Does Saying “Lag B’Omer” Count as Sefira?

Listen to an in-depth shiur on the halachos of Sfiras Ha’Omer delivered by Rabbi Yossi Shusterman, shliach in Beverly Hills, and member of the Vaad Rabbonei Lubavitch.

[Credit Chabad.org]

Does Saying “Lag B’Omer” Count as Sefira?

By Rabbi Yaakov Goldstein of Shulchanaruchharav.com

Counting in numbers versus letters.

One is to count the sefira in number digits [אחד, שתים] as opposed to letters [i.e. א, ב, ג]. If one counted in letters and not in numbers, such as he said “Today is alef or beis or gimmel of the omer”, then there is a dispute as to whether or not he fulfilled his obligation. Practically, one is to repeat the count without a brochoh. [If one did not do so, he may nevertheless continue counting with a blessing the following nights.]

What is the halochoh if one counted in roshei teivos/abbreviations?

In the above halochoh, The Alter Rebbe concludes that one who counted in letters is subject to a dispute in poskim and is thus required to recount without a blessing. The question raised is asked as to what is the definition of letters, is it limited to letter abbreviations [example 1] or does the dispute extend even to word abbreviations? [example 2].

  • Example 1: One said on the 33rd night “Today is Lamed Gimel Baomer”
  • Example 2: One said on the 33rd night “Today is Lag Baomer”

Letter abbreviation-Example 1: One who counted that night in a letter abbreviation, such as instead of saying thirty-three he said the letters Lamed Gimel, then it is subject to the same dispute mentioned above regarding one who counted in lettersand he is to recount that night without a blessing, but may continue to count the future nights with a blessing, even if he did not recount.

Word abbreviation-Example 2: One who counted in a word abbreviation of the number night, such as instead of saying thirty-three, and instead of saying the letters Lamed Gimel, he said the word Lag, is not subject to the above-mentioned dispute, and he does not fulfill his obligation and is to recount with a blessing. Some poskim, however, rule that he fulfills his obligation even in such a case according to the lenient opinion above, [so long as the word abbreviation is commonly used for that number]. Practically, according to the Alter Rebbe it is implied that he must repeat the count with a blessing in all cases of Abbreviations. [Accordingly, if one counted using a word abbreviation and did not recount properly, he may no longer continue counting with a blessing.]

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