[Avodah] Does a Bat Mitsva girl continue counting during Sefira

[Aryeh Frimer via Avodah]

       In a previous post I posited that it would be assur [berakha le-vatala] for a Bat Mitsva Girl to count sefirat ha-omer with a Berakha after her Bat Mitsva. The reason is that her counting before Bat Mitzva was totally voluntary with no obligation of Hinnukh, since it is a mitzvat Aseh she-hazeman geramman (a time determined mitzva).

      RMH  wrote me off-net as follows:  "While understanding that she wasn't Chayiv m'Shum Chinuch, she's also not Chayiv post Bat Mitzvah, and never will be Chayav.  In future years she'll make a Bracha despite not being Chayav according to Ashkinaz Minhag. What stands distinct, as I hear you frame it, is that her non-Chayiv status before and after are distinct statuses which have fundamentally shifted in parallel with the way the shift happens between Chinuch and Chiyuv for a boy. But why make that assumption in the first place?  Why not assume that "not Chayav" is "not Chayav", period. It's only one category. Of what relevance to the status of "not Chayav" is the particular events that brought someone to that status?"

      To this I responded:   IMHO, there is a fundamental misunderstanding here regarding a women's recitation of berakhot on Misvot asei she-hazeman geramman (time determined commandments).  As explained by Tosafot (Tosafot, Eruvin 96a-b, s.v. "dilma.") and Rabbenu Nissim [Hiddushei haRan, Rosh haShana 33a; Ran on Rif, Rosh haShana 33a; Ran on Rif, Kiddushin 31a. ] a woman can make such a berakha because although it is voluntary there is a kiyyum haMitsva (proper fulfillment of the mitsvah) and she receives heavenly reward.   Accordingly, she may also pronounce the attendant berakhot. See: at length, R. Israel Zev Gustman, Kuntresei Shiurim, Kiddushin, shiur 20; R. Joseph B. Soloveitchik, cited in R. Hayyim Dov Altuski's Hiddushei Batra, haMasbir, Berakhot 14a, sec. 134.   If, however, she does not have the status of a full count, then according to major shitot there is a serious doubt as to whether there is a kiyyum and no berakha can be said.  One cannot "volunteer" a berakha levatala - and so it will be if there is no kiyyum.


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Prof. Aryeh A. Frimer
Chemistry Dept., Bar-Ilan University
Ramat Gan 5290002, ISRAEL
E-mail (office): Aryeh.Frimer at biu.ac.il

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