Tachanun or Ta?anun (Hebrew: ?????? "Supplication"), also called nefilat apayim ("falling on the face"), is part of Judaism's morning (Shacharit) and afternoon (Mincha) services, after the recitation of the Amidah, the central part of the daily Jewish prayer services. Traditionally, only the first four words of the prayer are said aloud so that others take notice. It is omitted on Shabbat, Jewish holidays and several other occasions (e.g., in the presence of a groom in the week after his marriage). Most traditions recite a longer prayer on Mondays and Thursdays.
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Format
There is a short format of Tachanun and there is a long format. The long format is reserved for Monday and Thursday mornings, days when the Torah is read in the synagogue. The short format, also said on weekday afternoons, consists of three (in some communities two) short paragraphs.
In most Nusach Ashkenaz synagogues, Tachanun begins with introductory verses from II Samuel (24:14), and then continues with Psalm 6:2-11, which King David composed - according to traditional sources - while sick and in pain. The Chabad custom, however, is to recite Psalm 25 as Tachanun. In the presence of a Torah scroll, this paragraph is recited with the head leaning on the back of the left hand or sleeve (right hand when wearing tefillin on the left) as per Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim 131:1-2). The next paragraph, "???? ??????" ("Guardian of Israel") is recited seated, but erect (some communities only recite it on fast days). After this point, and following the words "va'anachnu lo neida", it is customary in many communities to rise, and the remainder of the final paragraph is recited while standing. Tachanun is invariably followed by "half kaddish" in the morning and by "full kaddish" in the afternoon.
On Monday and Thursday mornings, a longer prayer commencing with Psalms 78:38 recited before (or after, depending on custom) the short Tachanun. It is recited standing. The length of this prayer varies according to community. Ashkenazic communities have the longest text of it; Sephardic (and Hasidic and Yemenite, in imitation of Sephardic) communities have a somewhat shorter, but similar, text; and Italian communities have the shortest text of all. The Italian text begins not with Psalms 78:38, but with Daniel 9:15.
The Talmud (Bava Kamma) marks Monday and Thursday as "eth ratzon", a time of Divine goodwill, on which a supplication is more likely to be received.
According to the Sephardic and Nusach Sefard rites, Tachanun begins with viduy (confessional prayer). In this prayer several sins are mentioned and the heart is symbolically struck with the right fist during mentioned of each sin. This is followed by the mention of G-d's thirteen attributes of mercy. By and large, Sephardim do not have the custom of resting their head on their hand, but due to Ashkenazic influence in Morocco, some Moroccan prayer books include this custom.
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History
The source of the supplicatory prayer (Ta?anun) is in Daniel (9:3) and I Kings (8:54), where the verses indicate that prayer should always be followed by supplication. Based on this, Talmudic sages developed the habit of adding a personal appeal to God following the set prayers (some examples are listed in the Babylonian Talmud, Berachot 16b). In the fourteenth century, these spontaneous supplications were standardized and turned into the prayer of Tachanun.
The custom of bending over and resting the face on the left hand is suggested by the first line of the text which includes the words "nip'lah na b'yad Adonai" ("let us fall into the hand of God"). It is also reminiscent of the Daily Sacrifice brought in the Temple, which was laid on its left side to be slaughtered. A person's arm should be covered with a sleeve, tallit, or other covering. This posture, developed in the post-Talmudic period, is symbolic of the original practice, in which people knelt down until their faces touched the ground to show humility and submission to God. The pose was also used by Moses and Joshua, who fell on their faces before God after the sin of the Golden Calf. Because of this practice, Tahanun is also known as nefilat apayim ("falling on the face").
Because Joshua fell on his face before the Ark, Ashkenazi custom is that one puts one's head down only when praying in front of an Ark containing a Torah scroll. Otherwise, it is proper to sit with the head up.cites Rabbi Moshe Feinstein as saying that "because Jerusalem is such a holy city" it's as if we're in the presence of a Sefer Torah. It also makes a case for "in the same room" and advises "If not, then you say it sitting without putting your head down."</ref>
The longer version recited on Mondays and Thursdays is traced by classical sources (see e.g., S. Baer, Siddur Avodath Yisrael) to three sages who had escaped the destruction of the Jewish community in the Holy Land by the Romans. While on a ship on the way to Europe, they were caught in a storm, and all three recited a personal prayer, after which the storm subsided. These sages went on to establish communities in Europe. Abudirham states that the words "rachum ve-chanun" ("merciful and gracious") mark the beginning of the next segment.
Days on which Tachanun is omitted
Tachanun is omitted from the prayers on Shabbat, all the major holidays and festivals (including Chol HaMoed, the intermediate days of Pesach and Sukkot), Rosh Chodesh (new moon), Hanukkah and Purim, as these days are of a festive nature and reciting Tachanun, which is mildly mournful, would not be appropriate.
The following is a list of all the other days, "minor holidays", when tachanun is excluded from the prayers. It is typically also omitted from the Mincha prayers the preceding afternoon, unless otherwise noted:
It is also not recited in the house of a mourner (reasons vary: either so as not to add to the mourner's grief by highlighting God's judgment, or because a mourner's house is a house of judgment, and a house of judgment is not a suitable place for requesting mercy; see bereavement in Judaism), nor is it said in the presence of a groom in the sheva yemei hamishte (the seven celebratory days subsequent to his marriage; see marriage in Judaism). Additionally, Tachanun is omitted in a synagogue when a circumcision is taking place in the synagogue at that time, and when either the father of the baby, the sandek (the one who holds the baby during the circumcision), or the mohel (the one who performs the circumcision) is present.
Most Nusach Sefard congregations omit Tachanun during mincha, primarily because it was common for Hasidic congregations to pray mincha after sunset, in which case Tachanun would be omitted.
In Hasidic congregations, Tachanun is omitted on the anniversary of the death of various Rebbes (except Lubavitch makes a point of saying), since that is considered a day for religious renewal and celebration. There is a Hasidic custom of omitting Tachanun the entire week of Purim (11-17 Adar) and the entire week of Lag BaOmer (14-20 Iyar). Some communities omit Tachanun on 7 Adar because it is the anniversary of the death of Moses. Additionally some Hasidic congregations omit Tachanun on Friday mornings (getting ready for Shabbat), and some even on Sunday mornings (revival from Shabbat).
In many congregations, it is customary to omit Tachanun on holidays established by the State of Israel: Yom Haatzmaut (Independence Day), 5 Iyar (most years, date changes depending on day of week); and Yom Yerushalayim (the anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem in 1967), 28 Iyar.
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