DailyHalacha.com for Mobile Devices Now Available

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

      
(File size: 4.54 MB)
Adding “Reseh” in Birkat Ha’mazon When Se’uda Shelishit Ends After Nightfall

It is very common that Se’uda Shelishit – the third Shabbat meal – is finished after nightfall at the end of Shabbat. The Shulhan Aruch (Orah Haim 188:10) writes explicitly that in such a case, since the meal began on Shabbat, "Reseh" in added to Birkat Ha’mazon, even though Birkat Ha’mazon is recited after nightfall. Likewise, the Shulhan Aruch adds, if one began a meal on Rosh Hodesh and the meal ended after dark, when Rosh Hodesh had already ended, he nevertheless adds "Ya’aleh Ve’yabo." The same applies on Hanukah and Purim with regard to "Al Ha’nissim." And, of course, when Shabbat falls on Rosh Hodesh or Yom Tob, and one ends Se’uda Shelishit after nightfall, he adds both "Reseh" and "Ya’aleh Ve’yabo" in Birkat Ha’mazon.

Hacham David Yosef (listen to audio recording for precise citation) notes, however, that this Halacha applies only if one ate a Ke’zayit of bread before nightfall. In such a case, since one ate a substantial amount when it was still Shabbat, "Reseh" is recited in Birkat Ha’mazon. Otherwise, "Reseh" is not recited. Hacham David further notes that if one had recited Arbit before Birkat Ha’mazon, or even had recited "Baruch Ha’mabdil" – such as if he needed to do something that is forbidden on Shabbat – then he does not recite "Reseh" in Birkat Ha’mazon. Once he had recited Arbit – which is a weekday prayer – or recited "Baruch Ha’mabdil," declaring the end of Shabbat, it would be self-contradictory to then recite "Reseh" in Birkat Ha’mazon.

The Ben Ish Hai (Rav Yosef Haim of Baghdad, 1833-1909) writes that if one recites Birkat Ha’mazon for Se’uda Shelishit after nightfall, then he omits the word "Ha’zeh" ("this") in the phrase "Yom Ha’Shabbat Ha’zeh." Since it is, technically, no longer Shabbat, one should not refer to Shabbat as "this day of Shabbat" in such a case.

Summary: If one ended Se’uda Shelishit after dark, he nevertheless adds "Reseh" in Birkat Ha’mazon, as long as he ate a "Ke’zayit" before dark, and he had not yet recited Arbit or declared, "Baruch Ha’mabdil Ben Kodesh Le’hol." According to some opinions, in such a case one omits the word "Ha’zeh" from the phrase "Yom Ha’Shabbat Ha’zeh."

 


Recent Daily Halachot...
Purim – If Somebody Will Not Have Access to a Megila on Purim
Purim – If a Person is Able to Read the Megila Only Once on Purim
Purim – The Preference For an Eleven-Line Megilla
Seudat Purim- Proper Time for the Meal, and The Foods of Purim
Purim- Taanit Esther
Purim – The Importance and Obligation of Matanot La’ebyonim
Purim- Skipping “Al Ha’nissim” In Order to Recite “Nakdishach”
The Meaning and Halachot of Ta’anit Ester
Purim- Learning Torah on the Day of Purim and Is It Permissible To Celebrate 2 Mitzvot with One Seuda
Fulfilling Matanot La’ebyonim on Purim by Foregoing on a Loan, Paying a Poor Person’s Debt, or Writing a Check
Purim- Prioritizing Matanot La’ebyonim Over the Other Misvot of Purim
May A Megilat Esther Be Written By A Woman
Singing "Mi Chamocha Ve'en Kamocha" on Shabbat Zachor
Purim- The Laws & Importance of Matanot La'evyonim
Purim: Take Hair Cut on Purim Day & Reading the Megila with Many People
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found