Q&A: Regarding the dispute among the medieval authorities about the law of counting the Omer nowadays, and how one should properly intend
Regarding the dispute among the medieval authorities about the law of counting the Omer nowadays, and how one should properly intend
Question
Hello, and a healthy summer.
I had difficulty today: according to the view that commandments require intention, how do we find a violation of "do not diminish" in someone who intends to fulfill a commandment that is Torah-level as though it were a rabbinic commandment? For example, according to Maimonides, for whom counting the Omer is Torah-level, he intends to fulfill a rabbinic commandment. But in that case he does not fulfill any commandment at all, because of the lack of proper intention. And if so, "do not diminish" would not apply here, similar to three passages in phylacteries and three species in the lulav, where it is not considered "do not diminish," since he is not fulfilling the commandment at all?
Answer
First of all, may we be healthy all year long as well (sorry, but I’m allergic to these hypochondriac greetings).
I didn’t understand the question. How do you know that someone who intends for a rabbinic commandment violates "do not diminish"? Perhaps you infer this from Maimonides’ words about a religious court that enacted a decree and did not inform people that it was rabbinic, in which case they violate "do not add." But that is a completely different law.
And similarly regarding one who reduces the number of species or passages: in that case he indeed does violate "do not diminish," exactly like its opposite, "do not add" (see Sifrei, Re'eh 13:1, and elsewhere).
Beyond that, if he adds an invented commandment, which according to Maimonides violates "do not add," then he has not fulfilled any commandment at all by doing so, even if he had intention. So how did he violate "do not add"? "Do not add" is because he transgressed the utterance of the Merciful One, and not necessarily because he performed a commandment. It is explicit in the Talmud that at the relevant time one need not have any intention at all in order to violate "do not add."