10 Halachot of "V'ten Bracha" in Summer, and a Special Advice to Avoid Mistakes

While in winter, we request rain and thank Hashem for rain in two places during prayer, in summer we change the wording of the prayer in these two places.

There are two changes between summer and winter: in the blessing of "Gevurot" – in summer we say "Morid HaTal" (Who brings down dew), instead of "Mashiv HaRuach U'Morid HaGeshem" (Who causes the wind to blow and the rain to fall), and in the blessing of the seasons – Sephardim say the blessing of "Barcheinu" in summer, and Ashkenazim change the wording within the blessing to "V'ten Bracha al pnei ha'adama" (And give blessing upon the face of the earth), instead of the winter version "V'ten tal u'matar livracha al pnei ha'adama" (And give dew and rain for blessing upon the face of the earth).

Here are the laws for someone who made a mistake in summer, as well as for one who is in doubt and unsure which version they said:

1. It's important to understand that since rain in summer is a sign of curse, in most cases the person praying must repeat the prayer with the corrected version. However, there is a difference between one who mentioned rain (in the Gevurot blessing) and one who requested rain (in the blessing of the seasons).

2. If one mistakenly mentioned rain in summer in the Gevurot blessing, since at that time it is not considered praise, one must go back and correct it. If one hasn't yet finished the blessing, one should return to the beginning and say "Morid HaTal" as is said in summer. And if one has already finished the blessing, it is lost, and since the first three blessings are considered one blessing, one needs to start the prayer again to say it properly (Shulchan Aruch 114:4). If one made a mistake and didn't mention rain in winter, if they mentioned dew, as we say in summer "Morid HaTal," since they said a certain praise related to water, they don't need to repeat. But if they didn't mention dew either, since they omitted such an important praise - they need to repeat (Shulchan Aruch 114:5).

3. If one mistakenly requested rain in summer in the blessing of the seasons, since they made an inappropriate request, they ruined the blessing of the seasons and must go back and correct it. Therefore, if they haven't yet finished their prayer, they should return to the blessing of the seasons, say it properly, and continue in order until the end of the prayer. And if they have already finished their prayer, they should repeat and pray properly (Shulchan Aruch 117:3). And if one made a mistake and didn't request rain in winter, if they haven't yet reached the blessing of "Shome'a Tefillah," they should continue their prayer and when they reach the blessing of "Shome'a Tefillah," where one is allowed to make any request, they should request rain, and thereby correct their mistake. But if they have already passed the blessing of "Shome'a Tefillah," they missed the place where they could have corrected themselves, and lost all the blessings they said after the blessing of the seasons, and they must return to the blessing of the seasons and say it properly, and from there continue to pray in order. And if they have already finished their prayer and intended to step back, since they did not request rain - their prayer is incomplete, and they must repeat and pray properly (Shulchan Aruch 117:4-5).

4. Advice to avoid mistakes: The most common mistake in prayer is in mentioning and requesting rain, since every half-year we change the version, and since for half a year we get used to a certain version, routine language pulls us to say the familiar version. And three out of four possible mistakes in this require repetition. One who is uncertain if they said the correct version, as long as thirty days haven't passed since changing the version, at the beginning of summer or winter, most likely made a mistake, since their routine language is still accustomed to the previous version. And if it's one of the three mistakes that require repetition, they must go back and pray properly. But if thirty days have already passed, their language has already become accustomed to the change in version, and most likely they said it correctly, and they don't need to repeat and pray.

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5. To avoid this doubt, which often requires repeating the prayer, it's good for each person to accustom themselves on the day of changing to the new version, and repeat it ninety times so that it becomes fluent on their tongue and they won't make a mistake. And even if a doubt arises whether they said it correctly, since they have already accustomed their tongue ninety times to say it properly, they most likely prayed correctly and don't need to repeat (Shulchan Aruch 114:8-9). Therefore, when the seventh of Cheshvan arrives, according to Sephardic custom where the entire wording of the request blessing changes, one should accustom themselves to open the blessing properly, and say ninety times: "Rofeh cholei amo Yisrael, barech aleinu" (Who heals the sick of His people Israel, bless us). And according to Ashkenazic custom, one should say: "V'et kol minei tevuatah l'tovah v'ten tal u'matar livracha" (And all kinds of its crops for good, and give dew and rain for blessing). And when the first day of Passover arrives for the Musaf prayer, one should say ninety times: "Mechayeh metim atah rav lehoshia morid hatal" (You revive the dead, You are abundant in salvation, Who brings down the dew). And on the night after the holiday, before the weekday Arvit prayer of Chol HaMoed, according to Sephardic custom one should say: "Rofeh cholei amo Yisrael, barcheinu" (Who heals the sick of His people Israel, bless us); and according to Ashkenazic custom one should say: "V'et kol minei tevuatah l'tovah v'ten bracha" (And all kinds of its crops for good, and give blessing) (Mishnah Berurah 114:40; Kaf HaChaim 60).

6. If one remembered only after the last "Yihyu L'ratzon Imrei Fi," which is adjacent to "Oseh Shalom," even if they haven't yet moved their feet - they must return to the beginning of the Shemoneh Esrei prayer (Ben Ish Chai, Beshalach 18). How does one go back to pray? Wait a few moments and start with the first blessing: "Baruch Atah Hashem Elokei Avraham etc."

7. If the prayer leader made a mistake in the silent prayer and didn't ask for dew and rain, he can rely on the repetition prayer and doesn't need to pray an additional time silently (see Shulchan Aruch sec. 124 para. 2 and those who comment on it).

8. Doubt about making a mistake - One who prayed for thirty days without making a mistake and is in doubt whether they made a mistake or not, we rely on the presumption of thirty days and say they didn't make a mistake. But if it's clear to them that they made a mistake within the thirty days, there is no presumption of thirty days.

9. The rule is that the thirty days of presumption need to be thirty consecutive days in which they mention correctly (see Beit Yosef vol. 1 sec. 47 Ben Ish Chai Parshat Beshalach sec. 15). However, if they made a mistake after the thirty days of presumption, the presumption still stands.

10. When does one repeat due to doubt? Only if the doubt arose during the Shemoneh Esrei prayer or close to it, but if the doubt arose only during "Aleinu L'Shabe'ach" and the like - one doesn't repeat (see Mishnah Berurah subsec. 38 Kaf HaChaim subsec. 48 s.v. "And the author of Magen HaGiborim wrote").