If someone is davening in Eretz Yisrael maariv when it’s still day on vav chesvan do they say “v’sain tal u’matir”?
Answer:
It appears that one should not say “ve’sein tal u-matar” when davening ma’ariv before the night of the Seventh of Cheshvan.
Sources:
The wording of the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 117:1) is that one begins to request rains in Chutz La-Aretz from Maariv sixty days into the season of Cheshvan, and in Eretz Yisrael from the night of the Seventh of Cheshvan.
The implication is that whereas in Chutz La-Aretz, requesting rains begins from maariv, in Eretz Yisrael beginning to request rain depends on the day, and not on the maariv prayer. If maariv is davened before the Seventh of Cheshvan commences, one should therefore not request rains.
Eretz Tzvi (Frumer, no. 26) discusses the question of somebody who davens maariv before nightfall on the eve of Rosh Chodesh, and, after citing from the Gerrer Rebbe (of the time) that one should not recite Yaaleh Veyavo, he defers this ruling, for no authority writes that one should avoid davening early on Erev Rosh Chodesh. This implies that even when davening early, one should say Yaaleh Veyavo, for otherwise it would be prohibited to daven early, and thereby not fulfill the enactment to mention Yaaleh Veyavo in all prayers.
See also Shaar Hatzion 693:6 concerning davening early on Purim.
Yet, this logic will not apply to requesting rain, for which Chazal only stated that one begins on the Seventh of Cheshvan, and no enactment is made that the maariv of the seventh must be davened with the request for rain.
Although the maariv prayer on Erev Rosh Chodesh relates to the day of Rosh Chodesh, and therefore Yaaleh Veyavo is mentioned, maariv on the sixth of Cheshvan cannot be considered as though it is davened on the seventh, and therefore the request for rain is not said.
Note that although davening maariv creates a halachah of “nightfall” for some purposes, this certainly does not apply to the change of date from the sixth to the seventh of Cheshvan.
I am surprised but very happy to see there was someone willing to pasken this way l’maseh. Most poskim say that when one davens maariv early on vav cheshvan then “v’sain tal…” is in fact yes said. See ShuT Shailas Shlomo (Siman 57) that dealt with this shailo and says to yes say. However the argument put forth here (and already said by Bircas Moshe Siman 7 makes a lot of sense — many other talmidei chochamim have been m’kavain to this savara pashuta and diyuk in the lashon of the Shulchan Aruch.)
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