Thursday, October 29, 2009

tefilas tashlumin

A few days ago one of my daughters asked me an interesting question. She had inadvertently forgotten to daven mincha, it was already after shkiya, and she wanted to know what to do.

A bit of background: my daughters do not ordinarily daven ma'ariv, nor does my wife. Although some Rishonim (e.g. R' Yonah) write that women should daven three times a day, the Mishna Berurah and many other poskim do not quote this view. The difference between ma'ariv and other tefilos stems from the fact that the gemara labels ma'ariv as reshus (Brachos 26), as opposed to shacharis and mincha, which are obligatory. Whether reshus means ma'ariv is not required at all or it simply means that ma'ariv can be deferred when faced with other obligations (as Tosfos writes), the bottom line is that it is a lesser obligation. Despite this theoretical distinction, in practice men always daven ma'ariv, in effect accepting it as obligatory. Women, however, have never adopted the practice of always davening ma'ariv, and for them it remains a reshus but not an obligation.

The one exception my wife and others make to this rule is that she davens ma'ariv on Fri. night and Erev Yom Tov. There is a complex reason why this makes sense (R' Ya'akov Emden and the Sha'arei Tshuvah quote this view), but for the sake of simplicity let me just explain what may be a side benefit of this practice. According to some poskim a man fulfills his mitzvah d'oraysa of kiddush in his davening; the kiddush recited over wine at the meal is only derabbanan. The Dagul m'Revava famously asks: how can a man who has already fulfilled his mitzvah d'oraysa of kiddush be motzi his wife at the meal when she has not? If one's wife has also already davened ma'ariv that question is rendered moot.

Getting back to our story, the halacha is that if a tefilah is missed it can be made up by davening an extra shmoneh esrei during the immediately following prayer period. For example, if you miss shacharis, you would daven a double shmonei esrei at mincha, the first being tefilas mincha, the second being a tashlumin make-up for shacharis. What should a women do if she missed mincha but does not ordinarily daven ma'ariv, the prayer period which immediately follows?

The Halichos Beisa writes (ch 6.) that in this case, even a woman who ordinarily does not daven ma'ariv should daven and add the tashlumin for mincha (which is what I told my daughter to do). What I found interesting is his proof. Poskim write that if a woman is running late on Friday and candlelighting time is approaching it is better for her to light candles than to daven mincha because she can always make up mincha later with tashlumin after ma'ariv -- QED that there is tashlumin for mincha at ma'ariv. I am not sure why this case is the paradigm for what to do when mincha is missed on Sunday or any other day. Perhaps only on Friday night when even many women who otherwise do not daven ma'ariv do so is there the possibility of tashlumin, but on other nights, where ma'ariv is ordinarily skipped, there is no tashlumin. The logic behind the Halichos Beisa's conclusion seems to be that since ma'ariv can be davened on any night, the possibility of doing so (even though one treats it as an obligation only on Erev Shabbos) is what allows for tashlumin.

One additional important point that I think my wife has brought up on her blog -- reshus means optional, not prohibited. Oftentimes a shul will hold a shiur open to men and women that is preceded by ma'ariv or followed by ma'ariv, and while the men daven, the women will slip out or stand in the back talking. Certainly if you are already in shul and have the opportunity to daven in a tzibur, to deliberately stand aside and engage in other activity instead of davening seems strange. Why not take advantage of the opportunity for avodas Hashem?

I don't know anything about the author of Halichos Beisa, but I wonder if he, like me, has more daughters than sons and therefore spent time working through these issues. I try to make time to learn the sefer with one of my daughters on Shabbos and aside from her gain in knowledge and I have found more often than not that I walk away with an interesting mareh makom or chiddush as well.

13 comments:

  1. I have never understood this question of the Dagul Merevava. Even if a person has completely fulfilled their obligation of, say, blowing Shofar or reading Megillah, he can still be motzi others, despite the fact that he is no longer obligated to perform the mitzvah at all.

    How can this be? The reason is because of arevut, which is a result of the fact that the obligation applies to him in general, even if he may already have discharged in it this particular case.

    So too, the fact that now, as a result of praying Arvit, you may only be obligated in Qiddush miderabbanan will not affect your ability to be motzi people who have not prayed Arvit and are thus obligated mideorayta. Your ability to be motzi them is contingent on your sharing the obligation of qiddush with them mideorayta, not your being actually obligated in this particular qiddush mideorayta.

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  2. "Why not take advantage of the opportunity for avodas Hashem?"- ולואי שיתפלל אדם כל היום כולו אמר רבי יוחנן...

    "I don't know anything about the author of Halichos Beisa"- Who 'is' the author? I never heard of it. That's not an English sefer is it?

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  3. >>>The reason is because of arevut

    The Dagul m'Revava is l'shitaso that there is no arvus by women based on a Rosh in Brachos.
    Discussed that a few years ago -
    http://divreichaim.blogspot.com/2006/11/shabbos-kiddush-does-arvus-apply-to.html

    The Halichos Beisa was written by R' Shlomo Zalman Auerbach's nephew whose name I can't recall offhand (I don't have the sefer in front of me). Don't know if it's been translated.

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  4. Anonymous4:35 PM

    he;s a talmud chacham and author of other seforim as well but i also heard not to pasken from it as it is known that there are some controversial psakim in there.

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  5. This wouldn't be a problem for those of us who daven Mincha after shkia. :)

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  7. I wonder though. Let's say the woman in question doesn't usually daven Maariv. Thus the only obligatory amidahs she has are Shacharis and Mincha.
    Now if I miss the amidah at Minchah I have to daven twice at Maariv not because it's Maariv but because it's the next time an amidah is said. So could one suggest that since for the woman who misses mincha her next officially scheduled amidah is shacharis, that she could then do tashlumin the next morning?

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  8. Why would she have to say birchos krias shma? Just say the shmoneh esrei. Also, did he say to daven maariv with two shmoneh esreis? Why? Because the chova has to come first? There's no chova here for her. So I'm confused.

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  9. G.I. -- in the case at hand my daughter does not normally daven ma'ariv, but in this case she has to for the tashlumin. The author of Halichos Beisa writes that he asked his uncle, R' Shlomo Zalman, whether a woman can stil do tashlumin at shacharis if she forgot to daven ma'ariv and R.S.Z. said no (see the sefer for his ra'aya).

    Barzilai - I told her just shmoneh esrei, not brachos k.s. That was not explicit in the sefer, but it stands to reason. Yes, chovah always has to come first, chovah in the relative sense in this case (to answer your second kashe).
    The fact that there is no chovah essentially is why I thought the ra'aya from ever Shabbos, where there is a real chovah acc. to some, is difficult. I did my best to explain it, but quite honestly I am not 100% satisfied myself with the hesber.

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  10. Joe in Australia2:11 AM

    The nusach of the Alter Rebbe of Chabad in candle lighting is, IIRC, "lehadlik ner shel shabbat kodesh", which has the effect of making women who light candles yotzei in kiddush miderabbanan.

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  11. Or, you can rely on Reb Akiva Eiger of Posen in OC 271 that when you greet a friend with a hearty Good Shabbos you are yotzei kiddush mideoraysa.

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  12. Australia Joe,
    You got me curious. I took a peek in the S"A haRav 263:8 and he omits the word "kodesh". The footnote sent me to a letter of the Rebbe (IG"K 6:124) who writes that the addition of the word "kodesh" is not the ikar hanusach but an addition that he does not know the source for other than mesorah of the women.

    I am just wondering if what you wrote is your own sevara for the addition of the word "kodesh" or is there a makor you got it from? Either way, interesting.

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  13. Tamir2:31 PM

    Chaim B.( 9:27 PM):
    G.I. -- in the case at hand my daughter does not normally daven ma'ariv, but in this case she has to for the tashlumin. The author of Halichos Beisa writes that he asked his uncle, R' Shlomo Zalman, whether a woman can stil do tashlumin at shacharis if she forgot to daven ma'ariv and R.S.Z. said no (see the sefer for his ra'aya).

    Im Halakha - Neqabel, ve'Im leDin... I agree with Garnel Ironheart: if she is not required to pray Arvit, it is no more for her than a Tefilat Nedava, then, why require her to say it for Tashlumim, rather than let her wait till her next Tefilat Chova, i.e. Shacharit.
    I'd also add that, in my opinion, if she is Yos'et Yedei Chova in the Qidush before the meal( even if mi-deRabanan, otherwise, why is it effective at all ?), then why require her to pray Arvit, that she doesn't during the week, in order to make a Qidush haYom de'Ora'ita ?

    Barzilai - I told her just shmoneh esrei, not brachos k.s. That was not explicit in the sefer, but it stands to reason. Yes, chovah always has to come first, chovah in the relative sense in this case (to answer your second kashe).

    As I understand it, when one does something he is not generally required to, he is to do it in the same form as those who are required do. If we accept R.S.Z's pesaq that she cannot do her Tashlumim with Shacharit, but must do it with Arvit, then she should follow the same procedure men would( and she would if it was Shacharit she had forgotten), and pray Arvit and add the Tashlumim to it. Doing otherwise, it seems like she is either praying Mincha after it's time, or praying a Tefilat Nedava, that isn't really Tashlumim for the missed Tefila.

    The fact that there is no chovah essentially is why I thought the ra'aya from ever Shabbos, where there is a real chovah acc. to some, is difficult. I did my best to explain it, but quite honestly I am not 100% satisfied myself with the hesber.

    I think the ra'aya is saying that it can't be claimed that because she generally doesn't pray Arvit, that she is cannot pray it for adding Tashlumim for Mincha. If she can pray Arvit to do through it Qidush haYom de'Ora'ita, then she can pray it to add Tashlumim for Mincha as well.

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