[Avodah] When Shabbos is Motzaei Rosh Chodesh

[Akiva Miller]

.
R' Akiva Blum wrote:
> Please see the Mishna Berurah 188:32 where he quotes the
> Acharonim that if during Seuda Shelishis someone davened
> maariv, he can no longer say retzei. It seems that the same
> should apply erev shabbos, after one has davened maariv, he
> can no longer say yaaleh veyovoh.

Your argument is logical, but not a proof. The acharonim and MB are
presumably speaking of a case where the individual davened maariv and
benched at a time on Saturday night when the sky was dark to some
degree or another.

Would they pasken the same way if the Seuda Shlishis was earlier, and
- for whatever reason - he had davened maariv and said birkas hamazon
on Saturday afternoon after Plag Hamincha? I concede that it is a
bizarre example, but the boundaries of halacha are defined by exactly
this sort of situation. It's not done nowadays, but a person *IS*
allowed to daven maariv on Shabbos afternoon after Plag. If someone
did so, and did it during seudah shlishis, and then chose to say
Birkas Hamazon while the sun was still above the horizon on Shabbos
afternoon, perhaps he should indeed say Retzeh? Perhaps not, but I'd
love to know what a posek might say.

Summary: The question in this thread concerns someone who is benching
on Friday afternoon which is Rosh Chodesh but he already said the
non-RC maariv. This is VERY analogous to someone who is benching on
Saturday afternoon which is Shabbos but he already said the
non-Shabbos maariv. It is NOT so analogous to someone who is benching
on Saturday night and he already said the non-Shabbos maariv, and the
only argument in favor of saying Retzeh is that the meal began on
Shabbos.

I just thought of another difference between Friday Rosh Chodesh and
the situation cited by RAB. If a person davened Maariv during seuda
shelishit - and presumably included Ata Chonantanu - then he has
verbally and explicitly declared Shabbos to be over, and it would be
contradictory to reverse this by saying Retzeh in the benching (even
if the sun is still shining on Saturday afternoon). BUT: When someone
says maariv on Motzaei Rosh Chodesh he merely omits Yaaleh V'yavo, and
there is no explicit declaration that RC has ended, so perhaps he
could still include Yaaleh V'yavo on Friday afternoon. [There would
still be a problem of including both Retzeh and Yaaleh V'yavo in the
same benching, but some poskim do allow that in the Rosh Chodesh
Motzaei Shabbos situation.]

Akiva Miller