Various Halachos
Came Late to Maariv
42. If one comes late to Maariv and finds the tzibbur in the middle of Krias Shema or its brachos, and he will not have time to daven Shemoneh Esrei b’tzibbur with them, and it is not likely there will be a minyan to daven with afterward (מ''ב סי' רל''ו סקי''ב ), he should wait and start Shemoneh Esrei with them and say Birchos Krias Shema and Shema after Shemoneh Esrei. This is because tefilla b’tzibbur is more important than Shemoneh Esrei after גאל ישראל at Maariv (שו''ע סי' רל''ו ס''ג, מ''ב שם ).
43. If one started Krias Shema and its brachos with the tzibbur but will not have time to finish before they start Shemoneh Esrei, he should not skip any of Shema or its brachos to daven with the tzibbur. In Chutz l’Aretz, one may skip ברוך ה' לעולם (מ''ב שם סקי''א ).
44. ברוך ה' לעולם. Some poskim hold that when one says Birchos Krias Shema after Shemoneh Esrei, he can also say ברוך ה' לעולם then (ט''ז, א''ר, חי''א ). However, others hold one should never say ברוך ה' לעולם after Shemoneh Esrei, as it is only a minhag, and the minhag is only to say it in its place (הגר''א, מעשה רב ). Thus, it is proper not to finish the bracha of יראו עינינו; one should only say until the words “כי אין לנו מלך אלא אתה” (מ''ב סי' רל''ו סקי''א ).
Number of People Needed for Kaddish
45. Nine mispallelim. If the shliach tzibbur wants to start Kaddish Tiskabel after Shemoneh Esrei before ten people are done davening, he may, strictly speaking, count on one person who is still mid-Shemoneh Esrei. In other words, it is enough to have eight people answering besides the shliach tzibbur (שו''ע סי' נ''ה ס''ו ; see Issue 65, par. 37).
46. Majority answering. Many poskim hold one can start when there is a majority, i.e., six people, answering (מ''ב שם סקל''ב ). If people are in a rush to get to work and it will otherwise be a great burden, this can be relied on. However, l’chatchila, it is proper to wait until there are nine people answering (דרישה שם סק''א ) or the majority of an average tzibbur (סידור יעב''ץ ).
