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DAAT · LEVEL 1 — INTRODUCTION

Siman ק״ז · The doubt whether one prayed and the voluntary prayer

המסופק אם התפלל ודין תפלת נדבה — one who doubts whether he prayed repeats the Amida with no addition (חוזר ומתפלל); one who is certain he prayed repeats only as a נדבה through a חידוש; neither מוסף, nor Shabbat and Yom Tov, nor the community; and only one who can have full כוונה from beginning to end
סימן ק״ז · ד׳ סעיפים
המסופק אם התפלל ודין תפלת נדבה
🌱 Introductory level · Beginners
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This siman teaches the doubt whether one prayed and the voluntary prayer: one who doubts whether he prayed the Amida חוזר ומתפלל with no need to renew anything; one who is certain he prayed repeats only as a נדבה, through a חידוש; and there is no נדבה for מוסף, nor on Shabbat and Yom Tov, nor for the community; and only one who can hold his כוונה from beginning to end may say it. Hebrew text, fluent English translation and explanation of the ד׳ seifim, with a section of practical cases.

Topic: The doubt whether one prayed and the voluntary prayer — מסופק אם התפלל, תפלת נדבה, חידוש, תנאי הכוונה
Source: שולחן ערוך אורח חיים סימן ק״ז · ד׳ סעיפים

Compiled by: רב יוסף חיים סממה
DAAT · daattorah.com

Our Sages taught (ברכות כ״א.): אמר רבי יוחנן: ולואי שיתפלל אדם כל היום כולו — Rabbi Yochanan said: « would that a person prayed the whole day through ». This is the foundation of the siman: the Amida is a moment of mercy, ever desirable; thus one who doubts whether he prayed repeats the Amida, and one who has already prayed may, under conditions, say one of נדבה (voluntary). We study here at the level of principle; for personal conduct, one refers to the custom and to the ruling of the Rav.

📑 Study outline

A. The ד׳ seifim — מסופק אם התפלל (séif 1), גדר החידוש (séif 2), אין צבור מתפללין נדבה (séif 3), תנאי הכוונה (séif 4)
1. Practical case — the doubt whether one prayed: repeat the Amida with no חידוש
2. Practical case — repeating a נדבה when certain one prayed: the חידוש, neither מוסף nor Shabbat
3. Practical case — who may pray a נדבה: the condition of כוונה
+ Comprehension questions and going further

A. The doubt whether one prayed and the נדבה — the ד׳ seifim

הַמְסֻפָּק אִם הִתְפַּלֵּל — one who doubts whether he prayed — the Amida has two modes: the prayer of obligation (חובה), corresponding to the daily קרבן תמיד; and the voluntary prayer (נדבה), corresponding to a קרבן נדבה. Hence the whole siman: on a doubt one repeats the Amida (it will be חובה if he did not pray, נדבה if he already did); when he is certain he prayed, he may repeat only as a נדבה, which requires a חידוש; and the נדבה has its limits (מוסף, Shabbat, the community) and its condition (כוונה).

Séif 1 — מסופק אם התפלל: the doubt and the נדבה

אם הוא מסופק אם התפלל — חוזר ומתפלל ואינו צריך לחדש שום דבר; אבל אם ברי לו שהתפלל — אינו חוזר ומתפלל בלא חידוש, ועל ידי חידוש חוזר ומתפלל בנדבה כל הפעמים שירצה, חוץ מתפלת מוסף שאין מתפללין אותה בנדבה; ובשבת ויום טוב אינו מתפלל תפלת נדבה כלל. ואם התחיל להתפלל על דעת שלא התפלל ונזכר שכבר התפלל — פוסק אפילו באמצע ברכה, אפילו יכול לחדש בה דבר.
Séif 1: one who doubts whether he prayed — repeats the Amida and need renew nothing; but one who is certain he prayed — does not repeat without a חידוש, and through a חידוש he repeats it as a נדבה as many times as he wishes, except the prayer of מוסף which is not said as a נדבה; and on Shabbat and Yom Tov he says no תפלת נדבה at all. And if he began to pray thinking he had not prayed, then recalled that he already had — he stops even in the middle of a berakha, even if he could renew a word in it.
On a doubt, one repeats the Amida without a חידוש: for if he did not pray it is the obligation itself, and if he already prayed — repeating on a doubt is in itself the greatest of חידושים and counts as נדבה. But one who is certain he prayed may repeat only through an explicit חידוש. The נדבה has limits: never מוסף (offered only in the name of the community), and nothing on Shabbat/Yom Tov (no נדרים or נדבות are offered then). And one who began by error (thinking he had not prayed) then recalls — stops at once, even mid-berakha.

Séif 2 — גדר החידוש: what the novelty consists of

חידוש זה שאמרנו הוא שיחדש איזה דבר בכל ברכה מהאמצעיות מעין הברכות; ואם חידש אפילו בברכה אחת — דיו, כדי להודיע שהיא נדבה ולא חובה. הגה: ויש אומרים דלא מקרי חידוש אלא אם נתחדש אצלו דבר שלא היה צריך אליו קודם לכן.
Séif 2: this חידוש of which we spoke is that he renews some word in each of the middle berakhot, in keeping with the theme of the berakha (מעין הברכה); and if he renewed in even a single berakha — it suffices, to make known that it is a נדבה and not a חובה. Rama: and some say that it is not called a חידוש unless a new thing has arisen for him, which he did not need beforehand.
The חידוש is made in the middle berakhot (the requests), by adding a word in keeping with the theme of the berakha (מעין הברכה) — e.g. in רפאנו, praying for a particular sick person. It suffices to add it in a single berakha to mark it as a נדבה. The Rama cites a stricter view: it is a true חידוש only if it is a genuinely new need, one he did not have at the time of his first prayer.

Séif 3 — אין צבור מתפללין נדבה: no communal נדבה

אין צבור מתפללין תפלת נדבה כלל.
Séif 3: the community prays no תפלת נדבה at all.
The נדבה corresponds to the קרבן נדבה of an individual; but the community does not bring such a voluntary offering (save for the exceptional case of קיץ המזבח). Therefore the community never says a תפלת נדבה. It remains possible for the individual, even when praying among the tsibbour.

Séif 4 — הרוצה נדבה: the condition of כוונה

הרוצה להתפלל תפלת נדבה — צריך שיהא מכיר את עצמו זריז וזהיר ואמוד בדעתו שיוכל לכוין בתפלתו מראש ועד סוף; אבל אם אינו יכול לכוין יפה — קרינן ביה «למה לי רוב זבחיכם», והלואי שיוכל לכוין בשלש תפלות הקבועות ליום.
Séif 4: one who wishes to pray a תפלת נדבה — must recognize himself as prompt and scrupulous (זריז וזהיר), and estimate in his mind that he can hold his כוונה from beginning to end of his prayer; but if he cannot concentrate well — the verse « why do I need the multitude of your sacrifices » (למה לי רוב זבחיכם) is applied to him, and would that he could concentrate in the three fixed prayers of the day.
The נדבה is not for everyone: one who wishes it must be זריז וזהיר and sure he can hold his כוונה from beginning to end. Without that, a supererogatory prayer without heart has no value — « למה לי רוב זבחיכם » (Isaiah I) — and better to concentrate one's effort on the three obligatory prayers of the day.
The siman in one sentence: one who doubts whether he prayed repeats the Amida with no חידוש; one who is certain he prayed repeats only as a נדבה through a חידוש (מעין הברכה), never מוסף nor on Shabbat/Yom Tov; one who began by error then recalls — stops at once; the community says no נדבה; and the נדבה is only for one who can hold his כוונה from beginning to end.

Practical cases

Case 1 — The doubt whether one prayed

Situation: he does not remember whether he already prayed the Amida. Must he repeat it?
Conduct: he repeats the Amida, and need renew nothing — if in truth he had not prayed, he fulfils his obligation; and if he had already prayed, repeating on a doubt counts as נדבה. But if, having begun believing he had not prayed, he recalls in the middle that he already had — he stops at once, even mid-berakha. For the practical application, one follows one's Rav.

Case 2 — Repeating a נדבה when certain one prayed

Situation: he certainly prayed, but wishes to repeat the Amida as a נדבה. May he?
Conduct: yes, but only through a חידוש — adding a word in keeping with the theme (מעין הברכה) in at least one of the middle berakhot, to mark it as a נדבה. He may do so several times, but never מוסף, and not at all on Shabbat or Yom Tov. For the details of the חידוש, one follows one's Rav.

Case 3 — Who may pray a נדבה

Situation: he would like to add voluntary prayers. Is he permitted?
Conduct: the נדבה is reserved for one who knows himself to be זריז וזהיר and sure of holding his כוונה from beginning to end. Otherwise, « למה לי רוב זבחיכם »: better to put all his concentration into the three obligatory prayers of the day. And the community itself never says a נדבה. For personal conduct, one follows one's Rav.

Comprehension questions

Check your understanding:
  1. Why does one who doubts whether he prayed repeat the Amida without a חידוש (séif 1)?
  2. What must one do who began believing he had not prayed, then recalls that he already had (séif 1)?
  3. What does the חידוש consist of, and the view of the Rama about it (séif 2)?
  4. Why does the community not say a תפלת נדבה (séif 3)?
  5. What condition does the siman set for one who wishes a נדבה, and why (séif 4)?

Going further

If you wish to deepen this siman:
Continue to the next simanSiman 108 →
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DAAT · רב יוסף חיים סממה

סימן ק״ז · ד׳ סעיפים · Level 1 — Introduction
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