Halachos of ותן טל ומטר
When to Begin
22. In Eretz Yisroel, ותן טל ומטר is said in Bareich Aleinu starting from the night of 7 Cheshvan [Thursday evening of Parshas Lech Lecha this year, 5785/2024] since there is more of a need for rain in Eretz Yisroel (שו"ע סי' קי"ז).
23. In Chutz La’aretz, ותן טל ומטר is said from the evening of the 60th day after tekufas Tishrei, i.e., the night between the 4th and 5th of December [when the upcoming solar year it is not a solar leap year]. This year, 5785/2024, that comes out on Wednesday evening, the 3rd of Kisleiv, Parsah Vayeitzei.
24. Even if one davens before tzeis the night we start saying ותן טל ומטר, he still says it (שו"ת שאילת שלמה או"ח סי' נ"ז).
Forgot ותן טל ומטר
25. If one did not say ותן טל ומטר when he should have said it, he must daven again (שו"ע סי' קי"ז ס"ד)
26. In Bareich Aleinu. If he remembered during Bareich Aleinu, he should stop, go back to ותן טל ומטר, and continue from there (מ"ב סקט"ו ).
27. Before Shema Koleinu. If he remembered before Shema Koleinu, he should say “ותן טל ומטר לברכה, כי אתה שומע וכו'” in Shema Koleinu. If he already finished Shema Koleinu but remembered before starting Retzei, he should say “ותן טל ומטר לברכה, רצה וכו'.”
28. If he remembered after beginning Retzei but before taking three steps back, he should go back to Bareich Aleinu. If he took three steps back, he must start Shemoneh Esrei over.
29. If one said the second יהיו לרצון after the requests at the end of Shemoneh Esrei, it is as if he took three steps back even if he did not yet say עושה שלום (מ"ב סקי"ח ).
30. The poskim discuss whether answering to Kedushah, Kaddish, or Barchu during Elokai Netzor is considered finishing davening which would necessitate repeating Shemoneh Esrei (א"א בוטשאטש סי' תכ"ב ). Therefore, several poskim ruled that it is preferable to be silent and listen to the chazzan say Kedushah or Kaddish (שו"ת שבט הלוי ח"ה סי' כ"ג ). Nevertheless, if one answered, bedieved he can rely on the poskim who hold he only must go back to the brachah in which he erred (אג"מ ח"ג סי' נ "ו והליכות שלמה פ"ח אות ל"א ).
Went Back Unnecessarily in Shemoneh Esrei
31. If one forgot ותן טל ומטר; continued davening; then remembered and davened again; but subsequently realized or noticed the halachah that he only had to go back to Bareich Aleinu, he should stop wherever he is – even in the middle of a brachah – and continue with Bareich Aleinu (שו"ת שדה אלחנן או"ח סי' ג').
32. If he went back to Bareich Aleinu because he thought he did not say ותן טל ומטר but then remembered he said it, he should immediately go back to where he left off originally (מו"ר בשו"ת שבט הקהתי ח"ב סי' נ"ד).
Ben Eretz Yisroel Traveling to Chutz La’aretz
33. The leading poskim debate the halachah regarding ותן טל ומטר for a ben Eretz Yisroel traveling to Chutz La’aretz and vice versa (פר"ח ופמ"ג, והברכי יוסף הובאו במ"ב סק"ה ובאר היטב סק"ד). We will summarize the opinions of many of the poskim.
34. If he traveled to Chutz La’aretz before 7 Cheshvan, he should say ותן טל ומטר לברכה in Shema Koleinu starting from the night of the th, while continuing to say ותן ברכה in Bareich Aleinu (ארחות רבינו ח"א עמ' פ"ד, ומו"ר בשו"ת קנה בשם ח"א סי' י'). Nevertheless, if he said ותן טל ומטר in Bareich Aleinu, as they do in Eretz Yisroel, he has many poskim to rely on (שו"ת אג"מ ח"ב סי' ק"ב ושו"ת וישב משה ח"א סי' ק"ב).
35. Bochurim. The same applies to yeshivah bochurim from Eretz Yisroel who travel to Chutz La’aretz at the beginning of the zman to learn there.
36. In the above case and other cases in which מטר is mentioned in Shema Koleinu, some say one should specify “ותן טל ומטר לברכה לבני ארץ ישראל” (הגריש"א). Others hold he should say “ותן טל ומטר לברכה בארצינו הקדושה ובכל מקום הצריכים לו” (שו"ת דברי יציב ח"א סי' ס"ח). However, the early poskim imply one should only say “ותן טל ומטר לברכה” and not add words to the text composed by the Anshei Knesses Hagedolah (כ"ק מרן גאב"ד ירושלים).
37. If he left Eretz Yisroel after 7 Cheshvan, since he already started saying ותן טל ומטר, he should continue doing so in Chutz La’aretz so as not to make the matter look like a joke (שע"ת סק"ב בשם ברכי יוסף). However, if he resettled there with his family, he davens like a ben Chutz La’aretz (שו"ת באר משה ח"ז דיני בני א"י וחו"ל סי' קי"ז ).
Place without a Jewish Community
38. One who travels to a place where there is no Jewish community planning to come back to Eretz Yisroel that year should say ותן טל ומטר in Bareich Aleinu like a ben Eretz Yisroel since there is no issue of “lo sisgodedu.” This applies to those who travel to kivrei tzaddikim in Europe or the like where there is no Jewish community. Even if he subsequently goes to a place with a Jewish community, he continues to daven like a ben Eretz Yisroel.
Ben Chutz La’aretz Traveling to Eretz Yisroel
39. If a ben Chutz La’aretz travels to Eretz Yisroel before 7 Cheshvan and will be in Eretz Yisroel then, he should daven like a ben Eretz Yisroel while he is there (שו"ת דברי יציב הנ"ל ושו"ת קנה בשם שם ). If he returns to Chutz La’aretz before the 60th day of the tekufah, he should stop saying ותן טל ומטר (שו"ת מנח"י ח"י סי' ט'). Some say in such a case he should say מטר in Shema Koleinu (תשובות והנהגות ח"ב סי' נ"ה ).
40. If he will remain in Eretz Yisroel after the 60th day of the tekufah, e.g., a yeshivah bochur or seminary girl learning in Eretz Yisroel, he or she should start on 7 Cheshvan like a ben Eretz Yisroel.
41. If a ben Chutz La’aretz in Eretz Yisroel or a ben Eretz Yisroel in Chutz La’aretz made a mistake, he does not need to go back since there are opinions that what he did was correct (שו''ת מנח''י שם ).
Shliach Tzibbur Davening Different from His Minhag
42. If one is a shliach tzibbur in a place that is davening differently than he is, in his own Shemoneh Esrei he should follow his minhag, and in Chazaras Hashatz he should follow the local minhag (ברכי יוסף סק"ח). One may be a shliach tzibbur lechatchilah in these circumstances (הגרשז"א).
Shailah Arose Mid-Shemoneh Esrei
43. Looking up the halachah in the siddur. If a shailah ever arises in the middle of Shemoneh Esrei regarding one of the additions to Shemoneh Esrei, one may turn to the back of the siddur [e.g., in an ArtScroll siddur] to look up the halachah.
44. Going to a sefer. If his siddur does not have halachos in it, he may walk to the sefarim shelf in the middle of Shemoneh Esrei to look up the halachah in a sefer (מ"ב סי' ק"ד סק"ב בשם חיי אדם ). Still, he should not make an interruption long enough to finish the entire Shemoneh Esrei, since that would create a safeik whether he has to start over.
45. Asking a rav. If he does not know how to look up the halachah, does not know where it appears, or does not have sefarim, he may ask a rav what he should do (מ"ב שם).
46. Calling a rav. If there is no rav present, he may call a rav mid-Shemoneh Esrei to ask what to do if it is something vital to the tefillah, but he should do so discreetly, e.g., under his tallis or outside the shul, to avoid a chillul Hashem and mar’is ayin of talking on the phone in the middle of Shemoneh Esrei. He should not say “Yasher koach” at the end of the call.
47. If possible, it is better to write the shailah without speaking (מסגרת זהב על קצשו"ע סי' י"ח סק"ג).
Said ותן טל ומטר prematurely
48. In Eretz Yisroel. If one said ותן טל ומטר in Eretz Yisroel after Succos before 7th Cheshvan, most poskim hold that one doesn’t repeat the shemoine esrei because in reality they are days of rain, the only reason we don’t start asking for rain in those days is for the sake of the oilei regalim. Therefore bedieved one is yoitzei (ת הל ה לדוד סי ' קי ז'' סק''א, א רוחות חיים ספינקא שם סק''א , הגרשז''א, א שי ישראל פכ''ג אות מ''ה .).
49. However, some are of the opinion that one is not yoitzei and needs to repeat (די נים והנ הגות ל החזו''א תפילה פכ''ד כ''ו , שערי תשובה סי ' ק''ח ס קי''ז).
50. In Chutz Leartez. In Chutz Learetz, if one one said ותן טל ומטר after th Chesvan but before 5th Dec. he needs to repeat and its like he said it in the summer, but he should repeat on condition that it could be a tefillas nedava (ע''פ מ''ב ס י 'קי''ז סקי''ג וביאה''ל שם ד''ה הצריכים).
