Question: Does the chazan need to repeat Sh’moneh Esrei from the beginning if he says HaKeil HaKadosh instead of HaMelech HaKadosh?
Short Answer: While Rav Ovadiah Yosef rules that the chazan only restarts Sh’moneh Esrei from after K’dushah, Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach adopts the ruling of the Shaarei T’shuvah that the chazan restarts Sh’moneh Esrei from the beginning.
I. Background
The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chayim 582:1) rules that if someone says HaKeil HaKadosh instead of HaMelech HaKadosh during Sh’moneh Esrei between Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur, he must repeat Sh’moneh Esrei from the beginning. The Mishnah B’rurah (4) explains that this restart is required because the first three brachos are considered one long brachah.
The Shulchan Aruch (ibid. 2) explains that you don’t need to repeat Sh’moneh Esrei if you remember toch k’dei dibur (within a short pause). The Mishnah B’rurah (7) clarifies that toch k’dei dibur does not help if you have already started the next brachah.
Numerous Acharonim debate whether one should restart Sh’moneh Esrei if he botches HaMelech HaKadosh and begins the next brachah but is unsure whether it was within toch k’dei dibur.
II. The Chazan
But what if the chazan makes the mistake and says HaKeil HaKadosh instead of HaMelech HaKadosh?
The Shaarei T’shuvah (582:1) cites the Z’kan Aharon, who rules that the chazan must start Sh’moneh Esrei again, the same as if an individual made the error. The chazan must also repeat K’dushah. This is also the ruling of the Matei Efraim (582:8).
III. Replacement Chazan
The Tur (Orach Chayim 59) discusses a case where a chazan made a mistake and needed to be replaced during Birchos K’rias Sh’ma. The Tur rules that if the chazan erred after K’dushah (in Birchos K’rias Sh’ma), the replacement chazan may begin after K’dushah.
Normally, you would restart from the beginning of the brachah; but in this case, K’dushah is considered the end of the brachah. The source for this is a Yerushalmi that relates an incident in which this exact scenario occurred, and the ruling was that the new chazan begins after K’dushah.
The Shulchan Aruch (59:5) rules in accordance with the Tur, and the Rama does not disagree.
At first glance, the Yerushalmi and the Tur/Shulchan Aruch seem to contradict the Shaarei T’shuvah: A chazan who botches HaMelech HaKadosh would only need to start from after K’dushah.
IV. Rav Ovadiah Yosef vs. Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach
Rav Ovadiah Yosef (Yabia Omer 1:8) takes this position. He explains that, based on the Yerushalmi and the Tur/Shulchan Aruch, a chazan who botches HaMelech HaKadosh should only need to restart from after K’dushah. He cites the Meiri, who states explicitly (though not in the context of HaMelech) that a chazan who must repeat Sh’moneh Esrei does not go back to the beginning but only to right after K’dushah.
Although the Shulchan Aruch (126:3) generally writes that a chazan follows the same rules for “going back” as a private individual, Rav Ovadiah holds that our case is an exception.
Rav Ovadiah also notes that some poskim rule that you do not need to repeat the Sh’moneh Esrei if you mistakenly said HaKeil instead of HaMelech HaKadosh. He therefore concludes that the chazan restarts only from right after K’dushah.
Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach (Minchas Shlomo 1:2) disagrees. He distinguishes between the K’dushah of Birchos K’rias Sh’ma and the K’dushah of Sh’moneh Esrei:
In Sh’moneh Esrei, K’dushah is part of the brachah of Atah Kadosh.
In Birchos K’rias Sh’ma, K’dushah is an addition – a recognition that the mal’achim praise Hashem – but not an intrinsic part of the brachah.
This explains why a yachid joins the tzibur for K’dushah during Sh’moneh Esrei but not during Birchos K’rias Sh’ma: the former is an essential element of the prayer, the latter is supplemental.
Rav Shlomo Zalman also cites the Leket Yosher, who testifies that the T’rumas HaDeshen instructed a chazan who made this exact mistake to repeat Sh’moneh Esrei from the beginning. Accordingly, Rav Shlomo Zalman rules like the Shaarei T’shuvah: The chazan must restart from the beginning.
Rabbi Ephraim Glatt, Esq. is the Associate Rabbi at the Young Israel of Kew Gardens Hills, and he is a Partner at McGrail & Bensinger LLP, specializing in commercial litigation. Questions? Comments? Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
