Asara B'Teives - Mincha After Shkia

QUESTION: If Mincha on Asara B'Teives was delayed past shkia (sunset), does one still recite Aneinu in Shmoneh Esrei even though it is already Shabbos?

ANSWER: Even on a regular day, an effort should be made to daven Mincha before shkia. However, according to many poskim, if one is running late, mincha may be recited until 13 ½ minutes after shkia (see Pischei Teshuvos 233:6), and some are lenient even to a later time. Although tefilas Mincha was instituted to correspond to the Korban Tamid of the afternoon which the Gemara Zevachim writes must be brought before shkia, the Shagas Ayeh (teshuva 17) shows that there is a disagreement as to which shkia this is referring to. Since Mincha is a Rabbinic obligation we can be lenient until the later shkia, right before tzeis Hakochavim (stars become visible). However, Rav Soloveitchik zt"l maintained that we should follow the opinion of the Vilna Gaon, and not daven Mincha after shkia.

Some Poskim write that the leniency of davening after Shkia applies on erev Shabbos as well. So long as one has not yet accepted Shabbos, it is possible to daven mincha until 13 ½ minutes after shkia (see Yalkut Yosef - Shabbos vol. 1 267:2). However, Rav Soloveitchik would tell his students that it is better to daven Maariv of Shabbos twice, than to daven the weekday Mincha after Shkia when it is already Shabbos. This is because already at Shkia, there is an automatic acceptance of Shabbos, since one must refrain from all melachah.

For those who would daven Mincha after Shkia even on erev Shabbos, can the tefilla of Aneinu also be recited after shkia? Shu”t D’var Yehoshua (3:73) rules that Aneinu may still be said in Mincha, even after shkiah. Nonetheless, every effort should be made to avoid this situation. Shabbos is a day of rejoicing and “oneg” (delight), and it is disrespectful to Shabbos to recite Aneinu which states “bitzara gedolah anachnu” (we are in a state of great crisis). Still, if one is davening mincha after shkia on Asara B’Teives, Aneinu is said.

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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.