Reciting Tachanun Outside, With Seforim Present

Q. I am currently davening in a backyard minyan. There are siddurim and chumashim on the tables. Should Tachanun be recited with nefilas apayim because of the presence of seforim.

A . The Mishnah Berurah (131:11) cites a disagreement between the Elya Rabba (131:5) and Olas Shabbos whether Tachanun is recited with nefilas apayim only when there is a Sefer Torah, or if other seforim suffice. The Mishnah Berurah does not take a definitive position. The Kaf Hachayim (131:45) rules in favor of not performing nefilas apayim when there are seforim and no Sefer Torah, while the Steipler Gaon (Orchos Rabbeinu 2, p. 67) and Rav Nissin Karelitz (Chut Shani – end of Hilchos Yom Tov, Inyanim #10) followed the opinion of the Olas Shabbos and would recite Tachanun with nefilas apayim. It would therefore appear that the response to our initial question, about nefilas apayim at a backyard minyan with siddurim, is that it is a matter of dispute. However, Rav Nissim Karelitz, zt”l stipulates that nefilas apayim is performed only if the seforim were stored in a permanent manner, such as on a bookshelf. Thus, according to Rav Nissin Karelitz, everyone would agree not to perform nefilas apayim in a backyard minyan because the seforim are not stored outside.

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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.