Omitting Tachanun in Selichot in the Presence of Simcha

by R. Daniel Mann

Question: At our pre-Shacharit Selichot during Elul, do we omit Tachanun if a chatan or a principal to a brit mila is present, as we omit it during Shacharit?

Answer: The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chayim 131:4) rules to omit Tachanun in the “house of a chatan,” a shul that will host a brit that day, and a shul which a chatan is attending. While the Rama (ad loc.) says that only a chatan on his wedding day pushes off Tachanun, Acharonim rule that it applies throughout the week of Sheva Berachot (Mishna Berura 131:26), which is the minhag. The minhag is also to push off Tachanun if the father, the planned mohel, or the sandek of a baby on the day of his brit is davening there (ibid. 22). The idea is that the simcha that the tzibbur absorbs from these people is incongruous with Tachanun, as we find on happy days throughout the year. While it is not fundamentally severe to say Tachanun anyway, we have no reason not to follow the poskim’s instructions.

There is more than one reason not to push off Tachanun in this way at Selichot. One applies to the simcha of brit if the Selichot finish before daybreak. As opposed to the chatan, whose halachic status of simcha lasts throughout the entire time period, those related to the brit do not have a formal status. Rather, the proximity of the important mitzva of brit conveys through them an atmosphere of joy that precludes Tachanun. The Pitchei Teshuva ((Isserlin) 581:1) is among those who posit that if they get up to Tachanun when it is too early for a brit mila, Tachanun should be recited. He is unsure what to do between alot hashachar and netz hachama, when the Torah-level mitzva of mila has begun but the Rabbis required to wait until sunrise (Megilla 20a). Machazeh Avraham (OC I:154) says that since mila at that time is valid b’di’eved, Tachanun is omitted.

B’tzel Hachochma (IV:146) sees the exemption as applying pre-daytime even though brit mila must be performed during daytime. He bases this is on the fact that the baby’s status of requiring brit mila exists from the beginning of the baby’s eighth day, i.e., from the previous night. Arguably, the baby’s halachic status is less relevant than the fact that people have awoken for the day on which the brit will take place. It is unclear if according to B’tzel Hachochma, we would omit Tachanun at a late-night Selichot when the brit will be the next morning.

Shevet Halevi (IV:54) succinctly presents a broader reason not to skip Tachanun for a brit or a chatan, upon which we will expand. Unquestionably, we do not waive the entire Selichot due to a chatan or a brit. He argues, then, that the role of Tachanun in Selichot is not as a relative “add-on,” like it is in during regular tefilla, which sometimes is said and sometimes not (e.g., Shabbat, major and minor chagim, Ma’ariv). Rather, Tachanun is part and parcel, in terms of structure and content, of the fabric of Selichot. Therefore, given we are doing Selichot, we cannot allow ourselves nor will we gain much by omitting Tachanun. Some point out that similarly while Erev Rosh Hashana is too festive to recite Tachanun in Shacharit, we recite it in Selichot.

One can argue whether this viewpoint fits well with the following general approach to Selichot, championed by Rav Soloveitchik (see Batei Yosef 581:2-3). Selichot of Elul and Tishrei have a semi-status of an independent tefilla, introduced with Ashrei, ending with Kaddish Titkabel, and including Tachanun. One can claim that Tachanun has a similar role in Selichot as in standard tefillot, so it can be omitted due to simcha. However, there is stronger logic to say that we lack precedent to amend the internal structure of Selichot, and also that the moods of Selichot and Tachanun are too similar to do one and not the other.

Both practical approaches have serious proponents (see opinions in B’tzel Hachochma ibid.), and each shul’s minhag is fully acceptable. Some communities have a preference to make Selichot short, while some communities prefer consistency; factoring in these preferences is also legitimate.

לעילוי נשמת יואל אפרים בן אברהם עוזיאל זלצמן ז”ל