Thursday, April 19, 2007

בה"ב and Yom Haatzmaut

This year the first day of בה"ב falls out next Monday which also happens to be ה' אייר, which I thought was Yom Haatzmaut. I was wondering as to what people who usually observe both (e.g. say selichos on בה"ב and say Hallel on Yom Haatzmaut) would do Monday when the 2 clash.

However, I have been informed that according to the present position of the Chief Rabbinate in Israel, when ה' אייר falls on a Monday, Yom Haatzmaut is pushed off until Tuesday. The same applies if it falls out on Friday or Shabbos (it is pushed back to Thursday). ה' אייר is the same day as the seventh day of Pesach. Therefore ה' אייר can only fall out on Friday, Shabbos, Monday or Wednesday. On Friday, Shabbos, and Monday, Yom Haatzmaut is not observed on that day but pushed off, meaning that in reality most of the time it is not celebrated on ה' אייר. This is quite interesting and leads to some strange results, in America many people will celebrate Yom Haatzmaut on Monday ה' אייר while in israel it is officially celebrated on Tuesday.

How this works out with Hallel is a good question.

4 comments:

Lion of Zion said...

"This is quite interesting and leads to some strange results, in America many people will celebrate Yom Haatzmaut on Monday ה' אייר while in israel it is officially celebrated on Tuesday"

the tefilah hagigit and celebration that i attend follows the rabbanite.

ADDeRabbi said...

i remember growing up that one place said selichot and another said hallel on the same day. i've also heard that merkaz ha-rav says both the same day.

nyfunnyman said...

YU bais medrash says both- without tachanun. they also do not say tachanun on tue, but they don't say hallel either.

Tzvi Feifel said...

Personally, I think celebrating yom ha'atzmaut on monday is a very terrible thing to do for the following reason: when Jews in Israel are paying their respects to soldiers killed during war (the observance of yom hazikaron), I think it very inappropriate for Jews, no matter the location, to be celebrating.

If the chief rabbinate has come out saying yom ha'atzmaut is to be observed on tuesday, then it should be observed on tuesday across the board. Observing it on monday is not only wrong (lo tisgodidu - do not create factions), but also, in my opinion, very insensitive and inapropriate.

My shul recities hallel with a bracha (i personally don't - I'm yotzei with the shliach tzibbur) on tuesday. In addition, however, they do not recite tachanun on monday, keeping in mind that it is ה' אייר.