Search results for: ""Jewish festival""
Jewish Festivals: Tablecloth
A tablecloth should cover the table during Jewish festival meals, but you may remove and switch tablecloths. Even if you have a beautiful and valuable table, you should still cover it for Jewish festival (and Shabbat) meals.
Jewish Festivals: Hair Brushing
You may brush your hair on a Jewish festival, but only if the brush bristles bend easily. You may not use stiff bristles or combs since they might pull out some hair.
Note Using a special brush for Jewish festivals (and Shabbat) is recommended but not required.
Jewish Festivals: Candles: Earliest Time To Light
You may not light Jewish festival (or Shabbat) candles before plag ha'mincha. The candles must burn until at least dark (tzeit ha'kochavim) and someone must be there to see the light from the candles after dark.
SITUATION Mincha minyan begins at plag ha'mincha. You cannot light candles at home and still get to mincha minyan on time.
WHAT TO DO You may light a candle without a blessing, just so you can have a flame for after the festival has begun. You go to synagogue and after ma'ariv you return home and light the candles from the flame which was burning from before sunset. If you will not have a flame burning from before sunset, you must say mincha on your own (anytime from half an hour after mid-day until sunset). You will light candles after plag ha'mincha but before sunset and not join the mincha minyan. Women should skip mincha and light candles either 18 minutes before sunset or have a flame burning from before sunset and light candles from that flame once the festival has begun (but she may not light from a new flame or a match).
SITUATION Mincha minyan begins at plag ha'mincha. You cannot light candles at home and still get to mincha minyan on time.
WHAT TO DO You may light a candle without a blessing, just so you can have a flame for after the festival has begun. You go to synagogue and after ma'ariv you return home and light the candles from the flame which was burning from before sunset. If you will not have a flame burning from before sunset, you must say mincha on your own (anytime from half an hour after mid-day until sunset). You will light candles after plag ha'mincha but before sunset and not join the mincha minyan. Women should skip mincha and light candles either 18 minutes before sunset or have a flame burning from before sunset and light candles from that flame once the festival has begun (but she may not light from a new flame or a match).
Jewish Festivals: Candles: Have Others in Mind
Whoever is lighting the Jewish festival candles should have in mind all other people who will be eating dinner in that home.
Women: Who May Make Kiddush
For women's obligation to say or hear Jewish festival morning kiddush, see Jewish Festivals: Kiddush: Who May Make.
Shabbat: Candles: Lighting with Wrong Blessing
If you said the blessing for Jewish festival candles instead of for Shabbat candles:
- Women may not correct themselves, but
- Men may say the correct blessing and light the candles.
Note If the man has already lit the candles before realizing that he had said the incorrect blessing, he should:
- Extinguish the candles,
- Say the correct blessing, and then
- Light again (assuming he has not yet started Shabbat and that it is not yet sunset).
Shabbat: Candles: Earliest Time To Light
You may not light Shabbat (or Jewish festival) candles before plag ha'mincha. The candles must burn until at least dark (tzeit ha'kochavim) and someone must be there to see the light from the candles after dark.
SITUATION Mincha minyan begins at plag ha'mincha. You cannot light candles at home and still get to mincha minyan on time.
WHAT TO DO You must say mincha on your own (anytime from half an hour after mid-day until sunset). You will light candles after plag ha'mincha but before sunset and not join the mincha minyan.
SITUATION Mincha minyan begins at plag ha'mincha. You cannot light candles at home and still get to mincha minyan on time.
WHAT TO DO You must say mincha on your own (anytime from half an hour after mid-day until sunset). You will light candles after plag ha'mincha but before sunset and not join the mincha minyan.
Shiv'a and Shloshim: Ended by Jewish Festivals
Shiv'a ends if a Jewish festival, Rosh Hashana, or Yom Kippur intervenes.
Shloshim ends if a Jewish festival, Rosh Hashana, or Yom Kippur intervenes.
If two of those holidays occur within the first seven days after burial, the first one will break shiv'a and the second one will break shloshim.
Shimini Atseret does not constitute a second day for breaking shiv'a or shloshim (it is considered to be part of Sukkot for this purpose).
Shloshim ends if a Jewish festival, Rosh Hashana, or Yom Kippur intervenes.
If two of those holidays occur within the first seven days after burial, the first one will break shiv'a and the second one will break shloshim.
Shimini Atseret does not constitute a second day for breaking shiv'a or shloshim (it is considered to be part of Sukkot for this purpose).
Shomer for Several Days
When a person dies on Shabbat or a Jewish festival, a watcher (shomer) should still be present until burial, even if there will be a delay of several days.
Jewish Festivals: Kiddush: Drinking Cheekful
As on Shabbat, the minimum total volume of Jewish festival kiddush beverage that must be drunk--usually by the kiddush-maker (mevareich) but it may even be several people combined--is a cheekful (m'lo lugmov)—considered to be 2 fl. oz. (59 ml) within 30 seconds.
Note If no one drinks the kiddush beverage, the commandment to say or hear kiddush has not been fulfilled.
Note Although you must drink at least a cheekful to fulfill kiddush, you must drink at least 4 fl. oz. (119 ml) within 30 seconds in order to say the after-blessing.
Note Although you must drink at least a cheekful to fulfill kiddush, you must drink at least 4 fl. oz. (119 ml) within 30 seconds in order to say the after-blessing.
Jewish Festivals: Earliest Mincha
The earliest permissible time to say mincha before a Jewish festival is one-half hour after halachic midday, as with all mincha prayers including before Shabbat.
Note You may begin the second day of any Jewish festival as early as plag ha'mincha. You should ideally say mincha before plag and then say ma'ariv after plag; but if you are praying with a minyan, you may say mincha anytime after plag and then say ma'ariv immediately afterward, just as on Shabbat.
Note However, there is nothing gained by saying mincha early before a Jewish festival:
Note However, there is nothing gained by saying mincha early before a Jewish festival:
- We don't want to start Rosh Hashana (Yom HaDin) early and no one wants to start Yom Kippur early.
- You may not start either seder until after dark on Passover.
- You could eat in a sukka before dark on either of the first two days of Sukkot, but you would not fulfill the requirement of eating in a sukka since it was not dark.
- Likewise, the first day of Shavuot does not begin until after dark.
- Since you may not say the blessing on eating in a sukka on Shmini Atzeret (which you would have to do if you eat before dark), there is nothing gained by saying mincha and ma'ariv early on that day, either.
Jewish Festivals: Candles: How Many To Light when Eating Elsewhere
A wife lighting Jewish festival candles in a place other than her own home lights only two candles, even if she normally lights more than two candles in her own home. This is a non-binding custom, not a halacha.
Donation after Aliya
If you receive an aliya to the Torah on Shabbat and Jewish festival mornings, it is customary give a donation to the synagogue, but you are not required to do so by halacha (and you may not give the donation ON Shabbat!).
Note A synagogue may request a donation on Shabbat or Jewish festivals from someone who has received an aliya on Shabbat and may give that person a card to mail in after Shabbat has ended.
Note There is no expectation of giving a donation for aliyot on weekdays or at mincha on Shabbat.
Note There is no expectation of giving a donation for aliyot on weekdays or at mincha on Shabbat.
Jewish Festivals: Flashlight On before Festival
If you turn on a flashlight before a Jewish festival starts, you may carry the flashlight with you if you need the light.
Jewish Festivals: Musaf: Additions for Sacrifices: Sukkot: Outside Eretz Yisrael
Since two days of Jewish festival are observed outside of Eretz Yisrael, read the lines for the sacrifice for both days that might have been the correct day.
Exception On second day of Sukkot, repeat the same lines said on the first day.
Example On the 4th day of Sukkot (the 2nd day of chol ha'moed), say the lines for the 3rd day and 4th day. On Shimini Atzeret, say only the lines for Shmini Atzeret.
Example On the 4th day of Sukkot (the 2nd day of chol ha'moed), say the lines for the 3rd day and 4th day. On Shimini Atzeret, say only the lines for Shmini Atzeret.