[Avodah] Sim Sholom at a shiva house

[Micha Berger via Avodah]

On Mon, Apr 06, 2015 at 12:13:44PM +0000, Kenneth Miller via Avodah wrote:
: I never thought of that question before, but here is a possibly-related
: question that I've wondered for years: If Shir Hamaalos is said whenever
: we skip Tachanun, should it always be said at the shiva house?

We skip tachanun on shabbos and YT (or the week of 7 berakhos, the day of
a beris...) because of the joy of the day being inconsistent with its
mournful tenor.

Shir haMaalos goes hand-in-hand with the joy of the day; if it's joyous
enough to warrant looking toward the geulah rather than lamenting the
churban with Al Naharos Bavel, then it's joyous enough for Tachanun not
to fit either.

But the key is joy, which has nothing to do with a beis avel. We skip
tachanun in an aveil's home for the opposite kind of reason -- either
because
1- we don't want to add to the aveilim's grief by harping on midas
   hadin, or
2- it is inappropriate to ask for mitigation of middas hadin in a home
   where din is being fully felt.

:-)||ii!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             Today is the 2nd day
micha at aishdas.org        in/toward the omer.
http://www.aishdas.org   Gevurah sheb'Chesed: What is constricted
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