By Rabbi Berach Steinfeld
If a person is worried that he won’t remember to count all the days of Sefirah, should he count with a Bracha or not?
The Torah tell us to count forty-nine days from the bringing of the Omer until the bringing of the korban of Shtei Halechem.
The Rishonim argue whether the Mitzva of counting sefirah is Min HaTorah only during the times of the Bais HaMikdosh or not. The Chinuch in mitzvah 306 says that sefirah is only Min HaTorah during the time of the Bais HaMikdosh. The Rambam in Tmidim Umusafim 7:24 disagrees and says it is Min HaTorah even today.
The Rishonim also argue whether each day is a separate mitzvah or whether all forty-nine days together is counted as one long mitzvah. The Behag and Or Zarua say that if one forgot to count one day, he should not count with a Bracha for the rest of the Omer since it is not temimos. The Rosh and Tosfos argue and say there is a new mitzva every single day to count the Omer.
The question arises if one forgot one day and did not count. Would that mean that all the brachos he said up until that day are brachos Levatala according to the Behag? The Ritva in Chullin 106b discusses a scenario where one washed his hands with the intention to eat bread and said the bracha al netilas yodayim and then decides that he is not interested in eating anymore. We do not require him to eat to save the bracha levatala. Since he had in mind to eat at the time of washing, the bracha is not levatalah. We could compare this to our case where one counted normally and thereafter forgot one day. The brachos he made were not levatala since he intended to count.
One could argue and differentiate between netilas yodayim and sefira. A person completes his mitzvah of netilas yodayim once he washes his hand. In contrast, one does not have temimos until after counting the forty-nine days.
The Shailos Utshuvos Rav Paalim in Orach Chaim Vol 3:32 says that if one does less than the shiur of a mitzvah one is still yotze part of the mitzvah and this would not render the bracha levatalah. When a person counted some days, he did less than the shiur; but his bracha is not levatala since he started the mitzvah.
Other Achronim disagree and say if one doesn’t complete counting, it is not even less than the shiur of the mitzvah. This is so because if he does not complete the mitzvah, it is as if he did not do the mitzvah at all. The Mishna Berura also concurs and says that therefore women should not make a bracha; it is almost certain they might forget since they don’t daven in shul.
Rav Wozner zt”l paskened if one knows he won’t complete sefira he should hear the bracha from someone else and be yotzei that way. If he is not sure, he should start to count with a bracha since it is a double safek. Maybe the mitzva is a new one every day. Perhaps it is considered a chatzi shiur and does not render the bracha levatala. Reb Elyashiv and Reb Shlomo Zalman Auerbach agreed.
May we be Zocheh to count Sefirah in the Bais Hamikdosh Min HaTorah!
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