Based on the famous rule that women are exempt from all time-bound mitzvot, women are exempt from the mitzvah of counting the Omer, for it is dependant on time (see Peninei Halachah, Tefillat Nashim<\/i>, chap. 3, for the logic behind this rule).<\/p>\n
However, a woman who so desires may perform time-bound mitzvot, and she receives credit for doing so.\u00a0 We thus find that women are accustomed to hearing the shofar<\/i> on Rosh HaShanah<\/i> and taking a lulav<\/i> and sitting in a sukkah<\/i> [on Sukkot<\/i>].\u00a0 But the poskim<\/i> debate the issue of the blessing.\u00a0 According to the author of Shulchan Aruch<\/i> (O.C.<\/i> 589:6), women do not make blessings over such mitzvot, and this is the prevalent custom among most Sefardic women.<\/p>\n
The Ashkenazi custom follows the Rama\u2019s opinion, that women who perform time-bound mitzvot are permitted to recite the blessing (see Tefillat Nashim<\/i> 2:8).\u00a0 However, some Ashkenazi poskim<\/i> rule that women should not recite a blessing over the Omer count because they do not pray [Ma\u2019ariv<\/i>] in the synagogue and are therefore more likely to miss a day. \u00a0As we learned above, one who forgets to count a day is not allowed to continue counting with a blessing, and perhaps a particular woman will not realize that she forgot to count and will continue counting with a blessing (M.B.<\/i> 489:3).\u00a0 Others say that women shouldn\u2019t count the Omer for kabbalistic reasons (Rav Poalim<\/i>, part 1, end of 10, 12).\u00a0 On the other hand, still others claim that the Askenazi custom is for women to count (M.A.<\/i> 489:1).<\/p>\n
Therefore, a woman who knows that she can make it through the entire count, and even if she misses a day, she knows to continue counting without a blessing, may count with a blessing, according to Ashkenazi practice.\u00a0 This is especially true regarding a woman who prays Ma\u2019ariv<\/i> every evening or whose family members are in the habit of reminding her to count.\u00a0 She may count with a blessing, if she is Ashkenazi and so desires, because the chances of her forgetting to count are relatively small.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Based on the famous rule that women are exempt from all time-bound mitzvot, women are exempt from the mitzvah of counting the Omer, for it is dependant on time (see Peninei Halachah, Tefillat Nashim, chap. 3, for the logic behind this rule). However, a woman who so desires may perform time-bound mitzvot, and she receives […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5824","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-05-02"],"yoast_head":"\n