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) prayer services; it follows the recitation of the Amidah, the central part of the daily Jewish prayer services. It is also recited at the end of the Selichot service. It is omitted on Shabbat, Jewish holidays, and a list of other celebratory occasions (e.g., in the presence of a groom in the week following his marriage). Most traditions^[which?] recite a longer prayer on Mondays and Thursdays.

There is a short format of Tachanun and a long format. The long format is reserved for Monday and Thursday mornings, during which the Torah is read in the synagogue. The short format, recited on other weekday mornings and afternoons, consists of three (in some communities, two) short paragraphs.

In Nusach Sefard—followed by most Hasidic Jews, who may or may not be Sephardic Jews—and most Sephardic rites (which differ from Sefardic rites despite the similar names), Tachanun begins with vidui (confessional prayer) and the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy; in Sephardic and some Moroccan Jewish communities, these are recited only in the long Tachanun. In vidui, several specific sins are mentioned, and the heart is symbolically struck with the right fist during the mention of each. Vidui is followed by the mention of God's Thirteen Attributes of Mercy. By and large, the Hasidic Jews who follow Nusach Sefard do not rest their heads on their hands for reasons related to Kabbalistic teachings; Sephardic and some Moroccan Jews, who do not follow Sefardic customs, do.

In most communities using Nusach Ashkenaz, Tachanun begins with introductory verses from 2 Samuel (e.g., 24:14), which is followed by a short confession—that Israel has sinned and God should answer the Jewish people's prayers—and Psalm 6:2-11, which King David is traditionally believed to have composed while sick and in pain. Most Sefardic communities also recite these verses, although only after reciting vidui and the Thirteen Attributes.

In the Sephardic, Italian, and Romaniote rites—also adopted in some Hasidic communities, including Chabad—Psalm 25 is recited as Tachanun. In Baladi-rite prayer, a prayer from a non-scriptural source is recited.

In the presence of a sefer Torah, this paragraph is recited with the head leaning on the back of the left hand or sleeve (in most Ashkenazic communities, one leans on the right hand when wearing tefillin on the left). The following paragraph, "שומר ישראל‎" ("Guardian of Israel"), is recited seated but erect (some communities recite it only on fast days).

After this point, and following the words "va'anachnu lo neida", it is customary in many communities to rise, and the remainder of the final paragraph is recited while standing. Other rites' adherents, especially those who don't recite "Guardian of Israel" daily, remain seated but erect for this passage. Tachanun is invariably followed by "half kaddish" at Shacharit and by "full kaddish" at Mincha and in Selichot.

The Talmud (Bava Kamma) marks Monday and Thursday as "eth ratzon", a time of divine goodwill during which a supplication is more likely to be received by God. On Monday and Thursday mornings, therefore, a longer prayer is recited. The order differs by custom.