Shulchan Aruch: Chapter 623 - Order of the Neilah Service

SECTION 623 The Order of the Neilah Service. (1–[12])

1 In communities in which Ashrei and U’Va LeTziyon are recited before the Afternoon Service, Ashrei should be repeated before [the concluding service called] Neilah, in order to signify a break between the Afternoon Service and Neilah, for the reason stated in sec. 108[:5]1 and sec. 105[:1].2

2 The time for the Neilah prayer begins when the sun is at the treetops, i.e., shortly before the beginning of sunset, and continues until shortly before the appearance of the stars. The sheliach tzibbur should therefore be brief in the recitation of the Selichos and hymns in the midst of this service. He should not extend every word of the Neilah service as he does in the other prayer services, so that he will be able to complete [Neilah] before the stars appear.

[The rationale is that] this prayer was instituted on communal fastdays3 to correspond to the locking4 of the gates of the Sanctuary in the [Beis Ha]Mikdash5 which took place during the day, after the kindling [of the Menorah] in the [late] afternoon.6 In this [we] resemble a servant who seeks to take his leave of the king, but before departing he requests a reward or a gift, and then departs and locks the gate behind him.

3 Some authorities, however, maintain that the Neilah service can be extended and continued into the night, even though this is after the time that the gates of the Sanctuary were locked. [They argue that] it was not at all ordained that this service should be recited at the time that the Sanctuary gates were locked, but that it is called Neilah because it is recited at the end of the day; it concludes the day’s prayers, and is recited just before the gates of Heaven are locked at the end of the prayers.7

4 The halachah follows the former view.8 Nevertheless, nowadays that it is customary to follow the latter view,9 those who do so should not be rebuked. [Neilah] must however be started while it is still well before sunset. Also, care should be taken to recite the hymn beginning Hayom yifneh (“The day wanes”) before sunset, for otherwise one would [seemingly] be uttering a falsehood in G‑d’s Presence.10

5 [At Neilah, in the phrases inserted in Shemoneh Esreh, and in Avinu Malkeinu, the wording of our requests is modified:] We say chasmeinu (“seal us”) instead of kasveinu (“inscribe us”), vachasom (“seal”) instead of uchesov (“inscribe”), and veneichaseim (“ may we be sealed”) instead of venikaseiv (“may we be inscribed”).11

6 If [Yom Kippur falls on] Shabbos, one should mention Shabbos in this service,12 just as it [was] mentioned in the other prayer services in the course of the day, for it is still Shabbos. Even those who extend [the Neilah] service into the night must still mention Shabbos, because they began it while it was still day (as stated in sec. 188[:17]).13 In the confessional that follows Shemoneh Esreh,14 however, one should not mention Shabbos, because the blessing concerning Shabbos has already ended. ([“The blessing concerning Shabbos” is] the passage that begins Atah bechartanu, and that concludes with the words mekadesh haShabbos [which praise G‑d for sanctifying the Shabbos].) And we have never found a mention [of Shabbos] after the end of that blessing, as stated in sec. 425.15

To whom does the above apply? To an individual [who recites Shemoneh Esreh]. As to the sheliach tzibbur, by contrast, since he recites the confessional in the midst of [repeating] Shemoneh Esreh, he must mention Shabbos in the passage beginning Atah hivdalta enosh, just as he mentions Yom Kippur there. For the blessing [beginning] Atah bechartanu relates specifically to both Shabbos and Yom Kippur, since Shabbos is mentioned [both] in the beginning, namely, Vatiten lanu… es yom haShabbos hazeh (“and You gave us… this Shabbos day”), and in the concluding phrase [that begins] mekadesh haShabbos…. Nevertheless, if the sheliach tzibbur [erred and] did not mention Shabbos in the confessional, he is not required to repeat [the blessing], since he has already mentioned the Shabbos in [this] prayer. If, however, one did not mention the Shabbos at all, even in the midst of Shemoneh Esreh,16 he is required to repeat [the blessing or the Shemoneh Esreh].17 [This applies] both to an individual worshiper and to a sheliach tzibbur.

7 Wherever Kesser is customarily said [at the beginning of Kedushah] at Mussaf, it is also said at Neilah. Wherever Naaritzcha is customarily said at Mussaf, it is also said at Neilah.

8 [The Kohanim customarily] bless the people18 at Neilah.19 An equation exists between the Priestly Blessing and the sacrificial service [in the Beis HaMikdash],20 as stated in sec. 128[:44], and the sacrificial service takes place only during the day. The sheliach tzibbur must therefore be brief in the Neilah service and omit the Selichos, if not enough time will be left in the day to enable the Priestly Blessing to be recited before the stars appear.

This is not, however, the practice in these countries. The Kohanim do not bless the people21 at all during the Neilah service, for it is customary to extend it [by reciting] Selichos and hymns until the night, and the Priestly Blessing is not given at night.

Nevertheless, the sheliach tzibbur should recite [the passage beginning] Elokeinu v’Elokei avoseinu barcheinu [which quotes the Priestly Blessing]. This is not really problematic even though it is already night, since [in principle] the Priestly Blessing is appropriate in [the Neilah] prayer, for the time of its recitation begins while it is yet day.22

9 After [the repetition of] Shemoneh Esreh we recite the prayer Avinu Malkeinu,23 even when Yom Kippur falls on Shabbos, and even if it is still day. Although throughout the day we do not recite Avinu Malkeinu on Shabbos, we should recite it at this time, for at this time the sealing [of the Divine decree for the coming year] is made final. We need to request mercy, “and if not now, when?”24

10 After concluding the penitential prayers we say the verse beginning Shema Yisrael once, Baruch shem kevod malchuso leolam vaed three times, and then A-donai hu haElokim seven times, to escort the Divine Presence that now departs and ascends beyond the seven heavens. For during the prayers, the Divine Presence abided in our midst; now it ascends to its place.

11 At this point [the sheliach tzibbur] recites the complete Kaddish and then one tekiah is sounded.25 The custom in some regions is to sound a series of tekiah-shevarim-teruah-tekiah [shofar blasts].

Although we have not yet recited Havdalah in Shemoneh Esreh, there is no prohibition whatever [against sounding the shofar], for [doing so] does not involve [the performance of] a forbidden labor.26 It is not even forbidden as a shvus27 in a complete sense, as stated in sec. 588[:4]. It is forbidden on Shabbos and festivals only because of the prohibition against mundane activities,28 as explained in that section. Hence, one may allow sounding [the shofar] even [as early as] bein hashmashos,29 if the Neilah service has already been completed. (See sec. 342[:1].)30

[Subsections 12 and 13 are not extant.]31

12 The reason for this shofar blast is that it signifies the ascent and withdrawal of the Divine Presence — just as, at the Giving of the Torah, the Divine Presence ascended “at the sounding of the extended shofar blast.”32 And elsewhere it is written,33 “G‑d ascended with the shofar blast.”

Another reason for this shofar blast is to [publicize that this night] is a festive time,34 so that people should [celebrate with] an ample festive meal.35 Since this festive time is not widely known, [this shofar blast] was ordained to publicize it. When leaving the synagogue, therefore, people should exchange festive greetings as is the custom on Shabbos and festivals.36