“In Spanish/Portuguese congregations, hagbah was entrusted only to a select group known as levantadores….”
The Mishnah Berurah (147:7) cautions that a weak person should never be honored with hagbah. In Spanish/Portuguese congregations, hagbah was entrusted only to a select group known as levantadores (Spanish for “raise up,” it referred to “master lifters” of the scroll), thus honoring them and minimizing the risk of someone mishandling the Torah (Encyclopaedia Judaica, […]continued…
“…we should note the tension between these kinnot seminars and the classical image of Tisha be-Av”
The second change relates to the in-synagogue services on Tisha be-Av morning. Traditionally, people sat on the synagogue floor until midday reciting complex liturgical elegies known as kinnot in a low, dirge-like tune with little embellishment or explanation. Few had any idea what these poems meant, such that sitting uncomfortably on the floor in a […]continued…
“…as VHS technology became widely available in the mid-1980s, synagogues started screening ‘Tisha be-Av videos’ throughout the afternoon”
…as VHS technology became widely available in the mid-1980s, synagogues started screening “Tisha be-Av videos” throughout the afternoon. These are professionally-produced programs that focus on the Holocaust, the tragic points on Jewish history, and/or the dangers of speaking lashon hara (gossip and slander). Today, the practice continues both in synagogues and online, and some of […]continued…
“…if misrepresented as a rabbinic ordinance, a custom may be seen as more sweeping than it actually is”
…custom, even when considered obligatory, derives its authority from the practice of either a community or a family; if misrepresented as a rabbinic ordinance, a custom may be seen as more sweeping than it actually is. Moshe Benovitz, “A Lifetime Companion to the Laws of Jewish Family Life and Man and Woman: Guidance for Newlyweds […]continued…