We’ve been talking about Keriat Shema al haMitah, so here is our halakha (Jewish law). In the Keriat Shema al haMitah that we have printed in our books, according to our custom, we have Ana (please). Kaf HaChaim, actually, holds, “I want you not to say Ana.” I’ll read you his words; I’ll tell you our custom in a minute. He says there are those who have a custom to say Vidui (confession). “I don’t think it’s a good idea,” he says. Rather, he says, you should think about your actions every night, think about the deeds you did during the course of the day, and if you find something you did wrong, you should say Vidui on that specific item. But he does not hold that you should do the entire list.
However, our custom in our books is that we do say Vidui, and we do say Ana during Keriat Shema al haMitah. That’s why we mentioned the other day that we have to stand up for that part of the Tefillah (prayer), even though the rest of it can be said, at least sitting down.
One of the details about this Ana is the following: We have days when we say Yehi Shem (May the Name be), so what is the story regarding Keriat Shema al haMitah? On those days, do we say Ana at night? The answer is very clear: We don’t say Ana on a night when there was no Ana the day before, in the morning. We don’t say it on the night after the Yehi Shem day, nor do we say Ana at night before a day when we’re going to say Yehi Shem in the morning. Whether before or after, we do not say Ana that night.
So although it is our custom, as we said, and there’s a debate about it, on these days when we say Yehi Shem, whether before or after, we don’t say Ana. Yet we do what Kaf HaChaim says to do every day: We think about our actions, review our deeds, and try to regret the bad ones and plan to do better next time. Have a great day. Shabbat Shalom.