Kaddish at Ma’ariv During Elokai Netzor

by R. Daniel Mann

Question: My Shemoneh Esrei is often slightly longer than the tzibbur’s. At Shacharit and Mincha, I can skip (part of) Elokai Netzor and be ready for Kedusha, but at Ma’ariv there is but a moment’s warning. How do I act if I am in the middle of Elokai Netzor when Kaddish starts? Should I invest a few seconds to get to a “better place” for answering?

Answer: Let us review the rules of “better places,” which are explicit in classical sources, and then broach your excellent question about investing a few seconds.

The gemara (Berachot 4a) presents “Yeh’yu l’ratzon…” as the end of Shemoneh Esrei. The Rashba (VII:405, accepted as halacha by the Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim 122:1) says due to this that if one finished Shemoneh Esrei but did not say Yeh’yu L’ratzon, he may not answer Kaddish and Kedusha. After Yeh’yu L’ratzon, it is possible to answer to these devarim shebekedusha and other mitzva responses (Mishna Berura 122:1), as one is considered basically finished with Shemoneh Esrei.

It is an old practice (see Berachot 17a) to recite various tachanunim after Shemoneh Esrei before stepping back, and the one that is now standard, although not required, is “Elokai neztor …”. There are different minhagim on whether to recite Yeh’yu L’ratzon before or after Elokai Netzor (or both). For someone like you who sometimes needs to finish Shemoneh Esrei prematurely, there is more logic to do it before.

During Elokai Netzor, one can answer only selectively, like one who is in the midst of the berachot of Kri’at Shema (Shulchan Aruch ibid.). Specifically, one can answer only “Amen Y’hei sh’mei rabba …” and the amen to “… da’amiran b’olma,” and, in Kedusha, “Kaddosh…” and “Baruch k’vod …” (Mishna Berura 66:17). It is best to skip the rest of Elokai Netzor and take the steps back (Shulchan Aruch ibid.) or at least say Yeh’yu l’ratzon and be ready for the steps (Mishna Berura 122:6). Then you may do all the responses of Kaddish and Kedusha or actually any amen that arises (ibid. 4).

After seeing that post-Shemoneh Esrei allows mitzva responses, let us look at the “demands” of Kaddish to focus on it. May you continue finishing up Shemoneh Esrei during Kaddish? While the chazan is up to the parts to which you may answer, it makes sense that one must listen and then answer rather than continue davening, because Halacha gives more weight to these main parts of Kaddish than to the Shemoneh Esrei additions. So rules Ishei Yisrael 19:(17) in the name of Rav Chaim Kanievsky. Following this logic, ostensibly the sections of Kaddish and Kedusha that cannot be responded to do not require stopping to listen to (Dirshu 66:11; Halichot Shlomo, Tefilla 8:38). Nevertheless, some say that even though one cannot answer the other parts, he must listen silently to them (Tefilla K’hilchata 12:(246) in the name of Rav Elyashiv). Dirshu (66:11) says they discussed an apparent contradiction in Rav Chaim Kanievsky’s opinion on the matter, and he clarified his opinion – it is better to listen to all of Kaddish or Kedusha, but it is not required.

It is noteworthy to look at a case where you must not respond but should listen quietly to Kaddish and Kedusha – during Shemoneh Esrei itself (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim 104:7). The Mishna Berura (104:27) instructs one to listen only to the important parts. Rav Kanievsky there too is cited (Ishei Yisrael 32:(53)) as saying one may stop for longer if he likes. There is room to distinguish between the cases, but that analysis is beyond our present scope.

Since the halacha regarding continuing Elokai Netzor during the less critical parts of Kaddish is inconclusive, I would suggest the following practical guideline. It is fine to continue the few words needed to get to a place (i.e., finishing a phrase of Elokai Netzor and saying Yeh’yu L’ratzon) where you can answer everything. If done wisely, it is not a zilzul in Kaddish but an effort to maximize participation in it. One can argue either way on taking steps backward. On the one hand, one may move about during Kaddish. On the other hand, it is not necessary.

לעילוי נשמת יואל אפרים בן אברהם עוזיאל זלצמן ז”ל