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 Spread a Talet Over the Children on Simhat Torah?
Is It Permissible On Shabbat To Walk On Grass Or To Have A Picnic On Grass
Reading Shir Hashirim on Ereb Shabbat
Peeling a Hardboiled Egg on Shabbat
Inflating a Ball on Shabbat
Is It Permissible To Repair Eye Glasses on Shabbat
Walking in a Public Domain on Shabbat With Food in One's Mouth
Asking a Gentile on Shabbat to Cut Tissue Paper; Asking a Gentile on Shabbat to Turn on a Light for a Frightened Child
Mukse- If a Base for a Mukse Item Also Holds a Non-Mukse Item
Mukse- Handling a Corpse on Shabbat
If Part of A Utensil or A Button Becomes Detached on Shabbat
Is It Permissible To Move Frozen Meat On Shabbat Or Is It Muktze
Mukse – the Status of Chicken Bones and Eggshells
Collecting Candies That Were Thrown in the Synagogue on Shabbat
Mukse: Placing Empty Shells on a Plate
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found