Mincha - Latest Time (Cont'd)

QUESTION: In the previous Halacha Yomis we quoted the Mishnah Berurah who rules that lichatchila one should daven mincha before sunset. Does that mean that it is sufficient to start mincha before sunset or must one complete shemona esrai before sunset?

ANSWER: The Mishnah Berurah writes that davening mincha before sunset entails completing shemoneh esrei before the end of that time. The Mishnah Berurah (86:5) takes the same position regarding davening shacharis;. that one must finish shemona esrai before the end of the zman (proper time). Other poskim disagree with the position of the Mishnah Berurah and maintain that as long as the shemona esrai was started on time, one fulfills the mitzvah, even though the completion was after the allotted time. See Aruch Hashulchan (110:5), Teshuvos Eretz Tzvi (1:121) quoting the Yid Hakodesh of Peshischa and others quoted by Yebiah Omer (OC 7:34). One of the proofs brought by the Yid Hakodosh and the Aruch Hashulchan is from the Talmud (Berachos 7a) that states that Bilaam intended to curse the Jewish people during the moment of the day when Hashem is in a state of anger, as the curse would only be effective when G-d was angry. Tosofos asks how it is possible to deliver a curse in one second? One response of Tosofos is that Bilaam intended to begin his curse during the moment of anger and continue afterwards. Since the curse started when G-d was angry, the entire curse would have an impact. Thus we see that the status of an event is established by its stating point. By the same token, we can extrapolate that if one began davening during the proper time for tefilla, the entire tefilla is acceptable, though one can argue that curses and tefilla are not comparable. Indeed, Rav Soloveitchik, zt"l disagreed with this proof, and maintained that the entire shmonei esrei must be said before the end of the zman.

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The Gerald & Karin Feldhamer OU Kosher Halacha Yomis is dedicated to the memory of Rav Yisroel Belsky, zt"l, who served as halachic consultant for OU Kosher for more than 28 years; many of the responses in Halacha Yomis are based on the rulings of Rabbi Belsky. Subscribe to the Halacha Yomis daily email here.