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Justification for No Tachnun at Mincha

Our Tzibur in the chassidishe Shul in Zürich which is a main point and a minjan factory never ever davens Tachanun in Mincha. I asked a couple of times what the reason was but nobody was accountable for this and nobody could explain me why. I couldn’t find any valid reason in MB or SHO. Can you please advise me if there is an explanation for this?

Answer:

The minhag of many Chassidish kehilos is not to say tachanun at mincha. This minhag is recorded in many Chassidic and Sefardic sources. A number of explanations are offered:

1  they often daven until after shkiya, and according to many opinions tachanun may not be said after shkiya, so a blanket rule was instituted so as never to come to saying after shkiya, which in some kabbalistic sources danger is associated with this practice.

2  tachanun by mincha requires intense concentration, which most people don’t have in the middle of their day

3  after it is night in Israel tachanun should not be said even in other parts of the world

Sources:

Sefer Nimukei Orach Chaim, Shu”T Dvar Yehoshua Y:D 3:74, Zivchei Zedek siman 9 [minhag bahdad], Sefer Shulchan Hatohar Siman 22.

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  1. I saw in an article on Tachanun by Rav Yehudah Spitz the following:

    Postscript: Although this author has heard it opined that the common ‘custom’ of skipping Tachanun for reasons not mentioned in the Shulchan Aruch nor Poskei HaDoros is due to the Tur’s (Orach Chaim 131) citing of Rav Nitoranei Gaon’s dictum that ‘Tachanun recited in the Beis Kenesses is a Reshus’, nevertheless, both the Bach (ad loc. end) and the Prishah (ad loc. 8) explain that that is far from his intent. These authorities point out that they very next line in the Tur states that Tachanun is not recited when a Chosson is present nor in a Beis Avel (a mourner’s home).

    They explain the juxtaposition of these two statements is meant to clarify the Halachah. If the reciting of Tachanun is an actual din, then we would be obligated to recite it even with a Chosson present (akin to Shemoneh Esrei etc.). That is why the Tur prefaced it with Rav Nitoranei Gaon’s statement that Tachanun is a Reshus: to allow us leniency in certain specific halachically mandated cases. In other words, the recital of Tachanun is similar to Tefillas Maariv: although officially titled a Reshus according to some opinions (see Gemara Brachos 27b), it is nonetheless still required; it just has certain nuances that are relaxed in specific situations. The reader is referred to Rav Yisroel Reisman’s excellent forward to the English sefer titled ‘Tachanun’, where he decries, in his inimitable manner, the common lackadaisicalness and underappreciation many have for this important tefillah.

    and in a footnote –

    However, in his weekly Ateres Shalom publication (Parshas Acharei Mos / Kedoshim 5775, pg. 1 s.v. Misas) the Kamarna Rebbe of Yerushalayim gave a possible explanation as to why many Chassidim do not say Tachanun on a Tzaddik’s Yahrtzeit. The Yerushalmi (Yoma Ch. 1, Halacha 1; also cited in the Zohar vol. 3, pg. 56b) teaches that the reason the deaths of Nadav and Avihu (the beginning of Parshas Acharei Mos) are read on Yom Kippur is to teach us that just as Yom Kippur effects forgiveness for Klal Yisrael, so does the deaths of Tzaddikim. The Arizal (Shaar HaKavannos, Inyan Nefillas Apayim Drush 2) adds that the deaths of Tzaddikim has the same effect as reciting Tachanun. The Kamarna Rebbe posits that this is the source of why many Chasiddim do not recite Tachanun on a Tzaddik’s Yahrtzeit: If the deaths of Tzaddikim can bring about Kaparah and works akin to the recital of Tachanun, they must hold that since the Yahrtzeit itself has the same effect, there is no need to additionally recite Tachanun.

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