Tachanun

Tachanun or Taḥanun (Hebrew: תחנון "Supplication"), also called nefilat apayim (Hebrew: נפילת אפיים "falling on the face"), is part of Judaism's morning (Shacharit) and afternoon (Mincha) services, after the recitation of the Amidah, the central part of the daily Jewish prayer services.

In most Nusach Ashkenaz communities, Tachanun begins with introductory verses from II Samuel (24:14),[1] and then continues with a short confession that we have sinned and God should answer our prayers, followed by Psalm 6:2-11, which King David composed - according to traditional sources - while sick and in pain.

The Talmud (Bava Kamma) marks Monday and Thursday as "eth ratzon", a time of Divine goodwill, on which a supplication is more likely to be received.

The order differs by custom: In Nusach Ashkenaz,[3] a long prayer beginning "ve-hu rachum" is recited before niflat apayim.

[5] In the Sephardic rite, there are two variations: The older custom (maintained by Spanish and Portuguese and some Moroccan Jews) is to recite the Thirteen Attributes, "Anshei Amanah Avadu" (on Monday) or "Tamanu me-ra'ot" (on Thursday), another Thirteen Attributes, "al ta'as imanu kalah", Vidui, "ma nomar", another Thirteen Attributes, "ve-hu rachum", nefilat apayim, "Hashem ayeh chasadech ha-rishonim" (on Monday) or "Hashem she'arit peletat Ariel" (on Thursday), and Tachnun is concluded as on other days.

This is followed by Thirteen Attributes, Vidui, "ma nomar", nefilat apayim, Psalm 130, a collection of verses from Jeremiah and Micah, a piyyut beginning "Zechor berit Avraham" (this is different from the famous selicha of Zechor Berit known in other rites), Psalm 20, and Tachanun is concluded as on other days.

However, due to influence of other communities, they have adopted the following order: nefilat apayim, Thirteen Attributes, "al ta'as imanu kalah", Vidui, "ma nomar", another Thirteen Attributes, "ve-hu rachum", "Hashem ayeh chasadech ha-rishonim" (on Monday) or "Hashem she'arit peletat Ariel" (on Thursay), and Tachnun is concluded as on other days.

This posture, developed in the post-Talmudic period, is symbolic of the original practice, in which people lay down with their faces touching the ground to show humility and submission to God.

The article also has three other head-down situations: (a) some, in Jerusalem; (b) Sefer Torah without an ark; (c) at home, if one "knows at exactly what time the congregation recites Tachanun in the synagogue.

[11] In a different article, Rabbi Moshe Feinstein is cited as saying that "because Jerusalem is such a holy city" it is as if we're in the presence of a Sefer Torah.

"[12] The longer version recited on Mondays and Thursdays is traced by classical sources (see e.g., S. Baer, Siddur Avodath Yisrael) to three sages who had escaped the destruction of the Jewish community in the Holy Land by the Romans.

The following is a list of all the other days, "minor holidays", when tachanun is excluded from the prayers, and Psalm 126 is recited during Birkat HaMazon.

Additionally, many Hasidic communities omit Tachanun on the anniversary of the death of various Rebbes (except Lubavitch makes a point of saying), since that is considered a day for religious renewal and celebration.