The American Spectator

Reader Mail

(Page 6 of 11)

p>It is true that we are allowed to sit on normal chairs after midday, but all the restrictions (fasting, not washing, no anointing, no wearing of leather shoes and no marital relations) continue for the entire day -- the same five restrictions that we have on Yom Kippur. br> -- Mark br> Flushing, New York /p> p> Jay D. Homnick replies: br> There are those whose custom it is to read the Lamentations in the morning as well, Telshe Yeshiva for one. All Yeshivas that I know of observe the custom of keeping the lights off at night and reading by candlelight, although many synagogues do not. The fasting continues after midday, but fasting is not associated with mourning in Judaism; mourners do not fast. The laws associated with mourning, i.e. sitting on the floor and not donning phylacteries, are removed after midday. /p>

I think you will find that my presentation accurately reflects a scholarly understanding of the observance, without pulling the reader into slight variations in customs, which would distract from the main point without shedding more light.

p> LOCK AND LOAD br> Re: Read Collins' Not Knowing :

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