Tefillas Haderech During Multi-day Travel

I have a connecting flight Tomorrow, and today on my first leg of the journey I already recited “Tefillas Haderech”, do I have to recite it again tomorrow when I continue my journey, or is this considered one long journey? Aswell, when is the best time to recite Tefillas Haderech when traveling by plane, is it when we are in the air or before takeoff?

Thank you for your question.

The source to saying Tefillas Haderech is brought in the Talmud (Berachot page 29b) and we will see that there are actually two reasons why we recite Tefillas Haderch when we travel on long trips. The Talmud writes as follows;

תלמוד בבלי מסכת ברכות דף כט עמוד ב

אמר ליה אליהו לרב יהודה אחוה דרב סלא חסידא: לא תרתח ולא תחטי, לא תרוי ולא תחטי, וכשאתה יוצא לדרך - המלך בקונך וצא. מאי המלך בקונך וצא? אמר רבי יעקב אמר רב חסדא: זו תפלת הדרך. ואמר רבי יעקב אמר רב חסדא: כל היוצא לדרך צריך להתפלל תפלת הדרך. מאי תפלת הדרך? יהי רצון מלפניך ה' אלהי שתוליכני לשלום ותצעידני לשלום ותסמכני לשלום, ותצילני מכף כל אויב ואורב בדרך, ותשלח ברכה במעשי ידי, ותתנני לחן לחסד ולרחמים בעיניך ובעיני כל רואי, ברוך אתה ה' שומע תפלה.

“Eliyahu Hanavi said to Rabbi Yehudah, the brother of Rav Sallah the Pious: "Do not be angry, and you will not sin. Do not become intoxicated, and you will not sin. And before you set out on a journey, request permission from your Creator." The Talmud asks, how does one request permission from the Creator? Rav Yaakov, in the name of Rav Chisda, said that this is done by praying Tefillas Haderech.

What is the prayer of Tefillas Haderech? "May it be Your will, Hashem, my Lord, that we travel in peace, walk in peace, and be supported in peace. May You save us from enemies and their ambushes that may be along the way, and may You bless us with blessing in all our endeavors, and may we find grace and kindness in Your eyes and in the eyes of all who see us. Blessed are You, Hashem, who listens to prayer”.

We see that Tefilas Haderech is not only a special tefillah for protection and safety along the way, but it is also a tefillah requesting permission from Hashem to travel. So one may ask, how do I receive a reply if my request was granted or not? The answer is that when one goes out on the way, sometimes things happen that stop you from continuing, like a flat tire or a missed flight, etc. Instead of blaming yourself, you should take it as a sign that Hashem didn’t grant permission.

When it comes to a continuous travel of a few days there are three opinions in the Poskim brought in Shulchan Aruch (Siman 110) :

1. The Taz writes that a person has to recite Tefillas Haderech every day of the journey when he sets out like davening shachris every day (this is even if he was continuously traveling throughout the day and night without resting or sleeping anywhere.)

2. The opinion of the Radbaz (brought in the Sefer Shaarei Teshuvah in the name of the Birkei Yosef) is that it depends on whether one slept properly overnight. If one did sleep properly, then the next day when one continues his journey, one should recite Tefillas Haderech with a Beracha. However, if one did not really rest overnight and maybe only dozed off for some time, then one should recite Tefillas Haderech without the closing Bracha of “Baruch Ata Hashem shomea tefillah”.

3. The Pri Chadash writes that when one starts out on a journey, one recites Tefillas Haderech, and that’s it until he arrives, even if it may take a few days and one may have slept properly in a hotel along the way.

Le’halacha the Mishnah Berurah writes that we follow the second opinion that of the Radbaz.

If however on the second day of your journey, you start traveling when it is still night and before the time of Shachris, then it would be better to wait and recite Tefillat Haderech when it’s a new day. (if by the time it’s morning you will already arrive close to your destination and it will be too late to recite Tefillas Haderech , then recite it before morning when leaving.

At what point to recite Tefillas Haderech on a plane:

The best time to recite Tefillas Haderech when traveling by plane is at takeoff when the plane lifts off the ground. However, if one needs to recite Tefillas Haderech beforehand, for example, when traveling to the airport, then one should recite it then, and have in mind the journey later on the airplane.

Wishing you a safe journey.

Talmud, Berachot 29

Shulchan Aruch, Siman 110

Mishnah Berurah ibid