Halachah: If one forgot Al Hanissim in Shemoneh Esrei and finished the bracha V’chol Hachaim, he does not go back. He can make it up at the end of Shemoneh Esrei by saying, “Harachaman Hu ya’aseh lanu nissim v’niflaos keshem she’asisa la’avoseinu bayamim haheim bazman hazeh” and continue with Biyemei Mattisyahu.

Q Where exactly at the end of Shemoneh Esrei should one say this?

A Before Yihiyu L’ratzon.

Q Some say Yihiyu L’ratzon twice, once before Elokai Netzor and once after. Should one say this Harachaman before the first or the second?

A Before the second.

Q May one say this Harachaman on Shabbos?

A No. He should start with Biyemei Mattisyahu.

Q If one forgot Al Hanissim in Bentching, where should he say this?

A Right after Bamarom, where one says the Harachaman for Shabbos or Rosh Chodesh.

Q One forgot Al Hanissim in Bentching and is going to say the Harachaman at the end. However, it is Rosh Chodesh Teves. Which comes first, the Harachaman for Rosh Chodesh or the one for Al Hanissim?

A The one for Rosh Chodesh.

Halachah: If someone says Baruch Attah Hashem in error, in order to avoid mentioning Hashem’s Name in vain, he says lamdeini chukecha.

Halachah: If one said Baruch Attah Hashem in Shemoneh Esrei and realizes he forgot to add something, such as Ya’aleh V’yavo, in some cases he may say lamdeini chukecha and go back, and at other times he must not. If he forgot Al Hanissim, since if one finishes Shemoneh Esrei without Al Hanissim he doesn’t repeat Shemoneh Esrei, he should not say lamdeini chukecha. Rather, he should finish the bracha and continue davening.

Q If one mistakenly did say lamdeini chukecha and went back and said Al Hanissim, is it a hefsek?

A No.

Q If one did say lamdeini chukecha and went back to say Al Hanissim and realizes his mistake in the middle of Al Hanissim, must he stop?

A No, he should continue saying Al Hanissim.

Q If one said lamdeini chukecha and realized his mistake before beginning Al Hanissim, what should he do?

A If one said lamdeini chukecha and it is within toch kedai dibbur, he should say the bracha again. He has thus negated lamdeini chukecha, and he should continue Shemoneh Esrei. If it is after kedai dibbur, which it usually is, since he already said lamdeini chukecha he is still in the middle of the bracha, so he may now go back to Al Hanissim.

Halachah: At times, if one forgot an addition to Shemoneh Esrei and he is between two brachos, for example, one forgot Ya’aleh V’yavo and is before beginning Modim, he doesn’t have to go back, but during Shacharis and Minchah of Rosh Chodesh one may say Ya’aleh V’yavo right there. Al Hanissim is different. If one remembers that he forgot Al Hanissim and he finished V’chol Hachaim and did not start Sim Shalom, he is not permitted to say it there. He should continue with Shemoneh Esrei.

Q If by mistake one said Al Hanissim there, is it a hefsek?

A No.

Q If one is mistakenly saying Al Hanissim but realizes his mistake in the middle, what should he do?

A Stop saying Al Hanissim and continue Shemoneh Esrei with Sim Shalom.

Q It’s Chanukah, and instead of saying Biyemei Mattisyahu, one said Biyemei Mordechai V’Esther. Is that a hefsek?

A No.

Q One is davening Ma’arivon Motza’ei Chanukah. He said Al Hanissim by mistake. Is that a hefsek?

A No.

Q If someone is in the middle of Shemoneh Esrei and has a she’eilah concerning his davening, he may walk to get a sefer and look it up or even talk and ask the she’eilah. What if he has a she’eilah concerning Al Hanissim? Does this heter apply in this case, or since if one forgets Al Hanissim he doesn’t have to repeat Shemoneh Esrei, he should just continue without asking the she’eilah even if that means he will leave out Al Hanissim?

A He may do everything to clarify his she’eilah.

Q If someone is davening by heart and gets mixed up in the middle of Shemoneh Esrei, he may walk to the bookshelf and get a siddur. Someone came late to Minchah and starts saying Shemoneh Esrei by heart. He gets to Al Hanissim and realized that he doesn’t know it completely by heart. May he walk to the bookshelf and get a siddur, or since if one forgets Al Hanissim he is nevertheless yotzei Shemoneh Esrei, it’s better not to walk in the middle of Shemoneh Esreh?

A He should not walk to get a siddur.