** The Blumenthal Zion Boys Orphanage in Jerusalem wants to express its heartfelt appreciation for the support it received after a short announcement like this a few months ago in the Halacha email. For this Purim, the Orphanage offers us a way to continue our support by sending a special Purim Card. Simply log on to: https://zionorphanage.hs-cluster-1.net/purim_cards.php to send a Purim Card to benefit the boys at the Orphanage.**
Today's Halacha:
Halacha requires adding the Al Ha’nissim insert, with the paragraph of "Biy’meh Mordechai Ve’Ester," in Birkat Ha’mazon on Purim. If a person recited Birkat Ha’mazon and then realized that he forgot to insert Al Ha’nissim, must he repeat Birkat Ha’mazon, or has he fulfilled his obligation even though he omitted Al Ha’nissim?
There is a general rule which establishes that on occasions when Halacha requires eating a meal with bread, if one forgot to recite the special insert for that occasion in Birkat Ha’mazon, then he must repeat Birkat Ha’mazon. Thus, for example, on Shabbat, when eating three meals is obligatory, a person who mistakenly omits Reseh from Birkat Ha’mazon must repeat Birkat Ha’mazon. Similarly, at the Seder, when Halacha requires eating Masa, one must repeat Birkat Ha’mazon if he forgot to recite Ya’aleh Ve’yabo. Seemingly, this rule would apply to the Purim meal, as well. Since Halacha requires eating a festive meal on Purim, it would appear that one who mistakenly omitted Al Ha’nissim from Birkat Ha’mazon must repeat the recitation. This is, indeed, the ruling of the Maharshal (Rabbi Shelomo Luria, 1510-1573), in his responsa (48), and the position of the Ateret Zekenim (Rabbi Menachem Mendel Auerbach, 1620-1689). This is also the view of the Taz (Rabbi David Halevi Segal, 1586-1667) in Siman 695 (listen to audio recording for precise citation).
Most authorities, however, including the Shulhan Aruch (Orah Haim 187), based on the Rambam (Rabbi Moshe Maimonides, Spain-Egypt, 1135-1204), rule that one does not repeat Birkat Ha’mazon if he forgot to insert Al Ha’nissim on Purim. This is also the view of the Hid"a (Rabbi Haim Yosef David Azulai, 1724-1806). According to this view, even though one is indeed obligated to eat a festive meal on Purim, it is unclear whether Halacha requires eating bread on Purim. We customarily eat bread in honor of the occasion, but this is not necessarily required as strict Halacha, as eating bread is on Shabbat, for example, and as eating Masa is on Pesah. Therefore, according to the majority opinion among the authorities, one does not repeat Birkat Ha’mazon on Purim if he forgot to insert Al Ha’nissim. This is the accepted position.
If a person forgot to insert Al Ha’nissim in Birkat Ha’mazon on Purim and he realized his mistake only after he recited the words "Baruch Ata Hashem" at the end of that Beracha, he should continue reciting Birkat Ha’mazon. Normally, in situations where one realized a mistake after reciting "Baruch Ata Hashem," he can correct the mistake by immediately reciting the words "Lamedeni Hukecha," as he will have thus recited a complete verse from Tanach. ("Baruch Ata Hashem Lamedeni Hukecha" is a verse in Tehillim 119:12.) He may then return to the place where he had erred. In the case of Al Ha’nissim, however, Rabbi Moshe Halevi (Israel, 1961-2001), in his work Birkat Hashem, rules that one should not utilize this solution of "Lamedeni Hukecha." He writes that since the Shulhan Aruch and majority of authorities maintain that one does not have to repeat Birkat Ha’mazon if he omitted Al Ha’nissim, it is improper to make an interruption in Birkat Ha’mazon by reciting "Lamedeni Hukecha" to satisfy the minority view. Therefore, if one did not realize his mistake until after he said the words "Baruch Ata Hashem," he simply continues Birkat Ha’mazon as usual.
Summary: If a person forgot to insert Al Ha’nissim in Birkat Ha’mazon on Purim, he does not have to repeat Birkat Ha’mazon. Even if he realizes his mistake immediately after reciting the words "Baruch Ata Hashem" at the end of that Beracha in Birkat Ha’mazon, he simply continues reciting Birkat Ha’mazon as usual.
