Tachanun in an Outdoor Minyan - part 2

Q. In yesterday’s Halachah Yomis we presented the background for the question; Is Tachanun with nefilas apayim recited if one davens in the courtyard of a shul? (A subscriber’s question)

A. The Rama (OC 131:2) writes that if one is in a courtyard that opens to a sanctuary that has a Sefer Torah, Tachanun is recited with nefilas apayim. The Mishnah Berurah (131:13) notes that for this to be the case, the doorway of the shul must be open, and the Aron Kodesh must be visible. However, if the door is closed, or if the doorway leads to a side view of the sanctuary from which one cannot see the Aron Kodesh, there is no nefilas apayim. The Daas Torah (131:2) is unsure if nefilas apayim is practiced if the Aron Kodesh is visible only when standing, but not when sitting.

(As an interesting aside, Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, zt”l (Ishei Yisroel 25, note 36) maintains that if a Sefer Torah is generally removed from the Aron for reasons of security and is returned to the Aron only at times when there is a Torah reading, nefilas apayim is performed in the presence of the Aron even when the Sefer Torah is in the secured location.)

Thus, the answer to our original question is that nefilas apayim takes place in a courtyard only if the door to the shul is open and the Aron is visible.

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The Gerald & Karin Feldhamer OU Kosher Halacha Yomis is dedicated to the memory of Rav Yisroel Belsky, zt"l, who served as halachic consultant for OU Kosher for more than 28 years; many of the responses in Halacha Yomis are based on the rulings of Rabbi Belsky. Subscribe to the Halacha Yomis daily email here.