first day (at night) of Elul, not the first day of Rosh Chodesh Elul (the 30th of Av). The last day to say this Psalm is 22nd of Tishrei (Shmini Atzeret). This Psalm is recited twice daily, in shacharit after shir shel yom and in ma'ariv after alenu, including on Shabbat and Jewish festivals.
Introduction to Morning Prayers/Shacharit (Weekday): Order of Prayers
Here is a typical order of waking/morning prayers for weekdays (many people say these blessings at the synagogue instead of at home):
  • Wake
    Wake and wash hands (Three-Times Method).
  • Bathroom
    Take care of any toilet needs, wash your hands (One-Time Method).
    Say blessings al netilat yadayim and asher yatzar (until l'fgarim meitim).
  • Torah Blessings
  Say Torah blessings (from la'asok bi'divrei Torah until talmud Torah ki'negged
  kulam
).
  • Talit Katan
    Put on talit katan (for men).
    Say blessing if not married or if not putting on talit gadol later.
      Note You may put on the talit katan before washing your hands
  • Birchot HaShachar
  Say birchot ha'shachar (from natan la'sechvi…until ven brit) before, or at,
  synagogue.
  • Talit/Tefilin
  Put on:

 

  • Talit (for married men or other men with that custom).
  • Tefilin (for men).
  • L'olam Yihei Adam/Korbanot
   Say:
  • L'olam yihei adam,
  • Short shema,
  • Paragraph ending mekadeish et shimcha ba'rabim,
  • Readings on sacrifices/korbanot,
  • 13 rules.
  • Psukei D'Zimra
  Say:
  • Psalm 30/Mizmor Shir Chanukat habayit.
  • Baruch she'amar through yishtabach (includes ashrei).
  • Bar'chu/Shema/Amida
  Say bar'chu through end of amida (including shema, with two blessings before and
  one after), tachanun (when appropriate) and ashrei through to alenu.
  • Psalms/Alenu
  Say alenu and psalm for the day.
 
Terms To Know
  • Neitz, HaNeitz—Sunrise
  • Alot HaShachar—72 minutes before sunrise
  • MiSheyakir-- 36 minutes before sunrise in New York in winter and 40 minutes in summer. Nearer to the equator, the maximum time is shorter.
Note Even though mi'sheyakir means when there is enough light to identify your friend, it also means when you can differentiate between blue and white threads in the tzitzit, since the mitzva of tzitzit is only during the daytime.

When Things Happen
Before Alot HaShachar (72 minutes before sunrise)
You can put on tzitzit/talit and tefilin without blessings.

Alot HaShachar
You can say:
  • Birchot ha'shachar.
  • Shema and amida, b'di'avad.
Mi'sheyakir (36-40 minutes before sunrise)
You can say:
  • Blessings over tefilin and tzitzit/talit.
  • Shema and amida as necessary.
K'Vatikin
You can say shema l'chatchila--and begin saying the amida exactly at sunrise.

By Third Halachic Hour of the Day
You have until the third halachic hour of the day to say:
  • The blessing mekadeish et shimcha ba'rabim if you want to include the word Adonai.
  • Morning shema.
By Fourth Halachic Hour of the Day
You have until the fourth halachic hour of the day to say any of the prayers from barchu until the end of the amida.

Halachic Mid-Day
You have until halachic mid-day, b'di'avad, to say the shacharit amida.