[Avodah] Hilchos Sefirah

[kennethgmiller at juno.com]

Cantor Wolberg asked:

> One may count the Omer in any language, however one must
> understand what he is saying. Shulchan Aruch w/Mishnah
> Brurah 489:1
> (Would this mean that if someone didn't understand Hebrew,
> he should do it in his mama lashon)?

>From what I've heard, yes, most definitely. From what I've gathered over the years, there are several things in this category, and what they all have in ccommon is that they are not prayers. They are declarations. A prayer is best when one understands what he is saying, but he is yotzay even if he doesn't. But a declaration is meaningless unless he understands what he is saying.

Other things in this category include Bitul Chametz and the Hagadah. When one makes an Eruv Tavshilin (or one or the other eruvin), the bracha is a prayer best said in Hebrew, but the paragraph afterward is a declaration which he must understand. I think the Shma might also be in this category.

Of course, the best solution is to understand the Hebrew, and say it in Hebrew. By doing so, one captures nuances unavailable in translation. This time of year, the difference (if any) between Laomer and Baomer is a good reminder of this idea.

Even if one is not fluent in Hebrew, one can accomplish this by looking at the translation and then reciting the Hebrew. Several siddurim (of the Linear or Interlinear style) make this much easier.

> One should L'chatchila count while standing. However, b'dieved,
> if one counted while sitting he is Yoitze. Shulchan Aruch
> w/Mishnah Brurah 489:1
> (Why, then, would someone be sitting, b'dieved, if he knew he
> should have been standing l'chatchila)?

The simplest answer would be in the case of someone who is unable to stand, for medical or other reasons. He is in a b'dieved situation, so he make say the bracha and count while seated.

(Suppose the halacha had been that if one counted while sitting, he is *not* yotzay even b'dieved. In such a case, the most an invalid could do is to count without the bracha.)

Akiva Miller
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