Tues, July 27, 2021  ‫ תשפ“א‬,‫י“ח אב‬
Overview Halacha Highlight
Siman 89 Seif 2:
Once the time for shacharis arrives it is prohibited to go to a friend’s
doorway to wish him “shalom” since the name of Hashem is Shalom
but it is permitted to say “good morning to you.” Even this greeting is
permitted only if one must go to see something business related mat-
ter but if he only goes to greet him before davening it is prohibited
even if one uses the permitted phrase. It is also prohibited to bow
before him when one greets him. According to others, bowing is pro-
hibited even if one does not go to greet him. If one already began to
recite berachos, afterwards there is no concern. If one does not go to
greet him but bumps into him on the street it is permitted to wish him
“shalom.” Some maintain that even if one meets someone in the
street he should only say “good morning to you” so that he will be
reminded that it is prohibited to become involved in activities until
one has davened.
 This prohibition begins from amud hashachar. (M.B. 8)
 The same halacha applies if one goes from his regular seat in
shul to greet someone with Shalom. (M.B. 9)
 The restriction applies even to one’s father or rebbi. (M.B. 10)
 It seems that it is permitted to say, “The Merciful One should
have mercy upon you,” or “The Gracious One should be
gracious with you.” (M.B. 11)
 One should follow the opinion that restricts bowing even if one
does not go to his friend’s house to greet him. (M.B. 13)
 If one recited berachos it is permitted to bow before a friend as
long as one did not go to his house to greet him. (M.B. 14)
 Earlier generations were stringent in accordance with the opinion
that one should use the greeting ‫ צפרא דמרי טב‬as a reminder not
to engage in activities before davening unless one recited
berachos. (M.B. 16)
 The restriction is for one to initiate a conversation with the term
Shalom but it is permitted to respond to another person’s
greeting with the term Shalom. It is also permitted for one who
has davened to go to a friend’s house to greet him even though
that friend has not yet davened and will respond with Shalom.
(M.B. 16)
Stories to Share
The Greatness of a Greeting
"...‫ "אבל מותר לומר לו צפרא דמרי טב‬:'‫ ב‬,‫ש"ע ס' פ"ט‬
On today’s amud we find the halachos of greeting a person be-
fore davening.
On of the hardest habits to acquire is always greeting one’s fel-
low Jew with a radiant smile. Rav Avraham Grodzinsky, zt”l, a great
gaon and ba’al mussar, worked two full years to acquire this mid-
dah. Even in the ghetto during the Holocaust, his face was always
shining.
('‫ עמוד ר"א )ועד ד‬,'‫ חלק ב‬,‫עלי שור‬
It is not surprising that Rav Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld, zt”l, also
mastered this trait and greeted everyone with a smile. He was ex-
ceedingly careful to fulfill every detail of halachah or middas chassi-
dus with great joy, so why should this be different? Even at a very
advanced age when the rav was already quite frail, he would go to
‘‫סימן פ“ט סעיף ב‬
Greeting someone before davening
Shulchan Aruch Siman 89 Seif 2
‫אבל מותר לומר לו צפרא דמרי טב‬
But it is permitted to say to him, “Good morning to you.”
Shulchan Aruch ('‫ )סע' ב‬rules that once the time for davening arrives,
meaning from amud hashachar, it is prohibited for one to go to
someone’s house to greet them with the term Shalom, e.g. Shalom
Aleichem. The reason is that the term “Shalom” is the name of Ha-
shem and it is not proper to mention the name of Hashem in refer-
ence to a person to honor him before giving honor to Hashem
(‫)מ"ב ס"ק י"א‬. It is also prohibited to go to someone’s house and greet
him by saying, “good morning to you” – ‫צפרא דמרי טב‬. If, however,
one had another reason to go to a friend’s house, e.g. to see some
business related matter, it is permitted to say, “Good morning to you”
but one may not say, “Shalom Aleichem.” In the event that one al-
ready recited berachos it is permitted to go to a friend’s house and
wish him “good morning to you.” Eshel Avrohom asserts that it is spe-
cifically the phrase ‫ צפרא דמרי טב‬that is prohibited because it makes
specific reference to the one being spoken to but it is permitted for
one to say ‫“ —צפרא טב‬Good morning” since that phrase does not
address the other person explicitly and could refer to one’s self or the
Jewish People.
Shulchan Aruch cites Ra’avad who maintains that even if one bumps
into a friend in the market place one should say ‫ צפרא דמרי טב‬rather
than Shalom Aleichem to serve as a reminder that one may not en-
gage in other activities before davening. Machatzis HaShekel (‫)סק"ט‬
suggests that this ruling was limited to earlier generations where the
common greeting was Shalom Aleichem and ‫ צפרא דמרי טב‬was a
recognizable deviation from the norm. Nowadays that people com-
monly say ‫ צפרא דמרי טב‬it would not be a deviation to use that phrase.
Accordingly, in our times that people say ‫ גוט מארגן‬,‫ בוקר טוב‬or good
morning it may be that one should avoid these phrases to fulfill the
ruling of Ra’avad (‫)חיי משה‬.
any lengths to act in accordance with what he understood to be
Hashem’s will. The rav was always very careful to greet everyone he
met, friend or self-proclaimed foe.
213 ‫ עמוד‬,‫פעלד‬‫הגות ופסקים להגרי"ח זו‬‫ה‬
On the last motzei Shabbos of a year during which Rosh
Hashannah came out in the middle of the week, Rav Sonnenfeld was
on his way home when he encountered a neighbor who wished him
“gut voch.”
The rav responded warmly in Yiddish by wishing him a good
year: “Gut yohr.”
The man had hardly continued on when the Rav called him back.
“In Gittin 62 we find that if one receives a blessing should give an
even greater berachah back.
'(‫עיין ביו"ד סימן קמ"ח סעיף י' והש"ך שם )ס"ק ח‬
The custom is to respond to those who wish us a good week with
‘a good year’ since this is a bigger blessing. This particular week is
the exception to the rule, since Rosh Hashanah is on Tuesday and the
week extends until motzei Shabbos. So my blessing was less than
yours.” He looked at the man with his shining, happy countenance
and proceeded to heap blessings on the gratified man until he was
satisfied that he had fulfilled his duty.
‫ עמוד מ"ז‬,‫עקבי חיים‬