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

01. Omissions and Errors 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 skips one of the berakhot of the Amida does not fulfill the mitzva of prayer. Even if she recites the full Amida, but rearranges the order of the berakhot, she does not fulfill her obligation (SA 119:3).

Additionally, one who errs in one of the berakhot in a way that ruins the essence of the berakha – for example, by not reciting the berakha’s conclusion or by introducing something irrelevant, like a prayer for rain during the summer – is considered not to have recited that berakha at all (BHL 119:3). Likewise, one who forgets Ya’aleh Ve-yavo on Rosh Ĥodesh or on a festival must repeat that Amida with Ya’aleh Ve-yavo.

These laws are the same for men and women; any situation in which a man must repeat his prayer, a woman must as well. Likewise, a circumstance in which a man must return to the berakha in which he erred, a woman must too (as explained in the next section). Even when a woman errs in an Amida she was not obligated to pray, she must repeat the Amida correctly. For example, if one who usually only prays Shaĥarit decides on a certain day to pray Minĥa too, but makes a mistake, she must repeat the Minĥa Amida correctly. Similarly, if one who normally prays Shaĥarit and Minĥa decides one day to pray Ma’ariv as well, but errs, she must repeat the Ma’ariv Amida correctly. Since she already began to pray, she must pray in the manner that the Sages prescribed and if she changes their formulations, she must repeat her prayer correctly. ¹

02. Error and Interruption in the Middle of the Amida

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. Even though she repeats the berakhot that she already recited, since everything after that berakha was not recited in order, it is as if she did not say them at all, and she must recite them again in their correct sequence (Berakhot 34a according to Rashbam’s interpretation; SA 119:3).

If she skips or errs in one of the first three berakhot or one of the last three berakhot, either by reciting the wrong words in one of these berakhot or by skipping one of them and incorrectly starting the next one, she must go back to the beginning of the three berakhot. Since the first three berakhot possess one theme, as do the last three berakhot (see above, 12:9), each section is considered one unit. Therefore, anyone who makes a mistake in one berakha is considered to have erred in all of them and must repeat all three from the beginning (Berakhot 34a; Rema 114:6; an example of this law appears below in section 8).

One who completes the Amida and then remembers that she omitted or erred in one of the berakhot must repeat the entire Amida. Even if she has not yet taken three steps back, if she finished the prayers of supplication and is about to take steps backwards, she must return to the beginning of the Amida (SA 117:5).

If one interrupts Shemoneh Esrei in the middle, whether verbally or silently, and the interruption is brief, she continues praying from the point where she stopped. However, if the interruption is long enough that she could have finished praying the entire Amida from beginning to end, she returns to the beginning of the Amida. Some say that there is no difference between an intentional interruption and one due to circumstances beyond one’s control. In either case, since there was enough time for her to finish the entire Amida, she starts from the beginning (SA 104:5, and this is the Sephardic custom). Others maintain that she only returns to the beginning of the Amida if the interruption was due to circumstances beyond her control; however, if she freely interrupted, even for a long time, she returns to the place where she stopped (Rema 65:1; MB 104:16; this is the Ashkenazic custom). We will explain when one may interrupt when necessary below (14:1-2).

03. Additions Pertaining to Particular Days

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 not preclude one from fulfilling her obligation.

On Ĥol Ha-mo’ed of Pesaĥ and Sukkot, the Ya’aleh Ve-yavo paragraph is added in Birkat Ha’avoda. If one already concluded the Amida but forgot to recite it, she must repeat the Amida. If she did not yet finish the Amida, she goes back to the beginning of Birkat Ha’avoda, adds Ya’aleh Ve-yavo, and then continues on until the end of the Amida. We also recite Ya’aleh Ve-yavo on Rosh Ĥodesh. If it was omitted in Shaĥarit or Minĥa, the Amida must be repeated. However, if forgotten in Ma’ariv of Rosh Ĥodesh, it is not repeated, because when the new month was sanctified in Jerusalem based on the testimony of eyewitnesses, there was no sanctification at night, and so the sanctity of Rosh Ĥodesh does not yet apply at Ma’ariv (SA 422:1).

On Motza’ei Shabbat, we add Havdala (Ata Ĥonantanu) to the berakha of Ata Ĥonen. If forgotten, it is not repeated, since she will fulfill her obligation later with Havdala over wine (SA 294:1).

On Ĥanuka and Purim, Al Ha-nisim is added in Modim. If one forgets to recite it, she does not go back, since these holidays are rabbinic, and forgetting to mention them does not prevent one from fulfilling her obligation (SA 682:1).

On fast days, individuals add Aneinu in Shome’a Tefila. Ashkenazim only recite it at Minĥa (Rema 565:3), whereas Sephardim recite it throughout the fast: on Tisha Be-Av at in Ma’ariv, Shaĥarit, and Minĥa, and on the other fast days at Shaĥarit and Minĥa (Kaf Ha-ĥayim 565:17). Some have the custom to recite it at Ma’ariv on all fast days (R. Masoud Ĥai Rakaĥ, Maharitz). According to all customs, one who forgets to say Aneinu does not repeat the Amida.

During the Ten Days of Repentance from Rosh Hashana through Yom Kippur – days of judgment during which God’s dominion is manifest – we conclude the third berakha of the Amida with “Ha-Melekh ha-kadosh” and Hashiva Shofteinu with “Ha-Melekh ha-mishpat.” If one mistakenly says “Ha-Kel ha-kadosh” in the third berakha, she must return to the beginning of the Amida since, as we have learned, the first three berakhot are considered one unit, and anyone who makes a mistake in one of them must go back to the beginning. If she corrects herself immediately (tokh kedei dibur), that is, within the amount of time it takes to say three words at a normal pace, she continues praying.

If one accidentally concludes Hashiva Shofteinu as usual (with “Melekh ohev tzedaka u-mishpat”) and does not correct herself tokh ke-dei dibur, according to the custom of Ashkenazim and some Sephardim, she fulfills her obligation be-di’avad, because even in the regular formulation the word “Melekh” (“King”) is used (Rema 118:1; Ben Ish Ĥai, Nitzavim 19; Kaf Ha-ĥayim 1). Other Sephardim maintain that she does not fulfill her obligation because she did not recite the correct wording for the Days of Awe. Therefore, if she has not yet finished her Amida, she must return to Hashiva Shofteinu, conclude it appropriately, and continue until the end of the Amida. If she already finished the Amida, she must pray again while stipulating that if she was not obligated to repeat the prayer, the second prayer is considered voluntary (SA 118:1; Yeĥaveh Da’at 1:57).

There are four other additions made during the Ten Days of Repentance: “Zokhreinu,” “Mi Kamokha,” “U-khetov,” and “Be-sefer Ĥayim.” If any of them are forgotten, the Amida is not repeated (SA 582:5). ¹

04. Voluntary Prayer (Tefilat Nedava)

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, 2:2-5 we learned which prayers are obligatory for women). Just as when the Temple existed  every woman was permitted to bring voluntary offerings, so too, a woman may recite an additional voluntary Shemoneh Esrei. As R. Yoĥanan states: “Would that a person pray all day long” (Berakhot 21a). In order for her prayer to be recognized as voluntary, she must add some sort of special personal request in that prayer. Moreover, just as a musaf sacrifice may not be offered voluntarily, so too one may not pray Musaf voluntarily. And just as voluntary offerings are not sacrificed on Shabbatot and festivals, so too there are no voluntary prayers on those days (SA 107:1-2).

One who wishes to recite a voluntary prayer must be certain that she is careful and capable enough of having kavana in her prayer from beginning to end. If she cannot concentrate well, she is not to recite a voluntary prayer at all (SA 107:4).

Nowadays, the accepted teaching is that we do not recite voluntary prayers because we do not have the proper kavana. Nevertheless, a woman who wishes to pray Ma’ariv even though she is exempt may do so, and her prayer is not considered a tefilat nedava. Therefore, even if she is not completely sure that she can have kavana for the whole prayer, she may pray Ma’ariv and it is a credit to her.

5. Situations of Uncertainty

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 passed, she recites the prayer and makes mental stipulation: “If I already prayed, this prayer is considered a voluntary prayer, and if not, this is an obligatory prayer.” It is unnecessary to introduce any personal requests into that Amida, since the fact that she is avoiding safek is itself something novel. Even though we do not recite voluntary prayers nowadays, we are permitted to do so in order to avoid uncertainty. If, in the middle of that Amida, she remembers that she already prayed, she continues to recite the Amida until the end and adds a personal request to demonstrate that it is, indeed, a voluntary prayer.

If one starts to pray on the basis that her prayer is obligatory, thinking that she did not yet pray, but suddenly remembers in the middle of her Amida that she already did, she must stop immediately. Her prayer cannot become voluntary, for just like there is no offering that is partly obligatory and partly voluntary, so too, there is no prayer that begins as obligatory and ends as voluntary (SA 107:1).

One who is daydreaming in the middle of her prayer to the point where she is unsure what part of the Amida she is reciting, for instance, one who is pondering whether she is reciting the sixth berakha or the tenth, must return to the sixth berakha and start to pray from that point on (according to most poskim, as cited in Peninei Halakha: Prayer, ch. 18 n. 3).

5. Situations of Uncertainty

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 passed, she recites the prayer and makes mental stipulation: “If I already prayed, this prayer is considered a voluntary prayer, and if not, this is an obligatory prayer.” It is unnecessary to introduce any personal requests into that Amida, since the fact that she is avoiding safek is itself something novel. Even though we do not recite voluntary prayers nowadays, we are permitted to do so in order to avoid uncertainty. If, in the middle of that Amida, she remembers that she already prayed, she continues to recite the Amida until the end and adds a personal request to demonstrate that it is, indeed, a voluntary prayer.

If one starts to pray on the basis that her prayer is obligatory, thinking that she did not yet pray, but suddenly remembers in the middle of her Amida that she already did, she must stop immediately. Her prayer cannot become voluntary, for just like there is no offering that is partly obligatory and partly voluntary, so too, there is no prayer that begins as obligatory and ends as voluntary (SA 107:1).

One who is daydreaming in the middle of her prayer to the point where she is unsure what part of the Amida she is reciting, for instance, one who is pondering whether she is reciting the sixth berakha or the tenth, must return to the sixth berakha and start to pray from that point on (according to most poskim, as cited in Peninei Halakha: Prayer, ch. 18 n. 3).

06. Making Up a Missed Prayer (Tashlumin)

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 before sunset, she prays Ma’ariv.

One who regularly prays Shaĥarit and Minĥa every day is subject to tashlumin – the enactment of make-up prayers. If she forgets Shaĥarit, she prays Minĥa twice, the first time as Minĥa and the second to make up for the missed Shaĥarit.

If she forgets Minĥa but regularly prays Ma’ariv, she makes up the missed Minĥa after Ma’ariv. If she does not usually pray Ma’ariv, she may pray Ma’ariv if she wishes and then pray another Amida after that to make up for the missed Minĥa. However, she is not obligated to do this since she would not normally pray Ma’ariv and thus would not normally have the opportunity to make up for the missed Minĥa. Nevertheless, one may certainly not make up the missed Minĥa after Shaĥarit, for the Sages enacted tashlumin to make up for an immediately preceding prayer that was missed. Once the time for that subsequent prayer has lapsed, tashlumin is no longer an option (Peninei Halakha: Prayer 18:5).

If one forgets to pray Minĥa on Erev Shabbat and wants to make it up after Ma’ariv of Shabbat, the make-up prayer follows the text of the Shabbat Amida (ibid.). ¹

The make-up prayer must be recited after the obligatory one. If one intended to recite her first prayer as the make-up and the second one as the obligation, she has not fulfilled her obligation of tashlumin, and she must pray a third Amida as tashlumin (ibid.).

One should pause between the two recitations of the Amida for the amount of time it takes to walk four amot. Be-di’avad, if one was supposed to make up a missed Shaĥarit but forgot to pray tashlumin right after Minĥa, she may make it up as long as the time for Minĥa did not yet lapse, meaning as long as the sun did not yet set (ibid.).

There is no tashlumin for Musaf, since musaf offerings are only brought on specific days. Similarly, one who forgot to pray Shaĥarit on a day that Musaf is recited cannot make up Shaĥarit with an extra Musaf and instead must make it up after Minĥa (ibid.).

Tashlumin was only instituted for one who was unable to pray due to circumstances beyond her control or for one who accidentally forgot to pray; however, one who intentionally missed one of the prayers may not make it up (ibid.).

07. Invoking and Requesting for Rain

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 of the Amida, Meĥayei Ha-meitim, we praise the One “Who makes the wind blow and the rain fall” (“Mashiv ha-ru’aĥ u-morid ha-gashem”). The Sages instituted this praise in this particular berakha because rain gives life to the world.

In the ninth berakha, Birkat Ha-shanim, we request rain. According to Sephardic custom, the entire wording of Birkat Ha-shanim changes from winter to summer. According to Ashkenazic custom, the wording of Birkat Ha-shanim in the summer and in the winter is identical, with the exception of the words “ve-ten tal u-matar livrakha” (“give dew and rain as a blessing”) in the winter and “ve-ten berakha” (“give blessing”) in the summer. (Yemenite Jews have an altogether different text, though the halakhic rule is the same.)

Although both the invocation and request of rain are recited in the winter, there is a difference between them. We invoke rain throughout the rainy season, whereas we request it only when we actually wish for it to begin falling.

We begin invoking rain on Shemini Atzeret. Technically, it could be invoked from the beginning of Sukkot, which coincides with the beginning of the rainy season. However, rain on Sukkot is considered an inauspicious omen since it prevents us from fulfilling the mitzva of sitting in the sukka. Therefore, we do not invoke rain then. The Sages therefore chose Musaf of Shemini Atzeret, when the entire community is in the synagogue, as the moment that it is announced to everyone that we begin invoking rain. Ma’ariv was not chosen because not everyone comes to the synagogue for Ma’ariv, and Shaĥarit was not chosen because the announcement may not be made right before the Amida, as we may not interrupt between redemption and prayer (Beit Yosef and SA 114:1-2).

The time to begin requesting was postponed for fifteen days to allow those who made the pilgrimage from the area of the Euphrates River to the Temple in Jerusalem for Sukkot to return home without being rained upon. Thus, we begin requesting rain at Ma’ariv on the seventh night of the month of Marĥeshvan (SA 117:1). Even after the destruction of the Temple, this custom was not abolished, since any practice that reminds us of the glory days of the Temple is cherished. Only after the Temple is rebuilt will the Sanhedrin be able to determine whether or not to change the time that we start requesting rain, taking into consideration contemporary means of transportation.

We continue to invoke rain until the first day of Pesaĥ, when we still invoke rain in Shaĥarit but begin invoking dew in Musaf. Regarding the request for rain, since the request is only made on weekdays, the last time we request rain is Minĥa of Erev Pesaĥ.

08. Errors when Invoking and Requesting Rain

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 of it and says “Morid ha-tal,” as should be recited in the summer. If she already finished the berakha, she must start the Amida over from the beginning in order to recite it properly (SA 114:4).

One who mistakenly did not invoke rain in the winter but instead invoked dew as though it was summer need not repeat it since she invoked praise that relates to water. However, if she did not mention dew either, she must repeat the Amida, since she omitted such important words of praise (ibid. 5).

One who mistakenly requests rain in the summer: since she made an inappropriate request in Birkat Ha-shanim, she must go back and correct it. Therefore, if she did not finish her Amida yet, she returns to Birkat Ha-shanim, recites it properly, and continues in order from there until the end of the Amida. If she already finished the Amida, she repeats the Amida properly from the beginning (ibid. 117:3).

If, by mistake, one did not request rain in the winter, it depends how much of the Amida she already recited. If she did not yet reach Shome’a Tefila, she continues her prayer and when she arrives at Shome’a Tefila, in which one may make any request, she requests rain, thereby correcting her mistake. However, if she already passed Shome’a Tefila, she must return to Birkat Ha-shanim, recite it in accordance with the halakha, and then continue in the proper order, repeating all of the berakhot that come after Birkat Ha-shanim. If she already finished the Amida and was about to take three steps back, her prayer is considered lacking since she did not request rain, and it must be repeated properly in its entirety (ibid. 4-5).

09. A Suggestion for Avoiding Mistakes

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 learned, three of the four possible errors require one to repeat the Amida. (One must repeat her prayer in the following situations: 1. if she requested rain in the summer; 2. if she did not request rain in the winter; and 3. if she invoked rain in the summer. One does not repeat her prayer if she forgot to mention rain in the winter and instead mentioned dew.)

If one is not sure whether she recited the correct words, as long as thirty days have not passed since the change in formulation at the beginning of the summer or winter, we assume that she most likely erred, since she is still in the habit of using the earlier formula. If the presumed mistake is one that necessitates a repetition of the Amida, she must do so. However, if thirty days have passed, people have become accustomed to the change in wording and we may assume that she most likely recited the correct wording. She therefore need not repeat the Amida.

In order to avoid uncertainty, due to which it is often necessary to repeat the Amida, it is a good idea for one to habituate herself to the new wording by repeating it ninety times on the day of the change. In that way, even if she is not sure whether she recited the proper wording, she may presume that she recited it correctly, and she need not repeat the Amida (SA 114:8-9; Peninei Halakha: Prayer, ch. 18 n. 4). Therefore, on the night of 7 Ĥeshvan, Sephardim should habituate themselves to beginning the paragraph properly (since they replace the entire paragraph of Birkat Ha-shanim) by reciting the last words of the preceding berakha and the first words of Birkat Ha-shanim (“Rofei ĥolei amo Yisrael, Barekh aleinu”) ninety times. Ashkenazim should habituate themselves to insert the proper phrase by repeating “Ve-et kol minei tevu’ata le-tova, ve-ten tal u-matar li-vrakha” ninety times. At Musaf on the first day of Pesaĥ, she says “Meĥayei meitim Ata rav lehoshi’a, morid ha-tal” ninety times. Then, before Ma’ariv on the first night of Ĥol Ha-mo’ed, Sephardim would say “Rofei ĥolei amo Yisrael, barkheinu” ninety times, and Ashkenazim would say “ve-et kol minei tevu’ata le-tova, ve-ten berakha” ninety times (MB 114:40; Kaf Ha-ĥayim 60). She thereby accustoms herself to the new formula, and if a doubt subsequently arises as to whether or not she recited the right words, she need not repeat her prayer. ¹

10. The Status of Ĥutz La-aretz

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 request rain in Babylonia from the very beginning of winter. All Jews living outside of Eretz Yisrael follow the Babylonian custom and begin requesting rain on the sixtieth day of the season (SA 117:1). ¹

A resident of Eretz Yisrael who travels to Ĥutz La-aretz for a few months is the subject of disagreement. Some say that she should request rain as they do in Eretz Yisrael, for that is her home (Pri Ĥadash). Others say that she should request rain according to local custom (Birkei Yosef). In any situation of uncertainty, one should request rain in Shome’a Tefila and not in Birkat Ha-shanim, thereby fulfilling her obligation according to all opinions (Peninei Halakha: Prayer, ch. 18 n. 6). ²

In places that require rain in the spring, the request for rain in Birkat Ha-shanim should not be continued after Pesaĥ. Instead, the status of those places resembles the status of individuals: in those places, one requests rain in Shome’a Tefila (SA 117:2; concerning one who errs, see Peninei Halakha: Prayer, ch. 18 n. 7).

People living south of the equator, in South America, South Africa, or Australia, also request rain when it is winter in Eretz Yisrael, even though it is then summer in those countries. Since Eretz Yisrael is the center of the Jewish world, Jews everywhere follow it and request rain when it is winter there. When they must request rain for themselves, they do so in Shome’a Tefila. However, people in southern locales where summer rain causes damage do not follow the practice Eretz Yisrael so as not to request something that is harmful for them. Instead, all year round they recite the summer formula of Birkat Ha-shanim and request rain in Shome’a Tefila. During their winter they keep their place of residence in mind, and during the northern winter they should think of Eretz Yisrael.

One traveling from Eretz Yisrael or elsewhere in the northern hemisphere to the southern hemisphere should continue requesting rain according to the northern winter, even if summer rain causes damage there (She’arim Metzuyanim Ba-halakha 19:3).