The Chazzan Who Botches HaMelech Hakadosh

Short Answer: While R’ Ovadiah Yosef rules that the chazzan only restarts shemoneh esrei from after kedushah, R’ Shlomo Zalman Auerbach adopt the ruling of the Sha’arei Teshuvah that the chazzan restarts shemoneh esrei from the beginning.

Shulchan Aruch (O”C 582:1) rules that if someone says ha’kel hakadosh instead of hamelech hakadosh during shemoneh esrei between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, he must repeat shemoneh esrei from the beginning. The Mishnah B’rurah (4) explains the reason for this restart – the first three b’rachos are considered one long b’rachah.

Shulchan Aruch (ibid, 2) explains that you don’t need to repeat shemoneh esrei if you remember toch kidei dibbur. The Mishnah B’rurah (7) explains that toch kedei dibbur does not help if you started the next b’rachah already.  Numerous acharonim thus debate whether one should start shemoneh esrei again if he botches hamelech hakadosh and starts the next b’rachah but is unsure whether it was within toch kidei dibbur.

But what if the chazzan botches it and says ha’kel instead of hamelech hakadosh?

The Shaarei Teshuvah (582:1) cites the Zekan Aharon who holds that the chazzan must start shemoneh esrei again, the same as if an individual botched it, as explained above. Indeed, the chazzan must repeat kedushah as well. This is likewise the ruling of the Mateh Ephraim (582:8).

The Tur (O”C 59) discusses a case where a chazzan messed up and needed to be replaced in the middle of the birchas krias shema. The Tur rules that if the chazzan messed up after kedusha (in birchas krias shema), the replacement chazzan may start after kedusha. Even though normally you start from the beginning of the b’rachah, kedusha is considered the end of the b’rachah. The source of this is a Yerushalmi which cites a story when this happened and the rule was that the new chazzan just started after kedusha.

Shulchan Aruch (59:5) poskins like this Tur, that the replacement chazzan starts after kedusha. The Rama does not disagree.

The basic interpretation of this Yerushalmi and Tur/Shulchan Aruch appears to contradict the Shaarei Teshuvah. A chazzan who botches hamelech would only need to start from AFTER kedushah.

R’ Ovadiah Yosef (Yabia Omer 1:8) says just that. The Yerushalmi, as poskined in Tur/Shulchan Aruch would hold that a chazzan who botches hamelech hakadosh would only need to start from AFTER kedushah. He cites a Meiri who says this explicitly (albeit not in the context of hamelech), that a chazzan who needs to repeat shemoneh esrei need not go back to the beginning but only until right after kedushah. Even though Shulchan Aruch (126:3) writes generally that a chazzan follows the rules of “going back” that exists for a regular non-chazzan, this is just a general rule and our case (hamelech/kedushah) is an exception.

R’ Ovadiah also relies upon poskim who, in general, poskin that you don’t need to repeat shemoneh esrei if you accidentally say ha’kel instead of hamelech hakadosh. He thus concludes against the ruling of the Shaarei Teshuvah and holds that the chazzan only needs to restart from right after kedushah.

R’ Shlomo Zalman Auerbach (Minchas Shlomo, 1:2) disagrees. There is a fundamental difference between kedusha of birchas krias shema and of shemoneh esrei. Kedusha of shemoneh esrei is literally a part of the berachah of ata kadosh, while kedusha in birchas krias shema is an addition which recognizes that all “beings” praise Hashem. Thus, if a tzibbur gets up to kedusha and a yachid is at a different part of davening, he only recites kedusha together with tzibbur for kedusha of shemoneh esrei, as this is actual part of the berachah. He does not need to participate in the kedusha of birchas krias shema, as it just recounts the other shirah of the malachim.

R’ Shlomo Zalman also cites a Leket Yoshor who testifies that the Terumas HaDeshen once told a chazzan to repeat shemoneh esrei from the beginning when he said ha’kel instead of hamelech hakadosh. Thus, R’ Shlomo Zalman held that the chazzan repeats shemoneh esrei from the beginning, just like the ruling of the Shaarei Teshuvah.