ots@ohrtorahstone.org.il

Question:
This past Shabbat in shul, two people almost came to blows over whether or not to recite Av Harachamim [It was the Shabbat of Rosh Chodesh Iyar]. We ended up reciting it because someone said that is how Rav Riskin ruled. Is that true and if so, why?

Answer:
Av Harachamim is a touching, poignant dirge which was written in the late 11th / early 12th Century, after the destruction of the Ashkenazi communities around the Rhine River (such as Mainz, Speyer and Worms) at the hands of the Crusaders. These were deeply religious communities which produced the Baalei Tosafot who were very much dedicated to religious observance and Torah learning. Many of the dirges that we recite on Tisha B'Av were written during this period - although Av Harachamim is the only one to have actually entered the regular Shabbat liturgy. Because of its mournful content, it is generally not read whenever it is a Shabbat of special joy, such as a Shabbat of a circumcision, a Shabbat for a groom or the Blessing of the New Moon.

The exception to this rule is the Shabbat between Rosh Chodesh Iyar and Shavuot, since these communities were actually destroyed during this period and the Ashkenazi custom of mourning during Sefira emanates from that destruction. Indeed, the Adat Yeshurun Breuer community *only* recites the Av Harachamim prayer during this period of Shabbatot.

Hence, despite the fact that there are some dissenting voices, I have ruled for Efrat that all Ashkenazi synagogues recite Av Harachamim during these Shabbatot even if it is the Shabbat of Rosh Chodesh Iyar. It is also important to note that Rav Yaakov Emden in his interpretation of the prayer book suggests that the fatal flaw of these communities was that although they were extremely pious in every respect, they did not think of making aliyah to Israel. It was an irony of history that the Crusaders destroyed them on their way to freeing the land of Israel from Saracen (Moslem) domination.

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