<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;" align="left"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">An onen<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>(</span><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi;">a person <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>who is obligated <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>to mourn for certain <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>relatives is known as an &ldquo;onen&rdquo; </span><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">b</span><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi;">etween the time of death and the burial of that relative)</span><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>is <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>forbidden<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>(or at least has an exemption) <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>to recite <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>berachos. However, (according to Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach z&rsquo;tl), an exception to this rule is that an onen is obligated to say the berachah hamapil before going to sleep. (see: Rav Chaim Binyamin Goldberg, &ldquo;Penei Baruch&rdquo;,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>page 21 and footnote 19)</span></span></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;" align="left"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Kriyas shema al hamita consists of the beracha &ldquo;hamapil&rdquo;, the first paragraph of the shema, and many other pesukim and prayers. One might reasonably expect that on the night of Tisha b&rsquo;Av it would be limited to just hamapil and shema. One might especially expect to have to omit the part beginning &ldquo;vihi noam&rdquo;, which is indeed omitted at the ma&rsquo;ariv service when Tisha b&rsquo;Av occurs on motzaei Shabbos. However the poskim rule that on Tisha b&rsquo;Av one recites kriyas shema al hamita with all the pesukim and prayers as on any other night of the year. (see: Rav Moshe Harari, &ldquo;Mikroei Kodesh,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Hilchos Ta&rsquo;aniyos&rdquo;, page 285)</span></span></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">As we can see from Rabbah (Pesachim 117a) and also from the Chasam Sofer, it is good to start a shiur or a talk with a joke. Here is one which one can utilise on a whole variety of occasions, and it also teaches a halachah. The wife of a Jew living in Alaska gave birth to a boy. Normally a mohel would fly in to perform the bris. However that day it was very stormy and it was impossible to fly. It happened that the local Pastor &ndash; the &ldquo;galach&rdquo; - had learned how to do a bris in accordance with the halachah. Some authorities rule that if a non-Jew does a bris, it is a valid bris. (Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deah 264:1) This Pastor therefore did the bris. The only problem was that when this boy got older and recited kriyas shema al hamita, instead of saying &ldquo;hamalach hagoel...&rdquo; he would say &ldquo;hagalach hamohel...&rdquo;. (acknowledgements to R&rsquo; Yisroel Goldstein z&rsquo;l) </span></span></span></p>