Chapter 69:7-9
The Afternoon Service
7. A person who came to the synagogue and found the congregation reciting
the Shemoneh Esreh of the afternoon service should recite the Shemoneh
Esreh together with them. When he concludes, he should recite Ashrei.
[In the above situation,] when:
a) it is impossible for him to finish the Shemoneh Esreh before the chazon
reaches Kedushoh [and;
b) the hour is late] to the extent that were he to wait until the
conclusion of the chazon's recitation of the Shemoneh Esreh and Kaddish,
the time for the afternoon service would pass, he should wait and when the
chazon repeats the Shemoneh Esreh, he should recite his own prayers
together with him, word by word, in a hushed tone.
He should recite the entire Kedushoh together with the chazon, including
the concluding paragraph, L'dor vador... he should conclude the blessings
Ho'el hakodosh and Shome'a tefillah together with the chazon. Similarly, he
should recite the blessing Modim together with him so that he will bow at
the same time as the entire congregation.
An exception is made on a fast day. Then one should recite the prayer Anenu
according to the text recited by an individual and not according to the
text recited by the chazon in the repetition of the Shemoneh Esreh.
[The following rules apply when a person arrives at the synagogue late and
the congregation is accustomed to reciting the evening service directly
after the afternoon service:] If waiting until after the chazon's
repetition of the Shemoneh Esreh will force him to recite the evening
service alone, he should recite the afternoon service together with the chazon.
If he enters the synagogue shortly before Kedushoh, he should wait until
the chazon concludes the blessing Ho'e-l hakodosh, respond Amen, and then
recite his own prayers in a hushed tome. Though doing so will prevent him
from responding Amen to the blessing Shom'ea tefilah and reciting Modim
together with the congregation (and we are obligated to recite these
prayers), it is preferable to do so, rather than forgo the opportunity to
recite the evening service together with a minyan.* The above surely
applies at a late hour when the time for the afternoon service is passing.
(See also Chapter 20, Law 11.)
* {The Mishnoh B'rurah 109:4 emphasizes the importance of concluding one's
prayers in time to respond Amen. Yehei Shmei rabboh... to the kaddish
recited by the chazon after the Shemoneh Esreh.}
8. If the afternoon service continues until nightfall,* tachanun should not
be recited, because tachanun should not be recited at night.
* {The Misgeres Hashulchon 8 and the Mishnoh B'rurah 131:16 emphasize that
this applies only after the appearance of the stars. Tachanun may be
recited after sunset.}
Care should be taken that the afternoon service not be drawn out so that it
is concluded after nightfall. It is not proper to recite the kaddish with
the prayer tiskabel... (Accept our prayers...) at night, because prayers
recited during the day for the night are associated with the following day.
9. [In many communities, it is customary to welcome the Sabbath and
festivals before nightfall.] A person who comes to a synagogue to recite
the afternoon service after the congregation has already accepted the
Sabbath or a festival - i.e., on the Sabbath, they have already recited the
psalm Mizmor shir l'yom hashabbos (A psalm, a song for the Sabbath
day)(Psalm 92), and on a festival, they have already recited Borchu -
should not recite the afternoon service within that synagogue. Rather, he
should leave and recite the service outside.
Should he hear the chazon recite Borchu, he should not respond together
with the congregation. Were he to respond to Borchu, he would not be able
to recite a weekday Shemoneh Esreh afterwards. (If he erred and did respond
to Borchu, he should recite the evening service twice, as explained in
Chapter 21.)
If he enters the synagogue shortly before the congregation accepts the
Sabbath or a festival, he may recite the weekday service inside, even
though he will not be bale to conclude before the congregation accepts the
Sabbath or festival. Since he began his prayers while it was permitted
[there is no difficulty].
