If a woman lit the Shabbat candles and accepted Shabbat at the proper time (eighteen minutes before sundown), and immediately thereafter remembered that she had not recited the Minha prayer, may she pray Minha at that point? On the one hand, since the sun has not yet set, the time for Minha has not passed and so perhaps she may still recite the prayer. On the other hand, one might argue that since she already accepted Shabbat, she can no longer recite the Friday afternoon Minha prayer.
The Ben Ish Hai (Rav Yosef Haim of Baghdad, 1833-1909) held that a woman may not recite Minha after she lights candles and accepted Shabbat, and she must therefore recite an extra Amida at the Friday night Arbit service. This is also the ruling of the Mishna Berura (Rav Yisrael Meir Kagan, 1839-1933).
Hacham Ovadia Yosef, however, disagrees. He notes a discrepancy between two rulings of the Shulhan Aruch regarding the question of whether one may perform Melacha (activity forbidden on Shabbat) before sundown on Friday after accepting Shabbat. While in one context the Shulhan Aruch allows performing Melacha in such a case, elsewhere he writes that one may not perform Melacha after accepting Shabbat, even if the sun has not set. The Hid"a (Rav Haim Yosef David Azulai, 1724-1806) reconciled these seemingly contradictory rulings by distinguishing between a private and congregational acceptance of Shabbat. Once the congregation accepted Shabbat by beginning the Arbit prayer in the synagogue, one may no longer perform Melacha, even before sundown. When, however, an individual privately accepts Shabbat – such as in the case of a woman who accepts Shabbat by lighting the Shabbat candles – this acceptance is not entirely binding. With respect to certain laws of Shabbat, a private acceptance does not amount to the onset of Shabbat. Accordingly, Hacham Ovadia rules that a woman may still recite Minha after lighting the Shabbat candles, since her acceptance was done privately, and not as part of the congregation’s acceptance of Shabbat. This is also the ruling of the Zera Emet (Rabbi Yishmael Ha’kohen, Italy, 19th century).
Hacham Ovadia adds that by the same token, a woman who lit candles on Ereb Shabbat and remembered that she had not separated Halla from her dough may still do so, provided that the sun has not set. Once again, since her acceptance of Shabbat was done privately, it is not entirely binding, and she may therefore separate Halla so that the family has bread for Shabbat.
Summary: A woman who accepted Shabbat during candle lighting on Friday afternoon and then remembered that she had not recited Minha may recite Minha at that point, provided that the sun has not set.
