The mitzvah of sefiras ha’omer is spelled out in the Torah, in Parshas Emor (23:15): “וּסְפַרְתֶּם לָכֶם מִמָּחֳרַת הַשַּׁבָּת מִיּוֹם – You הֲבִיאֲכֶם אֶת עֹמֶר הַתְּנוּפָה שֶׁבַע שַׁבָּתוֹת תְּמִימֹת תִּהְיֶינָה shall count from the day after Shabbos [i.e., the first day of Pesach] – the day that the omer is brought – seven complete weeks.” This mitzvah is unique in that it is done over a period of 49 days, starting from the 2nd night of Pesach, and continuing until the yom tov of Shavuos. How do we understand this mitzvah? Is it one long mitzvah with 49 parts, or is it 49 independent mitzvos? This seems to be a machlokes in the rishonim.
Tosfos (Menachos 66a and Megillah 20b) quotes the Bahag who rules that if one missed a day of counting sefira, he can no longer fulfill the mitzvah. The Sefer Hachinuch quotes this opinion of the Bahag and adds that the reason for not being able to continue the mitzvah is because it is one long mitzvah, and once part is missing, it is no longer possible to fulfill the mitzvah.
Tosfos, however, takes strong issue with this ruling of the Bahag, and holds that one can continue counting. This is also the opinion of many other rishonim, including Rav Hai Gaon, the Rosh and Rabeinu Yonah. The Rosh explains that each day’s counting is an independent mitzvah, and missing one day will not have bearing on the other days.
Understanding the Machlokes
The simple understanding of this machlokes is whether the mitzvah of sefira is one long mitzvah with 49 parts, or 49 independent mitzvos. The Bahag holds that it is one long mitzvah with 49 parts, and therefore missing one part disqualifies the entire mitzvah. The other rishonim hold that it is 49 independent mitzvos, and if someone missed a day, he can still count on the other days.
There seems to be a third opinion, which is somewhere in the middle. The Tur quotes Rav Sadia Gaon, who rules that only missing the first night will disqualify a person, but missing any other night will not. The Bach explains that missing a day in the middle is not an issue, and one can continue the next night. However, it is only when it comes to missing the first night, which means that the person did not get the mitzvah off the ground on the correct date, and that disqualifies him from participating in the mitzvah.
So, we have a machlokes if missing a day of sefira will spoil the mitzvah. According to the Bahag, missing one part disqualifies the entire mitzvah. According to the other rishonim, if someone missed a day he can still do the next day’s counting. And according to Rav Sadia Gaon, only missing the first night will disqualify a person, but missing any other night will not.
Interestingly, the Sefer Hachinuch, who rules that one can continue counting, adds that one must first state the previous day’s sefira. For example, someone missed counting day 24, and it is now the 25th, he should first declare – without a brocha – that yesterday was 24 and only then can he count that day’s sefira of 25, with a brocha. The reason for this is that even if each day’s counting is an independent mitzvah, one must still “count” the day before.
This does not mean to imply that there is any fulfillment of yesterday’s sefira, but this is because one cannot count today as 25 until he “has” the previous day of 24. Counting the 49 days is like building a tower of 49 stories. Just like one cannot put up the 25th story before putting up the 24th, so too one cannot count the 25th day of sefira, before having established that there was a 24th. For this reason, the Sefer Hachinuch holds that one should first make mention that yesterday was “24” and only then can he count today’s sefira of “25.”
SUMMARY
There is a machlokes rishonim if the 49 days of counting sefira are one big mitzvah, or 49 separate mitzvos. The practical difference will be if one can continue to count in a case that a day of sefira was missed. If it is one big mitzvah, the mitzvah was lost, and one can no longer continue to count. If each night is an independent mitzvah, one can continue to count.
Rabbi Scheiner
