DailyHalacha.com for Mobile Devices Now Available

Halacha is In Memory of
 Mashiach Ben Mirza Agha Z"TL
"Waffelino - The Waffle Bar (516) 792 - 3973 www.waffelino.com"

Dedicated By
Mikael, Marcel & Maurice Kavian

Click Here to Sponsor Daily Halacha
      
(File size: 622 KB)
Chanukah- Fasting, Eulogies and Mourning on Chanukah

Halacha forbids observing a fast on any of the eight days of Chanukah, with the exception of a Ta'anit Halom, meaning, a fast observed in response to a inauspicious dream. If one feels very disturbed by a bad dream, he may fast that day (that is, from the morning after experiencing this dream), even if it is Chanukah. However, given the impropriety of fasting during Chanukah, he must then observe another fast after Chanukah to atone for having fasted on Chanukah. This applies to Shabbat, as well: one who dreams a frightening dream on Friday night and is disturbed by it may fast that Shabbat, but he must then observe another fast to atone for having fasted on Shabbat.

People who follow the laudable practice – which is recorded by Rav Pinchasi, in his work "Chayim Va'chesed" – to fast on the Yartzheit of a parent may not do so if the Yartzheit falls during Chanukah. They must instead observe the fast either before or after Chanukah.

One may not deliver a eulogy during Chanukah, except at the funeral of a Torah scholar. The eulogies customarily delivered at the conclusion of the seven-day and thirty-day mourning periods, or on the Yartzheit, are forbidden during Chanukah. If these ceremonies are held on Chanukah, the rabbis and other speakers should limit themselves to words of Torah, and must not eulogize the deceased individual.

Visits to relatives' gravesites are also forbidden during Chanukah.

All these prohibitions apply only on the actual eight days of Chanukah. On the day prior to Chanukah and on the day immediately following Chanukah, one may observe a fast, deliver a eulogy and visit a cemetery. There is no concept of "Isru Chag" (a quasi festival observed on the day following a festival) with respect to Chanukah as there is regarding other festivals.

All laws of mourning apply on Chanukah. Unlike most festivals, which suspend or cancel the observance of mourning, Chanukah does not interfere at all with any of the traditional mourning practices. Keri'a (rending garments) and all other observances related to mourning, including the recitation of Kadish, apply on Chanukah just as on any other day.

 


Recent Daily Halachot...
Reciting Arbit Before Sunset When Praying Privately
Is It Permissible To Pray Arbit B'Yachid Early Before Sunset
Daily Reading of the Ketoret To Bring The End To A Plague
Tefillin and Birkat Kohanim During Minha on Fast Days
The Special Significance of Alenu
May One Person Recite Birkat HaGomel For Many In The Synagogue?
Is it Considered Praying B’Tzibur if One prays a Different Prayer than the Congregation
Sitting Near Somebody Praying the Amidah
The Proper Way To Vocalize The Amidah
Answering Kadish and Amen During Pesukeh D'zimra
The Meaning of the Term “Pesukeh De’zimra”
Answering to Kaddish or Kedusha After Reciting “Ado-nai Sefatai Tiftah”
Reciting Hodu Before Shaharit
Reciting Shema During the Korbanot Section of the Prayer Service
If One Comes Late to the Synagogue and Will Not Complete the Amida Before the Hazan Reaches Modim
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found