DailyHalacha.com for Mobile Devices Now Available

Click Here to Sponsor Daily Halacha
"Delivered to Over 6000 Registered Recipients Each Day"

      
(File size: 918 KB)
If a Group of Ten People Recited a Zimun Without Adding “Elokenu”

If ten men ate bread together, they recite a Zimun before Birkat Ha’mazon and include Shem Hashem (Name of God). This means that the Mezamen (person leading the Zimun) summons the others, "Nebarech L’Elokenu She’achalnu Mi’shelo," and they respond, "Baruch Elokenu She’achalnu Mi’shelo U’be’tubo Hayinu." The Mezamen then repeats their response. If fewer than ten men eat together, then they recite the Zimun without "Shem Hashem" – that is, they omit the word "Elokenu."

If a group of ten men complete the Zimun and they then remember that they had forgotten to recite "Elokenu," they do not repeat the Zimun. The Shulhan Aruch (Orah Haim 192:2) writes that they have fulfilled their obligation despite omitting the Shem Hashem, and they should therefore simply continue with Birkat Ha’mazon, rather than repeating the Zimun with Shem Hashem.

If they realize their mistake at some point during the Zimun, should they then add Shem Hashem in the rest of the Zimun, or do they forfeit this opportunity once the Mezamen declares, "Nebarech She’achalnu Mi’shelo" without mentioning God’s Name?

The Halacha in this case depends on when precisely the people realized their mistake. If the Mezamen omits Shem Hashem in his introductory declaration of "Nebarech…" and the others immediately inform him of his mistake, then he should repeat "Nebarech" and add "L’Elokenu." If the Mezamen did not correct his mistake, but the others responded to him by declaring, "Baruch Elokenu," with God’s Name, then he may likewise respond, "Baruch Elokenu." Since they recited "Elokenu" in their response, he, too, should add "Elokenu" when he repeats their response. However, if they responded incorrectly, by reciting, "Baruch She’achalnu," without "Elokenu," then he, too, must repeat "Baruch She’achalnu," without God’s Name. Once the others respond without "Elokenu," he can no longer recite "Elokenu" when he repeats their response.

This is the ruling of several Halachic authorities, including the Ben Ish Hai (Shana Rishona, Korah, 2), the Kaf Ha’haim (Laws of Zimun, 16), and Rabbi Moshe Halevi (Birkat Hashem, vol. 2, p. 496).

Summary: A group of ten men who ate together recite a Zimun with God’s Name ("Elokenu"). If the one leading the Zimun begins without reciting "Elokenu" and the others correct him, he should repeat the first line with "Elokenu." If he did not repeat it correctly but the others responded with "Elokenu," then he should repeat their response with "Elokenu." However, if the others respond without "Elokenu," then even though they realize their mistake afterward, they should simply continue with Birkat Ha’mazon without repeating the Zimun.

 


Recent Daily Halachot...
Is It Permissible to Spread a Talet Over the Children on Simhat Torah?
Is It Permissible On Shabbat To Walk On Grass Or To Have A Picnic On Grass
Reading Shir Hashirim on Ereb Shabbat
Peeling a Hardboiled Egg on Shabbat
Inflating a Ball on Shabbat
Is It Permissible To Repair Eye Glasses on Shabbat
Walking in a Public Domain on Shabbat With Food in One's Mouth
Asking a Gentile on Shabbat to Cut Tissue Paper; Asking a Gentile on Shabbat to Turn on a Light for a Frightened Child
Mukse- If a Base for a Mukse Item Also Holds a Non-Mukse Item
Mukse- Handling a Corpse on Shabbat
If Part of A Utensil or A Button Becomes Detached on Shabbat
Is It Permissible To Move Frozen Meat On Shabbat Or Is It Muktze
Mukse – the Status of Chicken Bones and Eggshells
Collecting Candies That Were Thrown in the Synagogue on Shabbat
Mukse: Placing Empty Shells on a Plate
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found