Halocho #996 - Ask for rain tonight!

Since Mussaf on Shmini Atzeret we have been praising Hashem for the wonderful gift of rain, by adding מַשִּׁיב הָרוּחַ וּמוֹרִיד הַגֶּשֶׁם  "He makes the wind blow and He causes the rain to fall"  into אַתָּה גִּבּוֹר - the second Bracha of the Amida.

In Israel only, starting from 7th Cheshvan we started adding a prayer for rain - וְתֵן טַל וּמָטָר לִבְרָכָה - in the 9th Bracha of the weekday Amida - בָּרֵךְ עָלֵינוּ. (Sefardim started saying בָּרֵךְ עָלֵינוּ  instead of בַּרְכֵנוּ as the 9th Bracha.)

Starting tonight - Tuesday night - we start praying for rain on weekdays, in the 9th Bracha of the Amida - בָּרֵךְ עָלֵינוּ - all over the world.

If you forgot to add וְתֵן טַל וּמָטָר לִבְרָכָה - "and bless us with dew and rain", then:

• If you remember before you finish בָּרֵךְ עָלֵינוּ then you insert it and continue from there.
  
• If you already said "Baruch Ata Hashem" of the בָּרֵךְ עָלֵינוּ then you insert it into שְׁמַע קוֹלֵנוּ before כִּי אַתָּה שׁוֹמֵעַ.
  
• If you forget to say it in שְׁמַע קוֹלֵנוּ  then you need to go back to the 9th Bracha - בָּרֵךְ עָלֵינוּ .
  
• If you don't remember until you finished the Amida (defined as saying יִהְיוּ לְרָצוֹן אִמְרֵי פִי ) then you have to restart the entire Amida.

Source: Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 19:5

- Danny
Jerusalem, Tuesday 20 Kislev 5773

Halocho #28 – Blessing before eating fruits

The blessing "Ho'Etz" is only made on fruit that grows on trees which retain their branches in winter and then leaves grow again from these branches. Otherwise a "Ho'Adomo" is made on the fruit. These blessings are only said if the fruit (or vegetable) is normally eaten raw. If the fruit is normally eaten cooked then on the raw fruit one says "Shehakol". On fruit pits that are sweet one says "Shehakol"; if they are bitter one doesn’t make any blessing on them. Fruit eaten during a meal as desert do require a blessing. If the entire meal is a "fruit meal" then the HaMotzi blessing covers the fruit too. Source: KSA 52:1, 4, 10, 43:3-4

Ho'Adomo ברוך אתה ה' א‑לוהינו מלך העולם, בורא פרי האדמה. Ho'Etz ברוך אתה ה' א‑לוהינו מלך העולם, בורא פרי העץ. Shehakol ברוך אתה ה' א‑לוהינו מלך העולם, שהכל נהיה בדברו. HaMotzi ברוך אתה ה' א‑לוהינו מלך העולם, המוציא לחם מן הארץ.