Tefilas Haderech - Recitation Preference

QUESTION: Is it better to recite Tefilas Haderech yourself, or is it better to listen to someone else recite the bracha and answer Amen?

ANSWER: Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky, zt”l (Emes L’Yaakov OC 110, n. 138) is quoted as saying that every individual should recite Tefilas Haderech on their own. Tefilas Haderech is not a birkas hamitzvah (blessing recited when doing a mitzvah) but rather it is a tefilah (prayer). Regarding a birkas ha’mitzvah there is a concept of “b’rov am hadras melech” (there is beauty when a mitzvah is performed by a multitude), so it is preferable to have one person recite the bracha on behalf of many. Regarding tefilah, however, we say just the opposite. Everyone should pray on their own. Only if one does not know how to pray may someone else pray on their behalf, and have them answer Amen. Similarly, he writes that if one is uncertain as to whether he already recited Tefilas Haderech, it may still be said. There is a concept regarding prayer that it is considered praiseworthy to be immersed in prayer all day long. Since the text of the bracha is a prayer for safety and success in our travels, its message is always appropriate. Therefore, if it is inadvertently repeated, it does not carry the severity of a bracha l’vatala (a blessing said in vain).

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