Reminder: Beginning Tuesday night, the eve of the 7th of Marcheshvan, November 8th, and until Pesach, we (in Eretz Yisrael) ask for rain in the "Bareich Aleinu" bracha of every weekday Amida, with the words V'TEN TAL U'MATAR LIVRACHA A weekday Amida without TAL U'MATAR (from 7 Cheshvan until 14 Nissan) is invalid and must be repeated. This means that if you finish an Amida and realize that you forgot T&M, you must say the Amida again. If you remember that you forgot T&M in the Shacharit Amida, for example, anytime during the morning (not just right after the Amida or when you are still davening), then you have to "stand" another Amida. And if it is in the middle of the afternoon that you remember your omission, then you say a second Mincha Amida as TASHLUMIN for Shacharit. Situations in which you are NOT sure whether you omitted T&M or not, will be presented later. If you catch your omission when
you are still in the Amida, then it depends, as follows: If you already said G-d's name, then continue (without going back) and when you get to the SH'MA KOLEINU bracha, say T&M as follows: SHMA KOLEINU.... (See hard copy of TT for full text) This is preferred to repeating one or more brachot, because this too is a good spot for requests (as we know from the other things that are inserted into Sh'ma Koleinu, before KI ATA). If you pass the point of insertion in Sh'ma Koleinu, but haven't said G-d's name in the end of the bracha, then say T&M and continue with KI ATA SHOMEI'A... If you finish Sh'ma Koleinu but haven't said the word R'TZEI yet, you can say V'TEN TAL U'MATAR LIVRACHA after SHOMEI'A T'FILA and before R'TZEI. Since you have not begun R'TZEI, it is still considered being in the "brachot of request" section of the Amida, and T&M fits. Once you say the word R'TZEI (and you haven't asked for T&M yet), you must go back to BAREICH ALEINU (not just SH'MA KOLEINU) and say the Amida straight from there. Although this involves repeated brachot you have already said, this is what must be done. This rule applies from R'TZEI until you finish the Amida. That point is either when you finish YIHU L'RATZON...or when you begin taking your first step back. If it is only then that you realize that you have not said T&M, then you must say the Amida all over again. One should be struck by the fact that 19 brachot are being declared invalid, just so that the request for rain can be said in its proper place. This should give us a strong feeling of the value of the prayers of each and every Jew. Our Sages could have reasoned that others would have asked for rain properly and let the one who omitted T&M off the hook, so to speak. But no, every single prayer is important. Let's say that when you finished the Amida, you aren't sure whether you said T&M or not. The doubt enters you right away. In this case, our Sages say that if you have not developed a habit to say T&M (defined as 90 times or one month - which are not exactly the same), then you probably did NOT say it, and you must repeat the Amida, just like someone who is sure they forgot it. After a habit develops, you may assume you said T&M, even if you are not sure. If when you finished the Amida you did not have a feeling of doubt, but it came to you later, then you can ignore the feeling and assume that you said T&M correctly. Also, if you remember thinking about saying T&M while you were in the beginning of the Amida, but you now are not sure whether you said it or not, you may assume that you said it. The halachic rules for SAFEK (doubt) are a bit tricky. In the examples we have mentioned, the person did or didn't say T&M. If he did, fine. If he didn't, then he has to repeat. The problem is that he doesn't know or remember whether he did or not. Halacha therefore tries to maximize the probability that the assumption is as close to the reality as possible. Short of an audio replay, we cannot know for sure. So we must follow the halachic guidelines for cases of doubt. If you are in doubt as to what to do if you are in doubt, ask a Rav. The goal is to follow halacha, avoid bracha l'vatala, avoid invoking the opposite of a blessing. Our prayers are REAL. We should take them seriously. Prayer is an important task and challenge of the Jew. And we each should "pull our weight" by davening with proper care and KAVANA. As to the situation of a Jew from abroad being in Eretz Yisrael when we begin saying T&M (and the Jews from where he comes do not yet say T&M, until the beginning of December), there are different opinions. Here is one approach. A CHULNIK (person who lives outside of Israel) who is in Israel for a "short" visit, asks for T&M like where he comes from, and not from 7 Cheshvan. He should avoid being Chazan here, but if he is, he must say T&M in the repetition. If a CHULNIK did start saying T&M (which he should not have done according to this opinion), then he should continue saying it. Some say, even when he returns "home". This is disputed. People who are in Israel for a year of learning (which often is much less than a year) should ask their Rav (or Rosh Yeshiva), as opinions differ. A person who is going to be in Israel for the entire period of 7 Cheshvan through Pesach, even though it is less than a year, might be told that he/she can say T&M like a local. Others are told to say V'TEIN BRACHA in Bareich Aleinu until December, and to say T&M in Sh'ma Koleinu (similar to one who forgot to say T&M). An Israeli traveling abroad
(with intention of returning in less than a year), asks for T&M according to
the Israel schedule. He too should avoid the Amud (being Chazzan). If he
cannot avoid it, then he must follow local practice in the repetition of the
Amida. But if there is a place where rain is harmful during their summer (damages crops, breeds mosquitoes, spreads disease), the Jews there do not have to say T&M from Dec. 5/6 until Pesach. However, during their rainy season, when we are not saying T&M, they may not either, even though they want and need rain. Which means they say V'TEIN B'RACHA the whole year round. Some opinions allow them to ask
for T&M in Shma Koleinu, if they need rain during our summer. Other allow it
only if their need is dire. [The Parshat
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