All About Tachanun

Click here to see a list of all the days this month on which we do and don't say Tachanun.

What is Tachanun?

The exact origins of Tachanun are unknown but it is based on Biblical precedents. I Kings 8:54 and Daniel 9:3 each refer to “prayer and supplications” (tefillah and tachanunim), from which we learn that prayer – i.e., Shemoneh Esrei – should be followed by supplications – i.e., Tachanun.

Tachanun is referenced in the Talmud (Baba Metzia 59b). You may recall the story in which Rabbi Eliezer disagreed with the Sages regarding the ritual purity of a particular type of oven. To prove his point, Rabbi Eliezer called upon a carob tree (which walked across the yard), a fountain (which ran backwards), the study hall walls (which bent) and the very Heavens themselves. When a Heavenly voice proclaimed Rabbi Eliezer’s rightness in this matter, Rabbi Yehoshua replied that the Torah is no longer in Heaven (Deut. 30:12), meaning that once the Torah was given to man, it is up to the Sages to rule in such matters. When most people recount this incident, this is where they stop but there’s more.

The Sages voted to excommunicate Rabbi Eliezer for failure to follow the majority rule. This was not a move undertaken lightly, given Rabbi Eliezer’s greatness. Rabban Gamliel, the head of the Sanhedrin, cried out to God that He knows that the action was taken only for His honor, in order to avoid factions forming among Jewry.

Rabban Gamliel happened to be the brother of Rabbi Eliezer’s wife. Every day following Rabbi Eliezer’s excommunication, she would not allow him to “fall on his face” after Shemoneh Esrei. (Nefilas Apayim – falling on one’s face – is the “official” name for Tachanun.) One day, she neglected to stop her husband from reciting this prayer. Some say that she thought it was Rosh Chodesh, on which Tachanun is not recited; others say that she went to the door to give a needy person some bread. In any event, she returned to find Rabbi Eliezer on his face, reciting Tachanun. “Get up!” she screamed, “You’re killing my brother!”

The reason that Rabbi Eliezer’s wife did not permit him to recite Tachanun following his excommunication is because of its great power. He felt wronged by Rabban Gamliel. Gamliel’s sister knew that even if her brother acted for God’s honor, that wouldn’t protect him if Rabbi Eliezer were to cry out, reciting this prayer in his distress.

What’s in Tachanun?

Tachanun proper begins with a verse from II Samuel. The prophet Gad told King David that he had to choose a punishment from God: seven years of famine, three months of enemy conquest or three days of pestilence. Choosing the pestilence, “David said to Gad, ‘I am greatly distressed. Let us fall into the hand of God, for His mercies are great, and let me not fall into the hand of man’” (24:14). Tachanun continues with verses from Psalm 6, which David composed while he was in physical and emotional anguish.

On Mondays and Thursdays – traditionally recognized as days of particular Divine compassion – we recite additional supplications (tachanunim). This extra section – V’Hu Rachum – and the usual section of Vayomer David are collectively known colloquially as “long Tachanun.”

Laws of Tachanun

With the exception of the final halacha, these laws are all found in Kitzur Shulchan Aruch chapter 22, with notes from the Mishnah Brurah added where appropriate.

·       Tachanun is recited after Shemoneh Esrei; one should not converse about secular matters between Shemoneh Esrei and Tachanun.

·       At Shacharis, when one has tefillin on his left arm, he leans on his right arm for Tachanun. At Mincha, when one is not wearing tefillin, he leans on his left arm. (If one happens to be wearing tefillin at Mincha, he would lean on his left arm for Tachanun – Mishnah Brurah 131:7.) [The rules for a left-handed person, who wears his tefillin on his right arm, would be the opposite.]

·       Tachanun is recited seated, though it may be recited standing if necessary. After Tachanun, we recite the prayer “Va’anachnu lo neida” (“and we do not know”). This prayer is started while still seated, though one should stand when he reaches the words “mah na’aseh” (“what to do...”).

·       We only “fall on our faces” (i.e., lean on our arms) in a place where there is a Torah scroll. If there is no Torah, we do not “fall” even if there are other holy books. Tachanun is still recited in such a case, just without “falling.” (Mishnah Brurah 131:11 acknowledges opinions that do require one to “fall on his face” in the presence of sefarim.) If one prays in a shul’s courtyard and the door is open, it is considered as if he is in the shul, where a Torah scroll is present.

·       Tachanun is not recited when praying in a Shiva house, or in the home of the deceased even if none of the mourners are present. This is the case the entire week of Shiva, even on the afternoon of the last day. One does not say Tachanun after returning home from a Shiva minyan in which it was omitted. If a mourner is in shul (or in someone else’s home – MB 131:20), the congregants recite Tachanun, though the mourner does not.

·       Tachanun is not recited in a shul where a bris is about to be held, or if the father of the baby, the mohel or the sandek is present, even if the bris is to be held elsewhere. If Mincha is held at the baby’s home before or during the festive meal, Tachanun is not said. After bentching, however, Tachanun would be said. Nevertheless, the baby’s father, the mohel and the sandek do not say Tachanun that entire day, which is like a festival to them. (If davening is held is someplace other than the baby’s home, Tachanun would be said even before the meal – Mishnah Brurah 131:25.)

·       Tachanun is not said if a groom is present in shul the entire week of his sheva brachos. This is the case if it is a first marriage for either partner but if it is a second (or later) marriage for both of them, then Tachanun is only omitted for three days. On the wedding day itself, Tachanun is said at Shacharis but not at Mincha, which is close to the ceremony. (There are opinions that Tachanun should also be omitted at Shacharis – see Mishnah Brurah 131:21.)

·       V’Hu Rachum, which is recited before Tachanun on Mondays and Thursdays, is recited standing. When Tachanun is not said, this prayer is likewise omitted.

·       The practice of women is not to recite Tachanun.

Days on Which Tachanun is Not Recited

According to standard Ashkenazic practice, Tachanun is not recited on the following days:

• Shabbos
• Rosh Chodesh
• Erev Rosh Hashana (29 Elul. It is recited at Selichos but not at Shacharis or Mincha; it is recited the preceding afternoon at Mincha.)
• Rosh Hashana (1-2 Tishrei)
• Erev Yom Kippur (9 Tishrei. Tachanun is recited the preceding afternoon at Mincha.)
• Yom Kippur (10 Tishrei)
• The days between Yom Kippur and Succos (11-14 Tishrei)
• Succos (15-21 Tishrei)
• Shemini Atzeres (22 Tishrei)
• Simchas Torah (23 Tishrei)
• Isru Chag (24 Tishrei)
• Some do not recite it the rest of the days from Isru Chag until Rosh Chodesh Marcheshvan (25-29 Tishrei)
• Chanukah (25 Kislev-2 or 3 Teves, depending on whether Kislev is 29 days or 30 days long.)
• Tu b’Shevat (15 Shevat)
• Purim Katan (14-15 I Adar)
• Purim (14 Adar)
• Shushan Purim (15 Adar)
• The entire month of Nisan
• Some do not recite it on Pesach Sheini (14 Iyar; not omitted at Mincha the day before.)
• Lag b'Omer (18 Iyar)
• From Rosh Chodesh Sivan through the day after Shavuos (1-7 Sivan)
• Tisha b'Av (9 Av)
• Tu b’Av (15 Av)

On all these days, except where noted, Tachanun is also not recited at Mincha on the day before.

Some also have the practice to omit Tachanun on the modern holidays of Yom Ha’Atzmaut (5 Iyar) and Yom Yerushalayim (28 Iyar).

Tzidkascha

Tzidkascha is a brief tefillah recited at Mincha on Shabbos afternoons. It consists of three verses from Tehillim, recited in memory of three righteous leaders who are said to have died on Shabbos afternoon: Yoseif HaTzaddik, Moshe Rabbeinu and Dovid HaMelech (Zohar, Parshas Terumah 156a). Tzidkascha is omitted on Shabbos when it coincides with any occasion that would cause Tachanun to be omitted on a weekday.

Should We Skip Tachanun?

Tachanun is unique in that it is not recited on so many special occasions of the year. Between long Tachanun being a difficult prayer for some and the plethora of exemptions that already exist, some people tend to look for reasons not to say it. Such an attitude towards Tachanun was not always the case.

The Mishnah Brurah rules (131:26) that a groom should not attend shul during the week of sheva brachos because his presence would prevent the congregants from being able to recite Tachanun. When asked if this halacha should reflect our current practice, Rav Moshe Feinstein ztz”l replied that that halacha only applies when the congregation would be saddened to have their recitation of Tachanun impeded. Nowadays, one would be hard-pressed to find such a minyan! This is a shame when one considers the history and impact of this powerful prayer. What could we accomplish if we recited Tachanun with the heartfelt emotion of Rabbi Eliezer?

Click here to see a list of all the days this month on which we do and don't say Tachanun.