Question: Is there a requirement to say “Hineni muchan u’mezuman…” before Sefirat HaOmer? Also if a person arrives late for Maariv, should he count sefirah first with the minyan or proceed immediately to Maariv?
Moshe Jakobowitz
Brooklyn, NY
Before counting the Omer some people say, “Hineni muchan u’mezuman… – Behold, I am prepared and ready to perform the commandment of counting the Omer.” Some people say an even longer introduction starting with “Yehi ratzon milfanecha – May it be acceptable before You.” This introductory prayer is designed to induce a proper frame of mind in the person about to count the Omer.
As lofty as this text is, saying it is problematic since it refers to a commandment to count the Omer even though, as we mentioned last week, there is no Biblical obligation to count the Omer today.
Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, zt”l, the late Rishon LeZion, writes in his Yabia Omer (3:28) that one should not recite the above-quoted text. He notes that although we have a rule that commandments require proper intent – mitzvot tzerichot kavana – the words of the berachah indicate intent.
And yet, he points out that we take the lulav and etrog in our hand before saying the berachah on shaking them as a form of preparation. Saying “Hineni muchan u’mezuman,” he writes, is like taking the lulav and etrog in our hands. It puts us in the proper frame of mind.
It’s true that counting the Omer is not a biblical mitzvah today, but we have a rule that “kol detakkun Rabbanan ke’ein deOrayyta tikkun – whatever the Rabbis enacted, they did in imitation of Scriptural law” (Pesachim 116b). Thus, any decree of the Rabbis has the full force of Biblical law. Saying “Hineni muchan u’mezuman…,” therefore, is proper.
Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, shlit”a, son of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, and the current Rishon LeZion, says that those who wish to say the preparatory prayer should recite a slightly different version: “We have come to perform the commandment of Sefirat HaOmer, to do what is pleasing to Hashem…” This shorter text suffices and avoids all possible problems.
Nevertheless, we have the rule of “minhag avoteihem bi’yedeihem.” We follow the customs of our fathers.
In public, though, one should follow the custom of the congregation, e.g., Kaddish, Kedushah, and chazzarat hashatz (all said aloud). A chazzan should even say the silent Shemoneh Esreh in accordance with the custom of the shul wherein he’s davening since his silent prayer is a preparation for chazzarat hashatz, which is said aloud for the entire congregation (see Igrot Moshe, Orach Chayim 4:33).
As to your question regarding a person who arrives in shul at the end of Maariv – should he count the Omer with the congregation or first say Maariv?: The answer to this question is based on a major rule in our Talmud: tadir v’sheino tadir, tadir kodam. When faced with two obligations, one does the more common one first.
The Mishnah (Perek Kol Hatadir, Zevachim 89a) rules, “Whatever is more constant takes precedence. The daily offerings – the temidin – precede the Additional offerings – the musafin. The musafin of the Sabbath precede the musafin of Rosh Chodesh. The musafin of Rosh Chodesh precede the musafin of Rosh Hashanah for the Torah says (Numbers 28:23) “Milvad olat ha’boker asher l’olat hatamid – Aside from the burnt-offering of the morning, which is for a continual burnt-offering.”
Rashi (sv “milvad olat ha’boker”) explains that the tanna sees from this verse that the daily offerings take precedence over the additional offerings. This mishnah establishes a rule that we fulfill more common mitzvot first, and, based on it, poskim rule that although one may count the Omer before saying Maariv, it is better to daven Maariv first (see Shulchan Aruch Harav, Orach Chayim 489:16).
(To be continued)