Candle Lighting

Candle lighting Friday night is done in the exact same manner as every Friday night. The blessings are different as we make להדליק נר של שבת ויום הזכרון and שהחינו.

Kiddush & Amidah

In Kiddush and in the Shemoneh Esrei we add the insertions for Shabbos and we conclude with מקדש השבת וישראל ויום הזכרון.

If you were to accidentally say Kiddush for a regular Friday night or the Kiddush for RH alone, Kiddush would have to be repeated in its correct form mentioning both Shabbat and Rosh Hashana.

What if a you only mentioned Shabbat or Rosh Hashana at the conclusion of Kiddush or the Amidah, i.e. instead of saying מקדש השבת וישראל ויום הזכרון you only said מקדש השבת or only מקדש ישראל ויום הזכרון ? If you realize your mistake within two seconds of concluding the blessing it should be corrected immediately by saying מקדש השבת וישראל ויום הזכרון.

If you realized afterwards you don’t have to repeat the blessing as long as an insertion for Shabbat was made at some point in the blessing.

During the week one may add personal supplications in the final paragraph of the Shemoneh Esrei (before the verse that begins יהיו לרצון in the final paragraph that begins אלו-הי נצור). You may say them in any language you want. On Shabbat or on Yom Tov we may not insert personal supplications. The exception to this is Rosh Hashana even when it falls on Shabbos. The same applies to Yom Kippur.

On Friday night when we recite Magen Avos after reciting the silent Shemoneh Esrei, we change from הא-ל הקדוש to המלך הקדוש. If you didn’t, you can go back and correct it as long as the blessing has not been concluded. If that was not done the prayer is not repeated.

Bentching

In Birkat Hamazon we say רצה and then יעלה ויבא. If one began יעלה ויבא first, say רצה afterwards.

If you forget to say רצה by the Friday night meal you must repeat Birkat HaMazon. The same applies to the Shabbat day meal but not by Seudah Shlisheet.

If you forget to say יעלה ויבא on Rosh Hashana, you would repeat Birkat HaMazon by the night meals but not by the day meals. On any other Yom Tov, you would have to repeat Birkat HaMazon by all the meals.

Women who forget to say יעלה ויבא do not repeat Birkat HaMazon other than on the two Seder nights of Pesach.

Seudah Shlishit

Because the first day of rosh Hashana is Shabbat we have to eat Seudah Shlisheet. The problem is that we may not eat a regular weekday type meal during the last three Halachik hours of the day preceding a holiday so that we eat the holiday meal at night with an appetite (this year that’s starting from 4:18 pm). A small meal may be eaten during this time. Therefore a small Seudah Shlisheet which would be some Challah with something small would be permissible.

Tashlich

Tashlich is not recited on Shabbos. It is said on the second day of Rosh Hashana.

Second Night

On Saturday night, the second night Of Rosh Hashana, we add ותודיענו in the shemoneh Esrei as found in the Machzor. If you skipped it, you may say it at any point before you conclude the middle blessing of the Shemoneh Esrei. If you insert it right before the concluding blessing of the middle blessing repeat some of the phrases that typically precede that concluding blessing.

If you missed saying ותודיענו you need not repeat the Shemoneh Esrei.

Before doing any activity on Saturday night that we would not be permitted to do on Shabbat, some form of Havdalah must be said. ותודיענו accomplishes that. You can also say ברוך המבדיל בין קודש לקודש. The formal Havdalah is incorporated into the kiddush of the second night of Rosh Hashana.

The way this is done is by first reciting the blessing of בורא פרי הגפן followed by the Kiddush blessing. We then say the blessing of בורא מאורי האש over fire. This can be said over the Yom Tov candles. (Some will take two candles and put the two burning wicks together before reciting the blessing.) We conclude with the blessing of שהחינו . Besamim are not used. The order for Kiddush is found in the Machzor. The Hebrew mnemonic for this order is יקנה’’ז.

Tova and I wish you a very happy, healthy , and sweet new year!
כתיבה וחתימה טובה!