Sefirat Ha-Omer (1)
the laws of THE FESTIVALS
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In memory of Yakov Yehuda ben Pinchas Wallach
and Miriam Wallach bat
Tzvi Donner
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THE LAWS OF SEFIRAT
HA-OMER
by Rav David
Brofsky
Shiur #9 Sefirat
Ha-Omer (1)
The Torah commands in
two places that each person should count the days and weeks from the second day
of Pesach until the holiday of Shavuot:
And you shall count
unto you from the morrow after the day of rest, from the day that you brought
the sheaf of the waving; seven weeks shall there be complete; even unto the morrow after the seventh week shall you number fifty
days; and you shall present a new meal-offering unto the Lord. (Vayikra
23:15-16)
Seven weeks you shall
number unto you; from the time the sickle is first put to the standing corn you
should begin to number seven weeks.
And you shall keep the Feast of Weeks unto the Lord your
God after the measure of the freewill-offering of your hand, which you shall
give, according as the Lord your God blessed you. (Devarim
16:9-10)
We are to count from
the day upon which the korban ha-omer (a sacrifice consisting of an
omer of barley) was offered. The offering of this korban signals
the permissibility of the consumption of chadash (new grains from the new
harvest, which were forbidden until this offering). The count continues until
the holiday of Shavuot, upon which the shetei ha-lechem, two
loaves made from wheat, are brought.
This week, we will discuss the reasons behind this mitzva, its
source, and the manner in which it is performed.
Reasons for
Sefirat Ha-Omer
The Rishonim offer different reasons for the mitzva of
sefirat ha-omer and disagree as whether to view this mitzva within
its historical/agricultural context or within the context of the period between
the Exodus from
R. David ben R. Yosef
Abudraham (
The reason for which
the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded to count the omer was because each
Israelite was involved in his own harvest and each one was dispersed in his own
threshing floor, and He commanded to count in order that they should not forget
the time of their ascent for the festival (aliyah la-regel).
The Abudraham
explains that the farmer, who spends the time after Pesach occupied with
the wheat harvest, may lose track of time and forget to come to
In the continuation
of the passage cited above, the Abudraham offers another reason for the
mitzva:
Because the word is
in distress between Pesach and Shavuot over [the pending judgment
of] the wheat and trees, as the Talmud describes in the beginning of Tractate
Rosh Ha-Shana
Therefore, He commanded to count the days, in order that
we should remember the worlds distress and return to Him with a full heart and
plead before Him to have mercy on us and the creatures and the world, and that
the wheat should be as it should be, as it is the source of our existence, and
if there is no flour, there is no Torah.
According this view,
the counting of the omer does not serve to remind the farmer of the
upcoming festival, but rather to remind us of the precarious situation of the
world during this time, so that we should pray that the wheat harvest, upon
which the worlds sustenance depends, will be sufficient.
In his Moreh
Nevuchim (3:43), the Rambam extends the import of this mitzva beyond
the practical significance for the ancient farmer:
The days are counted
from the first of the festivals, up to it, as is done by one who waits for the
coming of the human being he loves the best and counts the days and hours. This
is the reason for the counting of the omer from the day when they left
According to the
Rambam, one counts the days from leaving
Interestingly, while the Rambam and Sefer Chinukh explain that one
counts in order to express his yearning for the Torah, the Ran (Pesachim
28a) suggests that one counts in order to reenact the Jewish Peoples count from
their freedom from
Whether one focuses upon the count between the korban ha-omer
until the shetei ha-lechem or the time period between the Exodus from
Egypt and the giving of the Torah may impact upon whether the mitzva of
sefirat ha-omer is considered binding mi-deoraita or
mi-derabbanan after the destruction of the Beit Ha-Mikdash, as we
will see below.
Who is Obligated to
Count Sefirat Ha-Omer
Women
The Talmud
(Kiddushin 33b) rules in numerous places that women are exempt from
time-bound commandments, mitzvot asei she-ha-zeman graman. Women are
therefore exempt from certain mitzvot, such as tefillin,
tzizit, sukka, arba minim, shofar, and keriat
shema. Seemingly, sefirat
ha-omer, which is performed between Pesach and Shavuot (and
preferably at night), should be considered such a
mitzva.
Indeed, the Rambam (Hilkhot Temidin U-Mussafin 7:20), as well as
the Sefer Ha-Chinukh (306), exempts women from the mitzva of
sefirat ha-omer. The Ramban (Kiddushin 33b), however, enumerates
mitzvot that are not time bound and which women are therefore obligated
to perform. He includes respecting
and honoring parents,
bikkurim, challa, kisui ha-dam, reishit ha-gez,
matanot kehuna, perika u-teina, and pidyon peter
chamor - as he summarizes, most of the mitzvot. The mitzva
of sefirat ha-omer is included in this short list of examples of
mitzvot that are not time-bound. R. Malkiel Zvi b. R. Yonah Tannenbaum
(1847-1910), in his Divrei Malkiel (3:5), as well as R. Soloveitchik
(Nefesh Ha-Rav p. 191), were apparently so shocked by this opinion that
they suggested that this must be a scribal error!
Is it possible to
view sefirat ha-omer as a commandment that is not time-bound and
therefore one which women would be obligated to perform? Indeed, sefirat
ha-omer is performed only between Pesach and Shavuot and at
night!
Must the count, in
fact, be performed at night? The mishna (Megilla 20a) teaches that
one may perform the ketzirat ha-omer, the cutting of the barley for the
korban ha-omer, during the entire night of the 16th of Nissan.
The gemara rules that the counting may also be performed during the
entire night. Elsewhere (Menachot 71a), the gemara rules that
although the omer should preferably be cut at night (mitzvato
li-ketzor ba-layla), if it was cut during the day, it is still valid for
use. Can we conclude that the same would be true regarding sefirat
ha-omer, that be-diavad, one may count even during the
day?
Many Rishonim (R. Hai Gaon; Rambam, Temidim U-Mussafim
7:23; Meiri, Megilla 20b; Behag, as cited by Ran, Megilla 7a)
rule that one who forgets to count at night should count the next day with a
blessing. Some explain that one may count with a blessing during the day only
after the destruction of the
Others (Rabbeinu Tam,
Tosafot, Megilla 20b; Semag, positive mitzva 199) rule that one
should not count during the day at all, even without a berakha. Tosafot
suggest that the halakha is in accordance with the gemara in
Megilla (20a). Therefore, the counting and cutting of the omer
must be done during the evening.
Furthermore, even if the halakha would be in accordance with the
gemara in Menachot regarding the cutting of the omer, the
counting of the omer must still be performed at night, as the verse
states that the counting must be of temimot - complete or perfect - and
must therefore be performed at night, the beginning of each day.
Finally, other
Rishonim (Raavia, 2:526; Mordekhai, Megilla 803; Rabbeinu
Yerucham, netiv 5, part 4; Rosh, cited by Tur, Orach Chaim 489)
write that one should count the following day, but without a berakha.
Although some imply that this may be due to the doubt regarding whether one
should count during the day, others (Mordekhai, citing R. Yaakov ben Yakar)
explain that although the full mitzva of counting during the proper time
has not been fulfilled, the mitzva of counting has still been
performed. One who counts during
the day fulfills a lower level of the mitzva, however, upon which a
blessing is not recited. (We will return to the practical aspects of one who
forgets to count sefirat ha-omer next week.)
Lets return to our question: do we view sefirat ha-omer as a
time-bound mitzva? One who permits counting during the day, and even one
who doesnt, but only due to the technicality of temimot, may view
sefirat ha-omer as a mitzva that is not bound by time. However,
one who maintains that the mitzva may only be performed at night, similar
to the ketzirat ha-omer, may therefore view sefirat ha-omer as a
mitzvat asei she-ha-zeman gerama.
Alternatively, we might suggest other reasons that sefirat ha-omer
is not a time-bound mitzva. For example, some suggest that sefirat
ha-omer is not bound by time, per se, but rather by the bringing of
the korban ha-omer and the shetei ha-lechem.
R. Yerucham Fishel
Perle (1846-1934), in his momentous commentary to R. Saadia Gaons list of the
613 mitzvot (end of the introduction), suggests that only a mitzva
regarding which time determines whether or not the mitzva can be
performed is considered to be a mitzvat asei she-ha-zeman gerama.
However, if a mitzva can theoretically be performed any time, but other
factors determine that it can only be performed on certain days, it is not
considered to be a time-bound mitzva. Therefore, sefirat ha-omer, which
is dependent not upon specific days, but rather upon the bringing of the
korban ha-omer on Pesach and the shetei ha-lechem on
Shavuot, is not considered a time-bound mitzva (see Turei Even,
Megilla 20b). Furthermore, he suggests that all Rishonim who
maintain that sefirat ha-omer is dependent upon these sacrificial
offerings, and that therefore nowadays, after the destruction of the Temple and
the abolishment of these offerings, sefirat ha-omer is only of rabbinic
obligation, would obligate women in sefirat ha-omer.
Alternatively, R.
Yechiel Yaakov Weinberg (18851966) offers a different
explanation:
In my humble opinion,
the answer is simple. A mitzvat
asei she-ha-zeman gerama is a mitzva which has a set time; the time
is the frame within which the mitzva is fulfilled, such as matza,
lulav and sukka
which is not the case regarding sefirat
ha-omer. [Sefirat
ha-omer] is not a mitzva to count days, but rather to count the
specific days between Pesach and Shavuot, and it is not proper to
say that the time has caused" this mitzva.
In other words, the
time between Pesach and Shavuot is not the timeframe within one
may fulfill this mitzva. Rather, these are the days that one must count
in order to fulfill the mitzva. The time does not obligate or generate
the mitzva, but rather, it is the mitzva itself!
Finally, R. Avraham Bornstein (18391910), in his Avnei Nezer
(Orach Chaim 384), discusses this question as well. He suggests that just
as women are obligated in all mitzvot related to the night of
Pesach, such as the prohibition to eat chametz, the mitzva
to eat matza, and the mitzva of sippur yetziat Mitzrayim,
women are naturally obligated to count the omer, which begins on the
morrow after that day. Although this interpretation is intriguing and raises
the question as to the relationship between sefirat ha-omer and
Pesach, it is doubtful that this is the Rambans intention. He labels
sefirat ha-omer as a mitzva that is not time-bound, not one which
is time-bound but that women must still fulfill.
The Magen Avraham (486:1) writes that although women are exempt
from sefirat ha-omer, as it is a time-bound mitzva, they
have accepted it upon themselves as an obligation. The Minchat Chinukh
(306) disagrees, and the Mishna Berura (3) records that not only is this
not the custom, but some even discourage women from recited the blessing over
sefirat ha-omer, lest they forget to count on subsequent days. It seems,
however, that the custom nowadays is for women to count sefirat ha-omer
with a blessing (see Arukh Ha-Shulchan 489:4).
Beit
Din
The Sifri (Devarim, piska 136) notes one of the
differences between the mitzva of sefirat ha-omer as it appears in
Vayikra and as it appears in Devarim:
Seven weeks you
shall number unto you (Devarim 16:9-10) in beit din. And how do we know that each and every
individual must [also] count? It says, And you shall count unto yourselves
(Vayikra 23:15-16) - each and every person.
This Sifri
apparently maintains that the Beit Din Ha-Gadol must count each day of
the omer leading up to Shavuot. We find a similar phenomenon,
according to some opinions, regarding the years of the shemita cycles.
The Rambam (Sefer Ha-Mitzvot, 140; Hilkhot Shemita Ve-Yovel 10:1)
rules that the Beit Din Ha-Gadol must count each year of the shemita
cycle just as it must count the years of shemitta leading up to the
yovel. (See Ramban,
Vayikra 23:15-16, who questions whether the Beit Din Ha-Gadol must
actually count each year leading up the yovel with a blessing, or merely
keep track of the years.) The Chizkuni (Vayikra 23:15) also clearly
states that the Torah relates in the two different sources to two separate
counts, one which is entrusted to the Beit Din Ha-Gadol and the other
which is entrusted to the community (that is, the individuals). R. Yerucham Fishel Perele (in the
commentary mentioned above, end of mitzva 51), vehemently rejects this
possibility.
The possibility that the Beit Din Ha-Gadol must also count the
days of the omer may be a minority opinion, but is intriguing
nonetheless. Why would the Beit Din Ha-Gadol be commanded to count the
days of the omer?
R. Soloveitchik
(Kovetz Chiddushei Torah, p. 47-66) explains that the Beit Din
Ha-Gadol, as the representatives of the Jewish People, is entrusted with the
sanctification of the festivals. In fact, the Talmud (Beitza 17a)
distinguishes between Shabbat, whose sanctity is fixed (by God), and upon which we therefore recite the blessing
mekadesh ha-Shabbat (He who sanctifies the Shabbat), and Yom Tov,
which is sanctified by the Jewish People, who set the months and years, and upon
which we recite the berakha mekadesh Yisrael ve-ha-zemanim (He
who sanctifies Israel and the festivals). R. Soloveitchik developed this idea
further, claiming that the Rambam maintains that the Beit Din Ha-Gadol
sanctifies the Jubilee year by counting each and every year of the
shemita cycles. Regarding sefirat ha-omer, he adds (Mesorah 1:1;
Eretz Ha-Tzvi, p. 11) that the Beit Din Ha-Gadol, through their counting of the
omer, may also sanctify the festival of Shavuot, especially since
it is not identified by specific date, but rather by its relationship to
Pesach. Indeed, the Torah says, You should begin to
number seven weeks, and you shall keep the Feast of Weeks (Devarim
16:9-10). The counting of the weeks establishes the Feast of Weeks -
Shavuot.
While the individual
counts each day between the korban ha-omer and the shetei
ha-lechem, the Beit Din Ha-Gadol counts each day leading up to
Shavuot, sanctifying it thereby.
This intriguing idea
may also explain the difference between the count of days that appears in
Vayikra and the count of weeks that appears in Devarim. The counting of the weeks relates to the
festival of Shavuot, while the counting of the days relates to the
korban ha-omer and the shetei ha-lechem. We will return to this distinction
shortly.
Finally, R.
Soloveitchik suggests that sefirat ha-omer may not be considered a
mitzvat asei she-hazeman gerama according to the Ramban because women are
certainly including in the communal sanctification of the holiday of
Shavuot.
The Source of the
Obligation of Sefirat Ha-Omer
The Talmud (Menachot 66a) states regarding the counting of the
omer:
Abaye said: It is the
mitzva to count the days and also to count the weeks. The Rabbis of the
According to this
passage, Ameimar believed that the counting of the omer is only zekher
la-mikdash, and therefore one should only count the weeks, not the days. It
remains unclear whether Abaye and R. Ashi agreed that sefirat ha-omer is
only zekher la-mikdash nowadays, but maintain that one should still count
both the days and the weeks, or whether they disagree with Ameimars premise
entirely, assuming that sefirat ha-omer is still a biblical law
even after the destruction of the Temple and the abolishment of the korban
ha-omer and the shetei ha-lechem.
Furthermore, the Rishonim debate whether sefirat ha-omer is
mi-deoraita or mi-derabbanan nowadays and whether there is still
a distinction between the counting of the days and the
weeks.
Some Rishonim believe that sefirat ha-omer is
mi-deoraita. The Rambam (Hilkhot Temidin U-usafin 7:22-4), for
example, writes:
There is a mitzvat
asei [positive obligation] to count seven complete weeks from the day of the
bringing of the omer [on the sixteenth of Nissan], as it says, You shall
count for yourselves, from the day following the Shabbat, seven weeks. There is
a mitzva to count the days together with the weeks, as it says, You
shall count fifty days
This mitzva applies to all males among
Yisrael, in every place and at every time.
The Rambam clearly
believes that the obligation is mi-deoraita nowadays. The Shibbolei
Ha-Leket (234) and the Raavya (cited in the Or Zarua 329)
concur. These Rishonim
clearly believe that Abaye and R. Ashi argue with Ameimar and maintain that
sefirat ha-omer remains a biblical obligation.
Others disagree. Tosafot (Menachot 66a), for
example, argue:
It appears that when
one is in doubt as to whether or not night has fallen one, may recite the
berakha [over sefirat ha-omer] and need not wait until the time
when night has definitely fallen, since this constitutes a situation of doubt
concerning a rabbinic law [regarding which we rule
leniently].
Tosafot, who question
whether one may count the omer during the period of bein
ha-shemashot, when one is in doubt whether it is day or night, applies the
principle of safek derabbanan le-kula to sefirat ha-omer, clearly
indicating its rabbinic origin in their opinion. The Ba'al Ha-Ma'or (Pesachim 28a,
Some have asked why
we do not recite zeman [the berakha of she-hecheyanu]
for sefirat ha-omer
Furthermore, why don't we count twice out of doubt,
just as we observe two days of Yom Tov out of doubt? The governing principle is
that we need not conduct ourselves stringently regarding sefirat ha-omer,
for it constitutes but a commemoration.
The Rosh
(Pesachim 10:40), Ran (Pesachim 28a,
It
is only a commemoration, and this is the conclusion there in Menachot,
that Ameimar counted days and not weeks, claiming that the mitzva is but
a commemoration of the
The
Ba'al Ha-ma'or fundamentally agrees that those who maintain that sefirat
ha-omer is only mi-derabbanan nowadays should distinguish between the
counting of the days and the weeks, and he therefore concludes that the counting
of weeks is only a custom we have adopted." Most Rishonim disagree, however.
The Ran (ibid.), for example, writes:
Since
Abaye and the
Apparently,
even Abaye and the
How
are we to understand this debate between Amemar and Abaye and the
Abaye
and the
While
some Rishonim view sefirat ha-omer as mi-deoraita and some
understand that it is mi-derabbanan, others offer a third, middle
position.
Rabbeinu
Yerucham (Toldot Adam Ve-Chavah, netiv 5: part 4) offers such an
approach. He maintains that during the time of the Beit Ha-Mikdash, there
are actually two separate mitzvot: the counting of the weeks and the
counting of the days. The counting of the weeks is linked to the cutting of the
omer, as it says, "Count seven weeks from the beginning of the harvest of
the standing grain" (Devarim 16:9). The counting of the days, however, is
not dependent on the omer.
He therefore argues that nowadays, since we no longer offer the korban
ha-omer in the Beit Ha-Mikdash, the counting of the days remains
mi-deoraita, but the counting of the weeks is only mi-derabbanan -
zekher la-Mikdash. Furthermore,
he explains that since the counting of the weeks is only mi-derabbanan,
it does not merit a separate berakha.
R. Yerucham Fishel
Perle (mitzva
51) discusses these two points. He challenges and strongly disagrees with
Rabbenu Yeruchams assumption that a mitzva instituted zekher
la-Mikdash does not warrant a blessing before its performance. Regarding the possible difference
between the counting of the days and the weeks, he demonstrates that while many
Rishonim actually view the counting of the weeks as the central
mitzva and the counting of the days as secondary, others view the
counting of the days as the primary mitzva and the counting of the weeks
as secondary. R. Soloveitchik (see Mi-Peninei Ha-Rav, p. 230) discusses
this issue as well.
Interestingly,
R. Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter (18471905), author of the Sefat Emet,
suggests a similar, yet opposite theory.
He claims that the counting of the weeks mentioned in Devarim
relates to the holiday of Shavuot, while the counting of the days
mentioned in Vayikra appears in the context of the korban ha-omer
and the shetei ha-lechem. He
proposes that although these two mitzvot, the mentioning of the days and
the weeks, are no longer applicable after the destruction for the Temple,
Ameimar maintained that the counting that was relevant to the Beit
Ha-Mkdash, the counting of the days, should be observed zekher
la-Mikdash. He concludes that after formulating this theory, he was shown
the Rabbeinu Yerucham, whose words are not understood, and they are partially
the opposite of what I wrote.
The
Rambam (Sefer Ha-Mitzvot 161) explicitly rejects the possibility that the
counting of the days and the weeks constitute two separate mitzvot. He writes:
Do
not be misled to consider [the counting of days and weeks as] two commandments
because of the statement of our Sages, "It is a mitzva to count the days
and it is a mitzva to count the weeks." [They use the expression, "It is
a mitzva"] because for any mitzva that has many parts, it is a
"mitzva" [i.e., we are commanded] to do each part. If the Sages would have said, however,
"Counting the days is a mitzva, and counting the weeks is a
mitzva," they would be considered two separate commandments. This is
clear to anyone who thinks carefully about the wording; because when it is said
that there is an "obligation" to do a certain act, that expression does not
necessarily indicate that it is a separate commandment. The clear proof of this
[i.e. that counting the days and weeks are not separate commandments] is that we
count the weeks every single night by saying, "It is this number of weeks and
this number of days." If [counting] the weeks would be a separate commandment,
[the Sages] would have established them to be counted only on those nights which
[complete] the weeks. They also
would have established two blessings: "[Blessed are You God, King of the
universe,] Who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to count
the days of the Omer," and, "to count the weeks of the omer." This
is not the case; rather the mitzva is to count the days and weeks of the
omer as was commanded.
According
to the Rambam, the counting of the weeks and of the days together comprise one
single mitzva.
The
Biur Halakha (489:1) writes that although the position of the
Shulkhan Arukh is that sefirat ha-omer is a rabbinic
mitzva, one should be careful to count the omer after tzeit
ha-kokhavim, in deference to those opinions which hold that sefirat
ha-omer, even nowadays, is a mitzva
mi-deoraita.
Interestingly,
the "hineni mukhan u-mezuman" paragraph customarily recited before
counting the omer reads: "I am hereby prepared and ready to fulfill the
positive commandment of sefirat ha-omer, as it is written in the Torah
This declaration, which expresses ones intention to fulfill the commandment,
implies that the obligation of sefirat ha-omer is
mi-deoraita. Not only is
this point debatable, as demonstrated above, but it also seemingly contradicts
the passage that is customarily said after counting the omer (see
Tosafot, Megilla 20b): O Compassionate One!
May He return for us the Service of the
Next
week we will study the practical laws of sefirat
ha-omer.