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When Bentching on Rosh Hodesh Av, do you say Shir HaMa'aloth for Rosh Hodesh or 'Al Naharoth Bavel for the Nine Days?

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@msh210 I too have seen such a custom. No source though. –  Double AA Jul 20 '12 at 3:21
@msh210, you know what to do. –  Seth J Jul 20 '12 at 14:17
@HachamGabriel That's a good answer if you want to say both chapters of tehillim. –  Double AA Jul 23 '12 at 16:09
@HachamGabriel I don't know, but Tadir is a principle or ordering not of triage. So it would only be applicable if you ruled to say both. –  Double AA Jul 23 '12 at 16:11
@HachamGabriel, in fact, Double AA is correct. Tadir only applies when you have two practices to follow and need to set priority of order. In fact, we generally say that the less common practice is the one followed if only two practices are in direct conflict and only one can be followed. The question, if this is relevant to that discussion, would be which is Tadir? Shir HaMa'aloth or 'Al Naharoth Bavel? (Although I'm not sure that is the discussion here; I think it is more, which is more appropriate to the mood of the day, and which supersedes the other. But I concede I may be wrong.) –  Seth J Jul 23 '12 at 16:23

1 Answer 1

I once saw a bentcher that said that "our minhag" is never to say Al Naharoth Bavel before bentching except at the Seudah Hamafseket before Tisha B'Av. It makes sense because if you only will have one opportunity to say something, then you will have much greater kavanah for it.

Cf. Before the Mishnah on Brachos 34a on the punishment for someone who thinks that multiple opportunities exist to say Shema in the Zman (if there was a chisaron in kavanah). The punishment is that you hit him with a hammer until he has kavanah!

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Is Kavanah the underlying issue here? –  Seth J Jul 23 '12 at 16:24
I can't put too much stock in "I once saw a bentcher". What bentcher was it? –  msh210 Jul 23 '12 at 17:10
@msh210 - Don't remember. Why should it make a difference? Eizehu chacham, halomeid mikol haadam - including the redactor of the halachos printed in that bentcher. –  Adam Mosheh Jul 23 '12 at 17:11
@SethJ - Good question. No, not necessarily. –  Adam Mosheh Jul 23 '12 at 17:11
@AdamMosheh, to say lomed mikol adam means accepting everything everyone tells you as correct is nonsense. –  msh210 Jul 23 '12 at 17:22

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