Posted on 03/20/20
23 Adar 5780
Notes of Rav Heinemann’s shiur on Coronavirus halachos (davening alone and Pesach)
Due to time constraints, the Rav did not read this over to approve. In case of any question, please refer to the actual webinar (https://vimeo.com/399141271 or https://www.star-k.org/videos ) or your Rav.
To be alerted to future webinars, send an email to webinar@star-k.org
Davening time & place
One should daven at the regular time that he davens. If it is not a trouble, he should daven כותיקין. If getting up early will affect one’s health, he should not do so. If one davened before הנץ, but now is davening and working at home and does not need to daven so early, he should wait until הנץ. One should preferably daven מעריב after צאת הכוכבים even if he usually davened right after מנחה. However, on Friday night one can daven מעריב earlier.
מוסף should be davened in the first 7 hours of the day, and after one davened שחרית.
The תקנה made for men and women to daven separately was only made in a Shul. One may daven in a home which is also used for other things even if women are present. This is even if he always davens in that spot.
One should distance 4 אמות from a dirty diaper. From clean diapers it is not necessary.
There is no reason to coordinate with other people if it is anyway not a מנין. There is no reason to daven with 10 people on the phone. There is no reason to daven at the same time as other family members if it is not 10 men.
Since one is not davening with a regular minyan, he should make a reminder for himself so he should not forget to daven.
Davening with a מנין outside
One should not make a מנין outside as גוים who see it will complain that the Yidden are causing spread of the disease. It can cause a tremendous חילול ה'. They may even give Yidden less preferential treatment in the hospital if they feel that Yidden are causing the problem. It is not an option to daven at a great distance as it is not clear how close they must be to be considered a מנין.
laining
One is not יוצא when he lains from a חומש. However, there is an ענין to have a זכר of laining and read from a חומש. This applies to the הפטרה as well. It does not hurt to read פרשת החדש as well. We find that they lained הפטרה when they could not lain from the תורה.
If he has a ספר תורה in his house and knows how to lain, then he should lain. One can be יוצא saying שנים מקרא with that laining. Do not bring a ספר תורה if you do not already have one as it is not a כבוד to bring it for such purpose. If one has a ספר תורה in his house and does not have the right כבוד, the effects can be devastating.
Will we make up what was missed? We find some who made up when they missed. (See רמ"א in סי' ק"ל) Rav Heinemann plans to lain all the פרשיות which were missed when we reconvene. כהן will have a very long עלייה.
Parts of davening not said
One does not say the first two יקום פורקן when not davening with a מנין.This is because it is ארמית and מלאכים consider ארמית to be an aberration of לשון הקודש and won’t take up such a תפילה. Only with a מנין where we do not need מלאכים to bring up the Tefillos do we say them.
We do say ויכולו even without a מנין. Even though the מנהג is to say it with another person or even the ציבור there are many פוסקים who have difficulty understanding why he should not just say it by himself. Their question is, we פסקן like רבי נחוניא בן הקנה that בית דין will listen to each עד separately. Even though we generally try to say ויכולו with someone, we certainly say it even by ourselves.
We do not say מגן אבות when not in Shul.
One does say והוא רחום before מעריב during the week.
It is not necessary to say the יהי רצוןs after laining when he did not lain. These בקשות are said because there is a זכות after the מצוה of laining. (We have the same concept of saying בקשות after the מצוה of ברכת המזון or after the מצוה of הדלקת נרות.)
One should say ברכת החדש, but does not need to know when the מולד is. He should find out ahead of time what day ראש חודש is.
שלום עליכם on fri night
We say שלום עליכם to the מלאכים who were מלוה him home from Shul. Rav Heinemann asked Rav משה Feinstein whether one says שלום עליכם if he did not go to Shul because he was a חולה. Rav משה Feinstein said that if he was אנוס, he will not lose out on the מלאכים. In our situation when he cannot go to Shul he also will not lose out on the מלאכים.
שלום עליכם by קידוש לבנה
According to the strict הלכה, one says שלום עליכם by קידוש לבנה only if there are people to say it to. It is said as a follow up to the statement תפול עליהם אימתה ופחד. It is a clarifying that this statement does not apply to you. If his wife or other family member is present , say it to her. There is no reason for her to come. There are other פשטים in שלום עליכם is said and one can say it three times even if nobody is there. (See פרי מגדים.)
Naming a baby girl
A girl may be named even not at קריאת התורה. A girl’s name is contingent on what name she is known by, even if she was not named by the תורה. In fact, if she is named one way by laining and is called by a different name, her name in הלכה is the one she is called by. There is no reason to announce it in Shul afterwards.
fasting
A bechor should not fast on ערב פסח as he should be in the epitome of his strength at this time. This concept is found in משנה ברורה סי' תִּקְעוּ ס"ק ב'. We can allow relying on hearing a phone סיום. He can certainly make a סיום even if he is by himself.
One should preferably not fast for a יאר צייט. If he normally does fast, he can be מתיר נדר. He can use 3 adult men from his family. If that is not available, he can do so with 3 men on his front lawn who are further than 6 feet apart away from each other and him. At this point it is not really considered a מגפה see תענית כא: that it must be 3 people who are niftar in 24 hours within a certain size city. So, if one wants, he can fast.
חמץ in a Shul or school
If one is concerned about the possibility of חמץ in a Shul or school he should clean it even if he does not plan to enter over פסח. One person should go in at a time. If one has חמץ in his locker and can’t go there, he should sell it with the rest of his חמץ.
selling חמץ
There does not seem to be a reason to sell real חמץ if one normally does not sell it.
The handshake to sell חמץ is not מעכב. However, there is typically a שטר given to the גוי with the information. The Rabbonim will figure out how to do this online or by fax.
Burning חמץ
Normally in Baltimore there is a public burning of chometz. (There are opinions [like Rav משה Shternbuch שליט"א] that one can burn חמץ only on his property.) The Baltimore crew already has plans for how to give the חמץ from your car window…
Other things
The Chofetz Chaim’s grandson said that it is not true that the Chofetz Chaim had an extra suit set aside for when moshiach comes.