[Avodah] Not saying Tachanun (was Yom Haatzmaut)

[Kenneth Miller via Avodah]

Reposted from Hakhel:
> ... Rav Soloveitchik, obviously upset, instead gave Shiur
> on the importance of keeping the Tzuras HaTefillah intact.
> Shemone Esrei is followed by Chazaras Hashatz, which is
> followed by Tachanun, and then followed by Ashrei and U'va'
> Letzion--and we do not have the right or privilege of
> changing that, he opined. ...

R' Ben Waxman asked:
> I looked through the Beit Yosef OH 131 where he discusses
> the days on which Tachanun isn't said. The BY does not
> list all the days that we skip (like Purim Qatan or Pesach
> Sheni). These came later.
>
> So when did this idea (that we can't change when Tachanun
> is said or not said) start?

I'm not sure if you are asking the correct question. You presume there was a time when Tachanun was *said* on Purim Katan, and then Tachanun was *omitted* on Purim Katan. I see another possibility, but I must point out that this idea stems from my total ignorance of the History Of Tachanun.

Perhaps, since the day when Tachanun first began, the list of days has never changed. What did happen (perhaps) is that some places said it on Purim Katan, and some places did not. Over time, the minhag of skipping it spread to more and more places, but that's somewhat different than if a community would suddenly decide that they had a new appreciation for the significance of the day, and hence wanted to stop saying Tachanun.

But either way, I'm not sure of the exact nature of RYBS's objection. It is one thing for a community to change its mind about the significance of the day (as in RMB's example of Purim Katan), and quite another for the day itself to acquire a new significance - as in the example of Yom Haatzma'ut. Shulchan Aruch already establishes the ability for a community to establish holidays, and this has been done many times. A good example to my mind is the chasidic groups who celebrate the anniversary of their rebbe's release from prison. Would RYBS insist that they say Tachanun on such days?

Thus, I am drawn to conclude that RYBS must not be taken as too absolutist. He cannot have meant that the current list of Tachanun days must remain enshrined in stone forever. I beleive that he must have meant that the question of saying Tachanun on Yom Haatzma'ut is a serious one, to be dealt with seriously by the poskim and leaders of the community. Alas, I personally have seen many cases of where it is decided by those who attend the minyan, on a purely emotional basis, with no thought to the halachos involved, and with no consultation with the LOR.

On the other hand, among the many tasks the LOR must deal with, is deciding when he should or should not get involved with the tzibur's choices. Although it does not address Tachanun, I would like to close with a reference to The Rav's opinions about a different tefilah which he "opposed, on halachic grounds". R' Mike Gerver wrote on Mail Jewish (http://www.ottmall.com/mj_ht_arch/v38/mj_v38i49.html) in January 2003:

> (This is a continuation of my previous e-mail summarizing
> the talk given on "The Rav and Medinat Yisrael" by Rabbi
> J. J. Shachter on motzei shabbat, Jan.  25, at Lechu
> Neranana in Raanana.)
> ... ... ...
> Rabbi Shachter quoted Rabbi Walter Wurzberger zt"l as
> saying that the Rav's attitude toward Israel was
> completely opposed to messianism, to the idea that the
> founding of the State was an initial step to the geula
> [final redemption]. Thus the Rav did not approve of Gush
> Emunim. He even opposed, on halachic grounds, saying the
> tefillah for the State of Israel in shul on Shabbat
> morning, which only speaks of the State as "reishit
> tzmichat geulateinu" [the beginning of the sprouting of
> our redemption]. Rabbi Shachter, knowing this, assumed
> that the tefillah for the State of Israel would not be
> said at the Shabbat morning minyan held at Maimonides
> School, a minyan that the Rav started in 1962, and which
> generally did things according to his minhag. When Rabbi
> Shachter was appointed to his position as director of the
> Soloveitchik Institute a couple of years ago, and took
> over as rabbi of the Maimonides School Shabbat minyan, he
> was surprised to find that they were saying the tefillah
> for the State of Israel. He asked someone why, and the
> answer was interesting. One Shabbat morning, when the Rav
> was still alive and in good health, someone started saying
> the tefillah for the State of Israel. The Rav turned to
> someone next to him and said {Rabbi Shachter imitated the
> Rav's accent) "You would have thought they would have
> asked me!"  That was all. He didn't make any attempt to
> stop them from saying the tefillah for the State of Israel,
> and didn't think it was his place to ask the congregation
> not to say it if they wanted to.

Akiva Miller

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