A weekly feature of Torah Tidbits to help clarify practical and conceptual aspects of the Jewish Calendar, thereby better fulfilling the mitzva of HaChodesh HaZeh Lachem... B"H it is raining hard as these words are being written. Rain has not been forthcoming yet this season and we do need it. Because of frequent cloudy and hopefully rainy nights, one needs to be more diligent about saying KL because of a reduced number of opportunities. If you see the moon (unobstructed by clouds) on Thursday night, for example, say KL - don't wait for Motza"Sh, as you might during the summer. Last op this month is all night Wednesday, January 3. On another note: The fast of Asara b'Tevet is Sunday, Dec. 31. The fast begins (J'lem) at 5:21am and ends at 5:15pm. It marks the beginning of the siege around J'lem by the Babylonians, and has also come to be Yom Kaddish K'lali, a kaddish-saying day for those who perished in the Holocaust and when they died is unknown (or knowable). [The Parshat Vayigash Homepage]
|
