Everything You Wanted to Know About Tachanun

Everything You Wanted to Know About Tachanun
December 1 2009 Adapted from a talk by Rabbi Meir Toder.


There’s a lot to cover on Tachanun so I’m going to make this piece more of a bullet point list than an essay.

Tachanun means to “fall on the face.” Why do we do it? Three main reasons:

First, we are showing that we’re scared of the Schina (G-d’s “presence”) (Moshe covered his face when he saw the Schina, so too should we). Second, we’re asking for forgiveness (When someone covers his face, it shows that he feels regret, which is part of T’shuva). Third, it’s as if we’re turning off our senses: covering our mouth and eyes. (We don’t know what’s good for us; our senses aren’t in our hands. We can’t control our senses with our head down; it’s only through the will of G-d).

Do you have to have kavana (spiritual focus/energy/intention) when saying Tachanun? Yes. In fact, the Zohar says that some scary stuff can happen (not detailed by the Rabbi) if you don’t daven (pray) with kavana. However, this is only if someone didn’t care on purpose. It’s no small accomplishment now-a-days to get through all of davening with perfect kavana.

Which arm should we cover our faces with? The Shulchan Aruch says to lean on your left arm, and the Ramah say to lean on you right.

Why might there be a preference to lean on the left? Because we are told that the Schina is on that side of a person during davening, so it would be disrespectful to face away from him (to the right). Another significant meaning to the left side is that we lean to the left during the Pesach Seder to show that we are like Kings, yet when we are in the presence of the Schina, we still have this importance, but we show deference to G-d. Also, the Rabbi mentioned that Yitzchok was leaning on his left side for the Akeida (binding for sacrifice), so when we lean to the left we are emulating his absolute subjection to G-d’s will.

Why does the Ramah argue against leaning on the left arm? He says that it’s not proper respect for the kedusha of the tefillin to lean on it during davening. Others say that since we’re not leaning on the tefillin box itself, it’s not being disrespectful. Besides, the tefillin box touches your heart more when you lean on the left (the boxes are meant to connect our minds and hearts to the Infinite, that’s why we wear them on our head and close to our heart).

So what do we actually do? The compromise is that we do both through the course of the day. During Shacharis we lean on the right (since we wear tefillin on the left) and during Mincha we lean on the left (if we are not wearing tefillin). If someone wears tefillin during Mincha then it’s a maklokes (argument between our sages), but since there are those who argue to always do it on the left, we go by that opinion.

How can you be machmir (careful) and cover all your bases? In the morning, do it on the right like I said, but let your left hand help the right hand by bracing it (hold your hands together).

Can you wear short sleeves when you put your head down? No – the Mishnah Berurah says that you can’t say it on a bare arm because skin cannot officially cover skin (the same is true by using your hand as a kippa – it’s invalid). What if you don’t have anything to cover your face? You can even us a siddur (prayer book) if you have to.


Why do we sit for Tachanun? It’s a kabalistic reason (no details given by the Rabbi), but some Rishonim hold that you can say it standing. Therefore, if a person has a necessity to stand, it’s allowed. He would still use his (covered) forearm to cover his face.

What’s the protocol for standing up at the end? We should stay seated for, “We know not,” and then stand when we say, “what to do.” Why is this? We sit for the first part of davening, then we stand for the Amida (silent prayer), then we lean over for Tachanun. At the end of Tachanun, we’re saying that we’ve done everything – we don’t know how else to daven. How do we know that we davened every possible way? Because these are the three ways that Moshe davened: Moshe said, “I stood by the mountain,” “I sat by the mountain,” and “I fell over by H-shem.”

Why don’t we say Tachanun at night? Because night is the kabalistic time of din (judgment). Since Tachanun is also a form of din (mentioning our sins), we don’t say it because it could cause danger. What happens after shkia (sunset)? It’s not night yet, so can we say it or not? The Mishnah Beurah says you can say it until the stars come out (time for Maariv). The status of din is over halfway through the night, so one could say it then as well.

Can you say Tachanun in a house of morning? No because a house of mourning is a place of din. Even after person leaves the house, he doesn’t have to say it once he’s home.

If there’s a chassan (newly wed man in his first 7 days of marriage) or a bris, then you don’t say it. This applies to the women’s side as well, even if it’s in a different room. Should a chassan come to shul (and thus force everyone to skip Tachanun)? It’s a maklokes: Some say it’s better to daven at home, and others say that he should come. The Rabbi did not give a consensus.

What about a chassan or bris in a minyan factory (a place with multiple rooms of round-the-clock minyanim: groups that contain a minimum of 10 men, the preferred minimum for davening)? If there is an aron kodesh (cabinent that contains a Torah scroll) in the non-chassan/bris room, then they are independent, and if not, they follow after the main shul.

What if a shul has no Sefer Torah (Torah scroll)? Then you don’t put head down. Why is this? Because of the posach (line from the Torah) that says, “He bowed down in front of ark of H-shem.” Others say that you do put your head down if you have other sfarim (books) around, like a chumash (5 books of Moshe). Still others say that because every (observant) Jewish house has a mezuzah, there is therefore no such thing as a house without a sefer, and you should always put your head down (although the impression I got was that this opinion regarding other books is not a popular one). Rabbi Moshe Feinstein said that because Jerusalem is such a holy city, it is as though you are in the presence of Torah at all times, and so you should put your head down wherever you are in the city.

What if your shul decides to daven in an outdoor courtyard instead of the actual shul? If you can see the Aron, then you put your head down. If not, then you say it sitting without putting your head down.

What if you happen to be on the “women’s side” and you can’t see the Aron? If the women’s side is in the same room (i.e. there is a machitza, separating wall, but not a separate room), then you put your head down. If it’s not in the same room, you do not put your head down (it’s the same case as the courtyard).

What’s the deal with the 13 attributes? Ashkenazic Jews do not say it during Tachanun, and Sefardic Jews do. However, you must say it standing up and in a minyan. If, however, you are someone who says it outside of davening and in a different tune, you are allowed to say it by yourself during Tachanun. If there’s a bris on a day of tzara (a bad day), then if the whole minyan says the 13 attributes, we are told that wonders will happen.

Why do we have a longer Tachanun on Mondays and Thursdays? Because these days are days of mercy. Why? Because when Moshe went up to Sinai to receive the Torah, he left on a Thursday and came back on a Monday. Because Torah is one of the greatest gifts bestowed upon us, these days are seen as days of mercy.

Who composed Tachanun? The Rishonim say that three elders were tested by a foreign king by being forced to walk into a fire. When they entered the fire, however, it split and no harm came upon the elders. After this miracle, the three of them collaborated to write three sections of the prayer.

Should we say Tachanun out loud or in a low voice? Some say to say it quietly because it’s like the Shemoneh Esrei (literally “18”, the silent blessings we say in the Amida) in that G-d’s name appears in each of the three sections 18 times. Others say to say it out loud to avoid skipping sections or being absentminded.

Because there is a danger to say Tachanun without the proper Kavana, many Chassidic Jews try to avoid saying it as much as possible. Therefore, they often don’t say it on the yartzite (“death day”) of a tzadik (and there have been lots of tzadikim throughout history).

Other exceptions include the day of a Pidyon HaBen (redemption of the first born son) if a seudah (meal) follows right after. What about a Bar Mitzvah Seudah? Some Sefardim have a minchag not to say it, but most people do say it.