Guide to the Jewish Year

madrich lashanah hayehudit

מַדְרִיךְ לַשָּׁנָה הַיְּהוּדִית

Israeli: ' marks a reduced vowel that Israeli speech drops (b'rachah); when the vowel is pronounced it is written e (lefanecha). - separates syllables that would otherwise run together.

How to read the transliterations

recites וַיְכֻלּוּ הַשָּׁמַיִם, and the Shaliaḥ Tzibbur recites the shortened Amida Repetition as is usual on Shabbat eve [שו״ע או״ח, תרמב:א].

245 Should the eighth day's eve fall on Motza'ei Shabbat, the congregation inserts the paragraph וַתּוֹדִיעֵנוּ within the Amida's middle section. Likewise, in Kiddush, the two Havdala blessings are added; hence the blessing sequence is: wine, Kiddush, flame, Havdala (page 809).

246 Shaḥarit: Shabbat and Yom Tov form (page 459). The Shaḥarit Shaliaḥ Tzibbur starts at the words הָאֵל בְּתַעֲצֻמוֹת עֻזֶּךָ (page 509). Following Barekhu, the congregation recites הַמֵּאִיר לָאָרֶץ or, when it is also Shabbat, הַכֹּל יוֹדוּךָ. The Yom Tov Amida is recited (page 817); when also Shabbat, one recites the Shabbat insertions. Next come Half Hallel, Full Kaddish, the Daily Psalm, Mourner's Kaddish and, when also Shabbat, the recitation of Shir HaShirim and the Mourner's Kaddish. Two Torah scrolls are taken from the Ark. The congregation recites the "Thirteen Attributes of Mercy" and a distinctive supplication (page 565), save on Shabbat.

247 Torah Reading: day seven – page 1191א; day eight – page 1197 (on Shabbat, start on page 1197). Five men are summoned, seven on Shabbat. Maftir: page 1195. Haftara, day seven: page 1195; day eight: page 1199.

248 After the Haftara come (Yekum Purkan on Shabbat, then) the petitions for the government and for the State of Israel. On the eighth day, Yizkor (page 847) is recited, followed by אַב הָרַחֲמִים. The Shaliaḥ Tzibbur recites יָהּ אֵלִי וְגוֹאֲלִי (though most skip this when Yizkor has been recited), the congregation recites Ashrei, and the Torah scrolls go back to the Ark. The Shaliaḥ Tzibbur recites Half Kaddish.

249 Musaf: Festival form (page 857). When also Shabbat, one recites the Shabbat insertions. The Kohanim recite Birkat Kohanim. The Shaliaḥ Tzibbur recites Full Kaddish. Ein Keloheinu (page 625) then follows and the service closes as on Shabbat.

250 Minḥa: Shabbat and Yom Tov form. Should the seventh or eighth day fall on Shabbat, the Torah is drawn from the Ark and the week's portion is begun. Once the Torah is restored to the Ark, the Shaliaḥ Tzibbur recites Half Kaddish, and the congregation recites the Yom Tov Amida (page 817).

מוֹצָאֵי פֶּסַח

The Motza'ei of Pesaḥ

251 Ma'ariv: weekday form. Within the Amida's fourth blessing (page 287) אַתָּה חוֹנַנְתָּנוּ is recited. Havdala is recited, preferably over a cup of wine or grape juice (though some customarily recite Havdala over beer); spices and a flame receive no blessing (unless it is Motza'ei Shabbat) [שו״ע או״ח, תצא:א].

LAWS FOR THE SEFIRAT HAOMER SEASON

252 While the Omer is being counted, particular mourning rites are kept: one refrains from cutting one's hair, from shaving, from listening to music, and from holding weddings and other parties [שו״ע ורמ״א או״ח, תצג:א–ג]. Some allow shaving throughout this period. These practices recall a plague that slew twelve thousand pairs of students of Rabbi Akiva who, the Talmud states, failed to honor one another properly. The Ashkenazi community heightened these mourning customs following the pogroms of the First Crusade, which occurred in Iyar and Sivan in the year 1096 (4856).

253 Distinct communities keep these customs across distinct spans: (1) from Pesaḥ's close to the 18th of Iyar (Lag BaOmer), (2) from Iyar's 1st until the 3rd of Sivan, (3) through the whole span from Pesaḥ's close until the 3rd of Sivan.

254 From the first Shabbat following Pesaḥ, custom is, after Shabbat Minḥa, to learn one chapter of Pirkei Avot (pages 709–751). This usage lasts through the Shabbat preceding Rosh HaShana [רמ״א או״ח רצב, ב].

255 On the Shabbat before Rosh Ḥodesh Iyar, אַב הָרַחֲמִים is recited (see law 146).

אִיָּר

IYAR

LAWS CONCERNING BAHAB (בה״ב)

256 Some customarily recite distinctive Seliḥot on Iyar's first Monday, first Thursday and second Monday (see law 148). Should any of these days fall on Yom HaAtzma'ut or Pesaḥ Sheni, Seliḥot are left unsaid.

יוֹם הַזִּכָּרוֹן

Yom HaZikaron (4th day of Iyar)

257 This day honors the Jews who laid down their lives defending the Jewish settlement in the land of Israel, among them soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces slain in the line of duty and civilians murdered in acts of terror. On Yom HaZikaron eve, a yahrzeit candle is kindled and the Mourner's Kaddish is recited by a grieving parent, spouse or child. At Shaḥarit's close, some congregations recite distinctive prayers (see pages 961–963).

258 Numerous communities conduct distinctive memorial ceremonies after Minḥa. These are