Chapter: Chapter 13: Additions, Errors, and Omissions in the Amida

The Men of the Great Assembly fixed the prayer formula as a single unit, incorporating all main requests, and meticulously established the order of the berakhot of the Amida, basing its structure on biblical verses (Megilla 17b). Therefore, one who … Continue reading →

A woman who realizes in the middle of the Amida that she skipped or made a mistake in one of the thirteen middle berakhot must return to that berakha and continue praying from that point on, in the correct order. … Continue reading →

On special days, we add sections to the Amida pertaining to the themes of the day. Some additions, if forgotten, prevent one’s fulfillment of the duty to pray, and other additions must be recited le-khatĥila, but be-di’avad, if omitted, do … Continue reading →

As mentioned (above, 1:7), the Sages instituted three daily prayers: Shaĥarit corresponding to the morning Tamid offering; Minĥa corresponding to the Tamid of the afternoon; and Ma’ariv corresponding to the burning of the organs and fats upon the altar (above, … Continue reading →

A woman who prays Shaĥarit, Minĥa, or both on a regular basis and is not sure on a particular day whether or not she recited one of these prayers, as long as the time for its recitation has not yet … Continue reading →

A woman who regularly prays once daily and did not manage to pray Shaĥarit before ĥatzot (as explained above, 8:1) must wait until half an hour after ĥatzot and then pray Minĥa. If she does not manage to pray Minĥa … Continue reading →

During the winter season, we mention rain twice in the Amida. At the beginning, we invoke rain to praise God, Who causes rain to fall; afterwards, we ask God to bless us with dew and rain. In the second berakha … Continue reading →

One who mistakenly invokes rain in the summer must go back and correct her mistake, since there is no praise in mentioning rain at that time. If she did not yet finish the berakha, she goes back to the beginning … Continue reading →

The most frequent mistakes made when reciting the Amida concern the invocation and request of rain because we grow accustomed to a particular text over the course of six months and then abruptly shift to a different wording. As we … Continue reading →

The Sages determined Babylonian Jews begin asking for rain on the sixtieth day of the season (calculated to be December 4 or 5). Since there is an abundance of water from the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, it is unnecessary to … Continue reading →