The Rabbi's Bracha on Sefiras HaOmer

Q. In many congregations it is customary for the rabbi to recite Sefiras Ha’Omer out loud at the conclusion of Maariv. If the rabbi missed counting a day of Sefiras Ha’Omer and will be embarrassed if he does not recite the bracha, is there anything he can do?

A. Rav Tzvi Pesach Frank (Har Tzvi OC 2:75) writes that Rav Yosef Dov Soloveichik (the Bais Haleivi) was in this situation and made the following arrangement so that he could recite the bracha for the congregation: He asked one of the congregants not to recite a bracha and instead have in mind to fulfill his obligation with the bracha of Rav Yosef Dov. A Jew is permitted to recite a bracha on behalf of another even if he already fulfilled his obligation, based on the concept of areivus (Jews are responsible for each other’s mitzvah performance). Although the Bais Haleivi could not recite a bracha for his own mitzvah fulfillment because he missed a day, he was permitted to recite a bracha for the congregant, and it would not be a bracha livatala. The Har Tzvi points out that this approach is subject to disagreement among the Acharonim. The Pri Chadash (OC 489) compares one who missed a day of counting to one who is not obligated in the mitzvah. The rule is that one who does not have an obligation may not recite a bracha on behalf of one who does. However, Har Tzvi shows that other Acharonim disagree with the Pri Chadash. They argue that although a person cannot recite a bracha if he missed one day of Sefira, he is still considered to be obligated in the mitzvah, even though he cannot fulfill it, and he can therefore make a bracha for another. He concludes that the halacha is like the Bais Haleivi.

The Shevet Haleivi (3:96) sides with the Pri Chadash and does not recommend this approach of the Bais Haleivi. Still, he writes that the rabbi may recite the bracha for the congregation and rely on the opinion of the majority that even if one missed a day, a bracha may be recited. Although ordinarily, we follow the ruling of Shulchan Aruch (that a bracha is not said if a day of Sefira was missed), in this instance we may rely on the majority opinion (that a bracha can be said after missing a day) to uphold the honor of the congregation and not to diminish the kovod of the rav.

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The Gerald & Karin Feldhamer OU Kosher Halacha Yomis is dedicated to the memory of Rav Yisroel Belsky, zt"l, who served as halachic consultant for OU Kosher for more than 28 years; many of the responses in Halacha Yomis are based on the rulings of Rabbi Belsky. Subscribe to the Halacha Yomis daily email here.