The Pesukim
5. הנה ק-ל וכו'. There are five sections in the text of Havdoloh. The first section consists of the pesukim we say at the beginning, i.e., "הנה ק-ל," "ישועתי וכו'," and "ליהודים היתה אורה וכו'," "כוס ישועות וכו'" as a positive siman (רמ"א סי' רצ"ו ס"א). We also add the pesukim, "ה' צבאות וכו'," "הישועה וכו'" as they appear in the siddurim (סידורי הקדמונים). These pesukim are not critical. Therefore, if someone came late or spoke in the middle of these pesukim, he is still yotzei.
Said the Brochos out of Order
6. Order of the four brochos. After the pesukim, we say four brochos: on wine, besomim, a flame, and the brochoh of Hamavdil. An acronym to remember the order is יבנ"ה [yayin, besomim, ner, Havdoloh] (שו"ע סי' רצ"ו ס"א). They are arranged according to the configuration of the face, from bottom to top, i.e., first the mouth, then the nose, the eyes, and finally the brain, which has the understanding and intellect to distinguish between things (מטה יהודה).
7. Said Hagofen out of place. If one said the brochoh of Hagofen out of place, e.g., after the brochoh on the besomim or flame, or even after Hamavdil, he is yotzei since the order of the brochos is not critical.
8. Brochoh on the flame before besomim. If one said the brochoh on the flame before the besomim, he should not correct himself. Instead, he should derive benefit from the flame's light and then say the brochoh on besomim since the order is not critical (מ"ב סי' רצ"ז סק"ו).
9. If, when saying "Hashem…Melech" in the brochoh, one was planning to say the brochoh on besomim, and was holding the besomim, but accidentally said "בורא מאורי האש," he can correct himself by saying "בורא מיני בשמים" within toch kedei dibbur. However, if he was planning to say "בורא מאורי האש" the whole time, he should not correct himself even within toch kedei dibbur. Instead, he should derive benefit from the flame and then say the brochoh on besomim (שם).
10. Brochoh on the flame or besomim after Hamavdil. Similarly, if one forgot to say the brochoh on the flame or besomim until after Hamavdil – or if a candle or besomim only became available after Hamavdil – he should say those brochos after Hamavdil, before drinking the wine, since Chazal decreed that they should also be said lechatchiloh with a cup of wine (ליקוטי מאמרות סי' ח', שו"ת שרגא המאיר ח"ה סי' נ"א).
