Wednesday, March 21, 2012
A night out
With my daughter home on Spring break from college, I had the bright idea of taking her out to see a play. I bought the tickets, an 8:00 p.m. performance just south of Midtown Manhattan. I felt good to be able to treat her and spend some time together. Then I remembered. Oops, I need to say Kaddish, and with the clock change, Mincha at my local shul began at 6:50. I was almost resigned to missing the first Act when I realized I could try to find a minyan close to the theater. A Google search and a phone call to the Rabbi at the 16th Street Synagogue turned up a 5:50 Mincha/Ma'ariv minyan. (A word of advise: don't just rely on the Internet; always contact the shul before showing up to make sure a minyan really exists.) I didn't realize the afternoon service could begin so early. The earlier time is called Plag Ha'mincha. Plag is an hour and a quarter before sunset; if Mincha is said before that time, then Ma'ariv following on the heels of Mincha can be recited immediately thereafter just after Plag. see http://www.ou.org/torah/tt/5759/tazria_mtzora59/featuretidbit.htm And so I was able to daven, say Kaddish and see the entire play which I greatly enjoyed. The lesson: living and saying Kaddish regularly is not without its complications.
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Just curious how you handled things like movies and plays And what are some of the rules for that during the kaddish saying year
ReplyDeleteGood question. I know there are books that tell you what you are and are not supposed to do, but in general I followed my own instincts about what was appropriate. I did not attend any live music shows, and I heard no live music except for the wedding of my cousin's son in Israel (see post: "A Wedding and my 'Job'"). The movies I went out to see, which were few, had serious themes (Lincoln comes to mind). I did rent DVDs that I watched with my family. I also watched TV shows I enjoy as usual. I think I only went to that one play which was a Eugene O'Neil play called "Beyond the Horizon," definitely not an uplifting experience. Finally, with the kaddish obligation, it was not easy to go out in any event, and, as a general rule, I didn't seek out opportunities to go out. Hope this helps.
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