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Amida: Someone Praying
Don't cross within 7 feet (4 amot, or 2.1 m) in front of someone who is saying the amida, even if there is an intervening chair or other furniture in front of the person who is praying. If you finish before someone who is directly behind you, you must wait for the person to finish his or her amida before you step directly back. However, you may step back on an angle so that you do not end up in front of the person who was behind you.
Distance
1 Mil = 0.7 miles (1.2 km) = 2000 amot
4 Milin = 1 parsa
1 Parsa = 4 mil = 2.8 miles (4.5 km)
Dalet Amot (4 cubits) = about 7 feet—minimum, 7 feet, 1 inch" (2.2 m); maximum, 8 feet (2.4 m)--but an entire dwelling may be considered your personal (halachic) dalet amot.
4 Milin = 1 parsa
1 Parsa = 4 mil = 2.8 miles (4.5 km)
Dalet Amot (4 cubits) = about 7 feet—minimum, 7 feet, 1 inch" (2.2 m); maximum, 8 feet (2.4 m)--but an entire dwelling may be considered your personal (halachic) dalet amot.
Tum'a: Walking before Handwashing
You should not walk 4 amot (6'10”, or 2.1 m) before washing hands after sleeping more than 30 minutes etc., but the entire house may be considered 4 amot (in the sense of being your “domain” or personal space).
Suicide
Someone who commits suicide may not be buried within 8 amot of other Jews in a Jewish cemetery. If the person had emotional problems, consult a rabbi.
Prayer near Feces
Don't say prayers or blessings within 6'7” (4 amot, or 2 m) (in any direction except in front of you) of any feces—human or animal—unless:
- They have no odor, or
- They are covered by something and you cannot smell them.
Note If there are no feces in front of you as far as you can see, assume that none are there.
Measurements for Buildings as Eruv Border
Buildings in a row, more than 10 amot (about 17.5 feet or about 5.3 m) wide and less than 10 amot (about 17.5 feet or about 5.3 m) from the adjacent buildings, constitute one eruv border for a domain and no eruv is needed on that side.
Tum'a within Cemetery
Ritual impurity (tum'a) in a cemetery comes from being within 4 amot (7 feet) of a grave. This is horizontal distance, regardless of how deep the body is buried.
Note A cohen may be in a cemetery as long as he does not get closer than 4 amot (7 feet) to any grave and he does not stand under any tree which extends over a grave.
Burial: Kaddish: Version of Kaddish
Kaddish is recited near the grave but at least 4 amot (7 feet) away from the nearest grave:
- If the son of the dead person is present and the burial occurred on a day when tachanun is normally said, the version of kaddish recited is the same as for a siyum (celebration of completing studying part of mishnayot or other holy books).
- If there is no son of the dead person present or if it is not a day when tachanun is said, then the version of kaddish recited is the normal mourner's kaddish.
Responding to Prayer Leader before Elohai Netzur
Situation You have finished saying the final amida blessing “...ha'mevareich et amo Yisrael ba'shalom,” but you have not yet said Elohai neztur.... You now need to respond to the prayer leader when he says kaddish, kedusha, blessings, or modim.
What To Do Quickly say the line “Yihiyu l'ratzon imrei phi....” and then you may reply to all parts of the public prayer, except that you may not say “Baruch hu u'varuch shemo.” Then you may say Elohai netzur.
Note If you need to say the mourner's kaddish, say the entire line of Yihiyu l'ratzon imrei phi and then say mourner's kaddish. You may step back at Oseh shalom in kaddish and then, after completing saying kaddish, you may say Elohai netzur.
What To Do Quickly say the line “Yihiyu l'ratzon imrei phi....” and then you may reply to all parts of the public prayer, except that you may not say “Baruch hu u'varuch shemo.” Then you may say Elohai netzur.
Note If you need to say the mourner's kaddish, say the entire line of Yihiyu l'ratzon imrei phi and then say mourner's kaddish. You may step back at Oseh shalom in kaddish and then, after completing saying kaddish, you may say Elohai netzur.
Moving Items in Legal Public Area (Reshut HaRabim)
In a halachically public area (reshut ha'rabim) with no eruv, on Shabbat you may move a stationary object up to 4 amot (6'9 1/2", or about 2 meters) from the place where you find it. If you are already transporting the object when you realize it, do whichever one of the following applies:
Situation You are walking on Shabbat in a public domain (reshut ha'rabim) that does not have an eruv and find something in your pocket.
What To Do
Situation You are walking on Shabbat in a public domain (reshut ha'rabim) that does not have an eruv and find something in your pocket.
What To Do
- If you were walking and are still walking, go back to the most recent private domain and leave the item there. (If you cannot reasonably get back to where that was, continue to your destination and drop the item inside the first private domain you reach.)
- If you have already stopped walking, drop the item where you are.
- If you had stopped walking and then resumed walking, drop the item where you are.
Sukka: Dimensions: Minimum/Maximum
- A sukka must have at least three walls, but one of those walls may be as little as 1 tefach wide.
- A round sukka must extend to at least 270 degrees.
- Sukka height: More than 10 tefachim (40” or 1 m) high and less than 20 amot (33'4” or 10 m) tall.
- Minimum sukka width: 7 tefachim x 7 tefachim (28” x 28” or 71.1 cm x 71.1 cm).
- Maximum wall-to-ground gap for sukka: walls must be within 3 tefachim, or 10 ½” (27 cm) of the ground.
- Maximum permissible angle (slope) of a roof on a sukka is less than 45 degrees from horizontal.
- Schach: Must cover the sukka so that there is more shade than sun when the sun is directly overhead and must have at least enough space between the schach elements for rain to penetrate.
Amount of Gap in Eruv Border
Eruv walls must total more than 50\% of the eruv border on each side, so that most of the expanse of the eruv is enclosed, either by an actual wall or by the form of a doorway (tzurat ha'petach), with no gate or gap over 10 amot (about 16' 8”, or 5 m) wide.
Note In order to count as part of a border for a private domain, any doorway, gateway, archway, etc., must be intended to be a doorway, gateway, archway, etc.--and not there merely for decoration or function (as in supporting something above).
Note In order to count as part of a border for a private domain, any doorway, gateway, archway, etc., must be intended to be a doorway, gateway, archway, etc.--and not there merely for decoration or function (as in supporting something above).
Don't Answer Amen within 2.5 Seconds
Don't answer amen if you finish a prayer or blessing within 2.5 seconds after the prayer leader (cantor) finishes the same prayer or blessing as you are saying. However, in these three cases, you may say amen, even if you finish exactly together with the leader:
- End of yishtabach;
- End of Hallel;
- Ma'ariv's shomer amo yisrael la'ad.
Interrupting Your Amida To Say Amen
When saying the amida yourself, do not say amen or any other replies to the prayer leader's repetition. If he says kedusha or kaddish:
- Pause in your own amida and listen without answering or saying anything.
- Once the leader has finished kedusha or kaddish, resume your private amida.
Exception If you finish the final blessing of the amida (“...Ha'mevareich et amo yisrael ba'shalom”) as the leader starts to say the kedusha, and you want to respond along with the congregation:
- Quickly say the line, “Yihiyu l'ratzon ....,”
- Reply to the entire kedusha (kadosh, amen, and any other words that are said by the congregation) as if you had finished the amida.
- Once the leader has said the final blessing of kedusha, say “elohai netzur….”
Women: Minimum to Pray
The minimum amount of prayer that women and girls 12 years old and up must say varies according to several opinions:
-
Opinion that RMH approves of:
- Birchot ha'shachar (from al netilat yadaim--to u'maflee la'asot)
- Birchot haTorah (from la'asok b'divrei Torah--to notein haTorah)
- Yevarechecha/Eilu divarim she'ein/Eilu divarim she'adam
- Elohai neshama
- Asher natan 'sechvi... gomel chasadim tovim l'amo Yisrael
- Shema (first line of shema plus Baruch shem kevod malchuto l'olam va'ed)
- If they choose to say the morning amida, they should precede it with emet, v'yatziv until ga'al yisrael.
- Ramban: Women should say at least the amida of shacharit and of mincha.
- Another opinion: Women must say some prayer every day (but it may be any type of prayer, not only the fixed prayer services).
- Another opinion: Women do not need to say the amida and emet v'yatziv on Shabbat and Jewish festivals (that is, whenever we are not asking for anything).
- Women who have small children who require the mother's constant attention should not say any prayers except for birchot ha'shachar and birchot haTorah.