During the period of the Aseret Yemeh Teshuba – the ten days from Rosh Hashanah through Yom Kippur – we are required to substitute the phrase "Melech Oheb Sedaka U’mishpat" in the Amida with "Ha’melech Ha’mishpat." If a person mistakenly recited the standard text of "Melech Oheb Sedaka U’mishpat," instead of "Ha’melech Ha’mishpat," must he repeat the Amida?
This issue is subject to a debate among the Halachic authorities. Maran, in Shulhan Aruch, rules that "Ha’melech Ha’mishpat" is equivalent to the Beracha of "Ha’melech Ha’kadosh" in this respect. Just as during the Aseret Yemeh Teshuba one who mistakenly recites "Ha’Kel Ha’kadosh" instead of "Ha’melech Ha’kadosh" must repeat the Amida, similarly, one who mistakenly recites "Melech Oheb Sedaka U’mishpat" instead of "Ha’melech Ha’mishpat" must repeat the Amida. The Rama (Rabbi Moshe Isserles of Cracow, 1525-1572), however, disagrees. Unlike in the case of "Ha’Kel Ha’kadosh," the Rama notes, one who mistakenly recited "Melech Oheb Sedaka U’mishpat" has still mentioned the word "Melech" ("king"), and thus does not have to repeat the Amida. According to the Rama, then, one who mistakenly recites "Ha’Kel Ha’kadosh" must repeat the Amida, but one who recites "Melech Oheb Sedaka U’mishpat" does not, since he did, after all, mention the word "Melech." This is also the view taken by the Ben Ish Hai (Rav Yosef Haim of Baghdad, 1833-1909).
In light of the different views that exist on this matter, one who mistakenly recited "Melech Oheb Sedaka U’mishpat" during Aseret Yemeh Teshuba instead of "Ha’melech Ha’mishpat" should repeat the Amida on condition. This means that before beginning the Amida, he should stipulate that if Halacha requires him to repeat the Amida, then this prayer should count as his obligatory Tefila, but if not, then it should be regarded as a voluntary prayer. He then satisfies all views by repeating the Amida on this condition.
A more complicated question is how one resolves this problem when he made this mistake during Minha on Ereb Shabbat and he realizes his mistake after Shabbat had begun. Such a situation resembles the case discussed by the Halachic authorities of one who forgot to recite Ya’aleh Ve’yabo during Minha on Rosh Hodesh, and realized his mistake only after sundown, once Rosh Hodesh had already ended. Ordinarily, we would tell a person who forgot Ya’aleh Ve’yabo to recite an additional Amida at Arbit, but in this case, since Rosh Hodesh has already ended, reciting an extra Amida will not allow the person to make up the missed recitation of Ya’aleh Ve’yabo. This issue is subject to a debate between Tosafot and the scholars of Provence, as one view claims that one does not repeat the Amida in this case, whereas the other claims that since one who omits Ya’aleh Ve’yabo is considered as not having recited the Amida at all, he should recite an extra Amida at Arbit. The solution in such a case is to recite an extra Amida on condition, as described above, in order to satisfy all opinions. At first glance, this should apply to "Melech Oheb Sedaka U’mishpat," as well. Since this Beracha of the Amida is not recited on Shabbat, the issue of reciting an extra Amida at Arbit should be subject to this dispute, and the solution should thus be to recite an extra Amida on condition.
The problem, however, is that voluntary prayers are not allowed on Shabbat, just as in the times of the Bet Ha’mikdash voluntary sacrifices were not offered on Shabbat. Therefore, when one mistakenly recites "Melech Oheb Sedaka U’mishpat" during Minha on Friday during the Aseret Yemeh Teshuba, he does not have the option of reciting an Amida during Arbit on condition that it would be regarded as a voluntary prayer if it is not necessary.
The solution in this case is to ask the Hazan to have one in mind when he recites the "Me’en Sheba" section, which is a condensed Amida text, and to listen to the recitation and thereby be considered as having recited it. This allows one to fulfill the obligation of an extra Amida, in case this is necessary, without running the risk of reciting an unwarranted Amida.
Summary: If one mistakenly recited "Melech Oheb Sedaka U’mishpat" instead of "Ha’melech Ha’mishpat" during the Aseret Yemeh Teshuba, he should repeat the Amida but stipulate that according to the view that he has fulfilled his obligation of prayer, the extra Amida should be regarded as a voluntary prayer. If this happened in the Minha prayer on Friday, and one realized his mistake only after Shabbat had begun, he should ask the Hazan to have him in mind during the recitation of "Me’en Sheba," and fulfill his obligation by listening to the Hazan’s recitation.
