A Thought About Sefirat Haomer: Maintaining the Continuity

With Pesach in our rearview mirror we begin the race to Shavuot.  We may not be sure if it is savta's cheesecake or our internal desire for matan Torah; nevertheless, we eagerly count down the days to Shavuot.  It is this countdown, or the mitzvah of Sefirat Haomer that occupies our thoughts as Shavuot approaches.

As we all know, there is a mitzvah to count the omer every night.  However, on occasion it is possible that someone might forget to count one night and is then left with the dilemma of what to do from that night onward. Tosfot in Mesechet Menachot (66a) quotes the opinion of the Ba’al Halachot Gedolot who says that if you miss an entire days count (both that night and the entire next day) you can no longer continue to count.  He reasons that the Torah describes these seven weeks of Sefirah to be Temimot, or complete.  Thus requiring you to have a complete count, so missing even one day will prevent you from fulfilling the mitzvah.  Tosfot, however, disagrees and allow you to continue counting future days (even with a brocha) despite missing an entire day. 

The classical approach to understanding this machloket is whether to look at the seven week period of the omer as one big seven week mitzvah with forty-nine little parts, or to view it as forty-nine separate and independent mitzvot.  Apparently, the Ba’al Halachot Gedolot sees it as one big mitzvah, and therefore, once you miss one day you have lost out on the mitzvah entirely (even counting without a brocho would be meaningless according to this position).  The Pri Migadim adds that according the Bahag, all the brochot from the days you counted before the missed day retroactively become brochot l’vatalot.  Tosfot, on the other hand looks at Sefirah as forty-nine separate mitzvot and therefore, just because you missed out on one day, does not affect you on the next day. Therefore, one should continue to count with a brocha.

Halacha L’maaseh, the majority of the Rishonim rule like Tosfot that one should continue to count the remaining days of the omer.  However, the Shulchan Aruch (489/7) rules that although we should continue to count, in deference to Bahag, we should not make a brocha.  This is the accepted custom.

There is however, a difficulty that this classical interpretation encounters.  Are we to believe that the Bahag really believes that if you miss one full day you have missed your chance? Have you really lost the entire mitzvah of Sefirat Haomer? And are we to believe that if one misses day 49 that he now has rendered the first 48 brochot in vain?

Although I never had the great zechut of hearing the shiurim of Harav Yosef Dov Halevi Sloveitchik, I have had the opportunity to hear a number of my Rebbeim recount The Rav’s novel approach to understanding the opinion of the Ba’al Halachot Gedolot.  The Rav maintained that even the Bahag agrees that each of the forty-nine days is a separate mitzvah, the best proof that everyone must agree to this is that Chazal declared that a brocha should be recited on each of the forty-nine nights.  If the classical interpretation was correct, the Bahag should have held that only one brocha be recited for all forty-nine days.  If this is true, then why does the Bahag not allow you to continue counting if you missed a complete day?  The Rav explained that the Bahag was of the opinion that despite the fact that each day is a separate mitzvah, the counting must be sequential.   If one were to count day 1,2,3,4,6, the sequence is impaired so by missing day 5 one can no longer continue to count in the future.  However, that which you counted correctly maintains intact, those days (in our example days 1-4) were done in perfect sequence, the Bahag was only concerned about the future counting. 

The Rav brings a proof to his explanation by looking at another comment of the Bahag.  The Bahag rules that if one forgot to count at night, but realizes it the next day, he may count, but without a brocha.  One should ask, what halachic opinion would say that you can fulfill the mitzvah during the day, just don’t make a brocha?  The Rav explained that this makes perfect sense with what we said before.  You count during the day merely to maintain the continuity, the sequence, but you are not fulfilling that days mitzvah.  So although we missed out on that days mitzvah by not counting at night, we at least maintain the sequence that allows us to continue counting in the future.

This novel explanation has a number of practical ramifications.  There is a well known halacha that an Onen (a person who has lost a close relative who is lying in the period between the death and the burial) is not permitted to do mitzvot.  The Nodah B’yehuda (siman 27) therefore asks, what is an Onen to do during sefirah?  Many poskim maintain that if one becomes an Onen during sefirah he is not permitted to count the omer because doing so is a mitzvah.  Moreover, if someone is in the unfortunate position lo aleinu, with a close relative on their death bed just before Pesach, perhaps the relative should not even begin to count Sefira from the first night? This is because according to the Pri Migadim cited above if on day ten this person becomes an Onen and may not have the ability to count, this would make the first ten brochot l’vatala.  Similarly, if someone is scheduled for surgery during the Omer and due to the time of the procedure and the recovery period, it may be possible that he may miss an entire days counting, once again, perhaps he should not even begin counting on day one?  In fact, most Poskim would rule like the Pri Migadim.

However, if we understand the Bahag like Rav Soloveitchik did, then our conclusion would be completely different.  First of all, an Onen does not have to ever miss out on counting Sefira. Tell him not to count at night since doing so would be performing a mitzvah which he is not allowed to do, rather let him count during the daytime without a brocha.  In this way he can maintain his sequence which will allow him to continue counting noramlly when his Onen period ends.  And furthermore, with a relative on their deathbed or with one scheduled to have surgery there is no reason not to count from the beginning.  Even if they do miss a complete day, according to The Rav’s explanation of the Bahag what was counted originally is still intact contrary to the ruling of the Pri Migadim. 

It goes without saying that in the above cases, one should consult with his local orthodox Rabbi to determine the correct path of action.  Some may rule like Rav Soloveitchik, but I suppose many would be hesitant to dismiss the words of the great Pri Migadim.  There is however, one practical point that I believe we can all glean from the explanation of Rav Soloveitchik.  That is that even the Bahag agrees that it is a mitzvah each and every day to count the omer.  And even if we miss a complete days counting, we must not give up and assume that we have lost our chance.  We must strengthen ourselves and begin the count again showing that we can not wait to receive the Shechinah of Hashem on Shavuot.