DailyHalacha.com for Mobile Devices Now Available

Halacha is For Refuah Shelemah for
 Abraham ben Salha

Dedicated By
His children and grandchildren

Click Here to Sponsor Daily Halacha
      
(File size: 452 KB)
Yom Kippur- Reciting Viduy at Minha on Ereb Yom Kippur

It is our custom to wear Tallit and Tefillin during the Minha service on Ereb Yom Kippur, and to add the Viduy (confessional) section at the end of the Amida prayer.

The Gemara comments that we recite Viduy at Minha on Ereb Yom Kippur out of the concern that "Shema Titaref Da’ato" (literally, "lest his mind become confused"). The commentators disagree in explaining the meaning of this remark. Some understand this to mean that a person might become inebriated during the final meal before Yom Kippur, and will thus be unable to properly confess on Yom Kippur. Halacha allows drinking wine during the final meal, and thus the concern arose that one might perhaps drink excessively to the point of intoxication.

The Rambam (Rabbi Moshe Maimonides, Spain-Egypt, 1135-1204), however, explained differently, claiming that a person may fatally choke on his food during the final meal before Yom Kippur. The Sages instituted that one should recite Viduy during Minha, before the final meal, so that if, Heaven forbid, he should choke on his food and pass away before Yom Kippur, he would have at least earned atonement through his Viduy recitation.

Why were the Sages suddenly concerned that one might choke on his food during the final meal before Yom Kippur?

The answer is that the Satan works with extra vigilance before the onset of Yom Kippur. Recognizing the immense power that Yom Kippur has to cleanse us of our sins, the Satan invests great effort to prosecute against us before the holy day, and endeavors to prevent us from experiencing Yom Kippur. There is thus greater concern of risk on Yom Kippur than at other times, and this led the Sages to institute the Viduy recitation at Minha on Ereb Yom Kippur.

Summary: It is customary to wear Tallit and Tefillin during Minha on Ereb Yom Kippur, and to recite the Viduy at the end of the Amida prayer.

 


Recent Daily Halachot...
Is It Permissible To Place Food Items Such As A Beverage Bottle Beneath The Table At A Meal
Is It Proper To Refer To Rabbis As Colleagues
Facing the Direction of Israel While Praying the Amidah
Is It Permissible For A Nursing Mother To Resume Nursing Her Baby After A Few Days Interruption
It It Permissible To Release A Person From A Debt On Shabbat Or Is It Considered A Prohibited Shabbat Transaction
Invoking the Merit of Rabbi Meir Ba'al Ha'ness During Times of Crisis
Is It Permissible to Have Elective Surgery
The Importance of Immediately Fulfilling One's Pledges
Earning Atonement Through Eating- A Seuda (Meal) Is Tantamount To A Mizbeach
Uttering a Name of God in a Restroom, Bathhouse or Mikveh
The Difference Between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur; Crying on Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashana- "Simanim" on Rosh Hashanah, Sleeping and Eating The Ritual Foods
Is It Beneath A Rabbi's Dignity To Conduct Certain Tasks?
Beracha L'Vatala (Waste) and Preserving One's Dignity- Must a Wife Inform Her Husband of a Past Pregnancy to Avoid an Unnecessary Pidyon Ha'ben?
The Benefit Of Many Visiting The Sick In A Hospital; Cleaning a Patient's Room
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found