Counting the Omer vol.3 no.9
From the second night of Pesach for forty nine days we “count the Omer”. It is customary to count in the evening. According to many halachic authorities this mitzvah is Torah obligated even today. Therefore one should count when it is certainly night. If he counted before it was certainly night it is proper to count later without a blessing. There is a discussion as to whether the mitzvah is comprised of one count of forty nine days or forty nine separate counts. Therefore, if he forgot to count one day he should continue counting the remaining days but without a blessing.
It is customary for each person to recite the blessing and to count for himself. However, one may recite the blessing on behalf of another especially in cases where the person is in doubt whether or not he should recite the blessing.
One may count in any language he understands.
We count both days and weeks, as is commonly printed in siddurim. If one counted only the days and not the weeks he should recount properly without a blessing. If he forgot to recount he can still count the remaining days with a blessing. If he did not count the full number of days, for example, on the eighth day he counted “one week and one day”, he still fulfills the mitzvah. If he only counted the week, for example on the seventh day he counted “one week”, he must recount properly with a blessing.
If one did not count at the beginning of the night he can count the entire night. If he did not count at night he can count during the following day time without a blessing. He can then continue to count with a blessing.
If he did not count one day or realized that he counted a previous day incorrectly he should continue counting without a blessing.He should hear the blessing from the Chazan or someone else.
This issue dedicated to the memory of Devorah Felstein of blessed memory.
