Search results for: ""Kinyan""

Mourners Leading a Minyan

The dead person benefits if his/her son or sons lead public prayer services, whether during shloshim or the entire year (11 or 12 months). However, if the mourner is uncomfortable leading the minyan or is not a good reader or will be embarrassed, he should not feel obligated to do so.

 

A mourner does not lead a minyan on:

  • Shabbat;

  • Jewish Festivals (including chol ha'moed);

  • Purim;

  • Rosh Chodesh.

Opinions differ concerning Chanuka, so follow your local custom.

Burial: Kaddish: Attending Minyan
It is a mitzva to attend the minyan at a burial, but no one needs to interrupt his day in order to do so.
Burial: Kaddish: Having Minyan
It is important, but not critical, to have a minyan at the gravesite so the mourner will be able to say kaddish.
Birkat HaMazon: Eating for Minyan
You may say birkat ha'mazon with a minyan if:
  • At least seven men washed, said ha'motzi, and ate bread, with
  • Enough other men who ate some food (anything other than water or salt) to total 10 men.
NoteIf the 10 men's eating overlapped in time with each other, they MAY say birkat ha'mazon with a minyan. 
If the 10 men began eating at the same time, they MUST say birkat ha'mazon with a minyan.
Saying Hallel with a Minyan
When saying half- and full Hallel:
  • It is preferable to say half-hallel with a minyan.
  • You do not need to say full hallel with a minyan.
 
Prayers that Require a Minyan
Although it is preferable to join a minyan whenever possible, prayer services may be said without a minyan. However, certain prayers may be said (or omitted) only with a minyan present:
  • Bar'chu (morning and night),
  • The word “Eloheinu” in the birkat ha'mazon introduction,
  • Kaddish,
  • Kedusha,
  • Reader's repetition of the amida,
  • Sheva brachot (the seven blessings) at a wedding,
  • Sheva brachot during the week following the wedding,
  • 13 midot in selichot,
  • Torah reading if there will be aliyot, and
  • Skipping the three introductory words for the shema.
Note A minyan is preferable but not required for a circumcision.
Reason for Shiv'a House Minyan
The main reason for a shiv'a house minyan is to allow the male mourners to pray with a minyan and say kaddish, since they may not leave the house.
Birkat HaMazon: Seating for Minyan or Mezuman
You may join with other men to make a minyan or mezuman (a mezuman is any group of 3 or more Jewish men 13 years old or older and so a minyan is also a kind of mezuman) for birkat ha'mazon if, while you are eating:
  • You can see any other tables at which the other men are eating, or
  • You had the same waiter as the other men, even if you could not see the rest of the group (such as in an L-shaped room). 
 
Birkat HaMazon: Eating for Minyan
You may say birkat ha'mazon with a minyan if:
o   At least seven men washed, said ha'motzi, and ate bread, with
o   Enough other men who ate some food (anything other than water or salt) to total 10 men.
Note If the 10 men's eating overlapped in time with each other, they MAY say birkat ha'mazon with a minyan. 
If the 10 men began eating at the same time, they MUST say birkat ha'mazon with a minyan.
When To Pause or Join Minyan: General Prayer Services
Here is when to pause or join the minyan during general prayer services:
  • Ashrei
 You do not need to interrupt your prayers to join the minyan for ashrei.
  • Torah Reading 
 If you are saying the amida, pause only during the actual Torah reading, not during
 the blessings.
  • Kaddish
           During kaddish, you must pause in your amida until the prayer leader finishes the
 line of da'amiran b'alma....  
  • Alenu
  If the minyan says alenu and you are at a part of the prayer service at which you
  are permitted to interrupt, you may join them.
Note It is a proper practice to say alenu with the congregation, even if you have already finished that prayer service.
Reason If you don't, it seems as if you are not accepting ol malchut shamayim.
When To Pause or Join Minyan: Ma'ariv
If the ma'ariv minyan says shema, you must join them for the first two sentences (“Shema, Yisrael…” and “Baruch shem…”), unless you are saying the amida.
When To Pause or Join Minyan: Mincha
During mincha, don't pause at all (such as for kedusha or kaddish) if, by pausing, you will not finish saying your amida before sunset.
When To Pause or Join Minyan: Shabbat/Jewish Festival Shacharit
If the leader gets to kedusha on Shabbat or Jewish festival morning and you are saying the amida, you must:
  • Pause until the leader has finished the blessing after kedusha (ha'el—or ha'melech—ha'kadosh), and then
  • Resume your amida.
During birkat cohanim, you must:
  • Pause in your amida until the end of birkat cohanim.
EXCEPTION Do not pause, even if the leader says kaddish or kedusha, if doing so will delay you past the fourth hour.
When To Pause or Join Minyan: Regular Shacharit
Shema
When the minyan reaches the shema in shacharit:
  • If you are between bar'chu and end of amida, simply:
    • Cover your eyes like everyone else, but don't say the shema line.
  • If you are anywhere else:
    • Pause and, with everyone else, say the first two lines of the shema (Shema, Yisrael… and Baruch shem…), and then
    • Resume where you were.
Reason You may not interrupt your prayer between bar'chu and end of amida.

Amida
Situation  You are saying your amida in a minyan and it is close to the end of the fourth hour of the day.
What To Do  Do not pause, even if the leader says kaddish or kedusha, if doing so will delay you past the fourth hour.
Birkat HaMazon: Women's Mezuman and Minyan
Women (even if 10 or more) do not make a minyan, only a mezuman.  So do not say the birkat ha'mazon's minyan introduction but simply say the mezuman introduction if:
  • 10 or more women ate together, without men present;
  • At least two women washed, said ha'motzi, and ate bread; AND
  • At least one more woman ate some type of food.
Note Women are never required to make a mezuman. So when three women are eating together and no men are present, they may say birkat ha'mazon as a mezuman but they are not required to do so.