Some Confusion about the order of Sefirah and Kiddush on Shevi’i Shel Pesach, where Rodelheim, KAJ, and Safah Yesharah Differ:
- The Roedelheim has all sefirah after kiddush in shul. This is the psak of the Sh’A (489) based on Terumas Hadeshen, and it is because of “iyulei yoma makdiminan”- “We strive to welcome the day earlier”, and for this reason, it is conversely made before Havdallah in shul- to delay the exit of Shabbos/YomTov (aka- “Afukei Yoma Me’acharinan” – “We strive to delay the release of the day”.)
- The Minhag book of KAJ, as well as the Winsbacher Machzor, has the Sefirah of Acharon shel Pesach before kiddush, and this seems to be based on the Taz (ibid.), who writes that we are making an “afukei yoma m’acharinan” on Yomtov Rishon since it is Deoraysa while Yomtov Sheni is Derabanan so we prefer to delay the release of the Yomtov Rishon. All other poskim argue (MB, ibid.)
- There is strange wording in the Minhag Book: it clearly spells out the Shita of the Taz, but it begins with a qualifier that, when Shabbos and Yomtov coincide on Shevi’i, Kiddush is made before Sefira. This would imply that on a regular Shevi’i Shel Pesach, there would be Kidush after Sefirah. Winsbacher went with that literal citation and believes he consulted Rav Levi Sh”lita. (To be sure, this is NOT the practice in KAJ.)
- Chaim Gordimer believes the wording of the Minhag Book might be a practical consideration since only when Shevi’i coincides with Shabbos do they even make the Sefira zman, otherwise Shul ends too early.
- I would suggest that if it is not a misprint, perhaps there is a Sevara to say IyuleiYoma only regarding Shabbos and not Yomtov*. Vedochek.
*Because Shabbos is Kedushaso Mishmaya, it is a “guest” (Bo’i Kallah); it must be greeted early. But YomTov is of our making; therefore, it is not greeted. The Sevara is good, just unlikely that the Minhag book would have this without mention in the poskim.
About changing your Sefirah Minhag if you are from KAJ
The psak of Rav Moshe zt’l is well known regarding changing one’s Sefirah Minhag between “first Sefirah” and “second Sefirah”. אגרות משה אור”ח חלק א סי’ קנט, חלק ב סימן צה
One may suggest that this is only with regard to choosing which set of 33 days, since it is arbitrary; the main interest is in satisfying the ultimate number of 33.
Perhaps, we may suggest that a member of our community would not have this leniency. That is because we observe the second Sefirah in order to coincide with the days of late Iyar, which were catastrophic times during the Crusades. Since we are not “arbitrarily” choosing this period, our observance of the second Sefirah might have the weight of a different Minhag.
Baseball on Lag Be’Omer
Finally, a thought regarding Lag B’omer. I have written twice about the proliferation of Lag B’eomer celebrations in America around “Hadlakos” and “bar Yochai”. While I appreciate the draw of the sublime, in my youth- and yours, the reader, we never heard of this. Lag Beomer was about bows and arrows, and a class trip to play baseball in the park. (Someone asked me this year if I planned to attend one of several “Hadlakos” in my neighborhood. I wanted to answer, “Yes, I want to attend to see if I could find one person who could tell me why they are singing in front of a bonfire!” (See Chok Yaakov beginning of Shu”a 489:1 regarding saying Kabalistic tchinas when you don’t understand them.)
As innocent kids, we were told that the bow and arrow were used as a “front” for learning Torah under the Roman restrictions. Much like the dreidel, when Roman soldiers would ask why they were gathered in a field, they would pretend to be engaged in the sport of archery. If so, this would justify the American minhag to play baseball in the park on Lag Be’Omer, as baseball has replaced archery as a sport!
