V’sain Tal Umatar - Forgotten on Erev Shabbos

QUESTION: If one forgot “V’sein Tal Umatar” in Mincha of Erev Shabbos and did not realize his mistake until it is already Shabbos, should he daven Maariv twice?

ANSWER: In general, if one forgets “V’sein Tal Umatar,” the tefillah must be repeated. If one did not remember the omission until the next tefillah, the next tefillah is recited twice. The first Shmoneh Esrei is for the basic obligation and second is the tashlumin (makeup) for the one that was said incorrectly. However, if one forgot “V’sein Tal Umatar” in Mincha of Erev Shabbos, there is a dilemma. In the next tefillah (Maariv of Shabbos) “V’sein Tal Umatar” will not be recited. Perhaps it does not help to recite Maariv twice, since he will not be able to make up that which he forgot.

This situation is similar to one who forgot to recite Ya’aleh Vi’yovo in Mincha of Rosh Chodesh and first realized his error in the evening, which is no longer Rosh Chodesh. Should the person daven Maariv twice as a tashlumin, or is it purposeless to do so, since he will not say Ya’aleh Vi’yovo in Maariv in any event? There was a famous dispute between Tosofos and the Chachmei Provintzia, approximately 900 years ago, about this case (See Shulchan Oruch, 108:11). At the heart of the matter, the dispute revolves around the question of why must Shmoneh Esrei be repeated if one forgot Ya’aleh Vi’yovo? The Chachmei Provintzia hold that not saying Ya’aleh Vi’yovo on Rosh Chodesh is tantamount to not davening, since the Shmoneh Esrei was said improperly. As such, if one forgot Ya’aleh Vi’yovo in Mincha of Rosh Chodesh, he must repeat Shmoneh Esrei because he missed Mincha, and it does not matter that he will not correct the specific omission of Ya’aleh Vi’yovo. On the other hand, Tosofos holds that if one forgot Ya’aleh Vi’yovo he must daven again only to make up the missing Ya’aleh Vi’yovo, but he has already fulfilled the mitzvah of tefillah. That being the case, if Ya’aleh Vi’yovo was omitted in the Mincha of Rosh Chodesh, there is no point in repeating Shmoneh Esrei in Maariv.

Ostensibly, forgetting V’sein Tal Umatar in Mincha of erev Shabbos is comparable to omitting Ya’aleh Vi’yovo in Mincha of Rosh Chodesh, and will be subject to the same dispute. However, Rav Chaim Brisker, zt”l (Stencils – Berachos 26b) writes that in the case of V’sein Tal Umatar, even Tosofos agrees that he must daven Maariv twice. While Tosofos holds that if Ya’aleh Vi’yovo is omitted, the basic tefillah is valid, nonetheless, one who omits V’sein Tal Umatar has changed the text of the tefillah, and it is as if he has not davened at all. (The logic of this distinction appears to be that Ya’aleh Vi’yovo is an insertion in the regular text of the tefillah, while V’sein Tal Umatar replaces the phrase of V’sein bracha and is an alternative version rather than an additional prayer.) Therefore, he must daven Maariv a second time to make up for the missing tefillah.

However, the Chesed L’Avrohom (2:20) and Har Tzvi (OC 54) write that omitting “V’sein Tal Umatar” is equivalent to forgetting ”Ya’aleh Vi’yovo” or any other add-on to the tefillah, and the same dispute between Tosofos and the Chachmei Provintzia applies. Har Tzvi offers the following proof: If one forgets to add “V’sein Tal Umatar” in the bracha of Bareich Aleinu where it belongs, it may still be added into the bracha of Shema Koleinu. This indicates that “V’sein Tal Umatar” is an additional prayer that is added to Shmoneh Esrei but is not intrinsic to the bracha of Bareich Aleinu. This ruling can also be inferred from the Magen Avrohom (108:16) [see Levushei Serad (ibid.) who makes this point explicitly].

What then should one do? Repeat Shmoneh Esrei as per the ruling of Rav Chaim, or follow the Har Tzvi and the inference from the Magen Avrohom? Ordinarily, when one finds themselves in a questionable situation regarding Shmoneh Esrei, there is an option to recite a Tefillas Nedava (a voluntary Shmoneh Esrei, which may be recited in cases of doubt). However, our original question is about davening on Shabbos, and one may not recite a Tefillas Nedava on Shabbos. Some poskim offer the following suggestion: One should listen to the Tefillas “Me’ein Sheva” which is a truncated version of Shmoneh Esrei that is recited by the Shaliach Tzibur and intend to fulfill his obligation by answering Amen.

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The Gerald & Karin Feldhamer OU Kosher Halacha Yomis is dedicated to the memory of Rav Yisroel Belsky, zt"l, who served as halachic consultant for OU Kosher for more than 28 years; many of the responses in Halacha Yomis are based on the rulings of Rabbi Belsky. Subscribe to the Halacha Yomis daily email here.