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<<Yekkes dven ma'ariv either immediately after minha - w/o aleinu after<BR>kaddish tiskabal<BR>or after tzeirs afer this shir hama'los. in obth events, the Bar'chu in<BR>ma'ariv follows a kaddish<BR>I speculate that if ma'ariv bizmano were to follow kaddish derbbanan, then<BR>this mizmore need not be said.>><BR>
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I always speculated that this custom was based on the requirement "la'amod b'tefillah b'soch divrei sorah" (eg see Tosfos, Berachos 2a, s.v. "M'emosai" quoting the Yerushalmi). When KS is recited before nightfall, it fulfils this purpose and no other p'sukim are necessary. However, when KS is recited after nightfall, it is then said b'toras KS and not divrei sorah, so additional p'sukim are required. Similarly, where one relies on birchas Ahavah Rabbah to serve as ones birchas haTorah, Torah needs to be learnt after tefillah and KS itself is insufficient. So to in this case. If I am correct, we would have to say that the chasidim misunderstood the reason for the custom and just assumed that you say shir hamaalos, whenever one davens. Or maybe the chasidim simply didn't daven maariv early.<BR>
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If the reason for this custom were so that borchu may be preceded by a kaddish, how does one explain YT maariv, when we go straight into borchu?<BR>
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By the way, the oberlander kehillos of Adass Israel in both Sydney and Melbourne say selichos in chazaras hashatz. My kehillah, Etz Chaim in Manchester, consisting of born-again Yekkes and others, says shir hamaalos before maariv. Oh, I'm a born-again Litvak, but I have a soft spot for minhagei Ashkenaz (mimeticism and all that...).<BR>
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Kol tuv<BR>
Dov Kay<BR><BR><br /><hr />Do you know a place like the back of your hand? Share local knowledge with <a href='http://www.backofmyhand.com' target='_new'>BackOfMyHand.com</a></body>
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