Parsha Chabura Tazria/Metzora:Koton She'Higdil Toch Sefirah

This week's shiur was on the status of a koton who becomes Bar Mitzvah during sefirah. Do we say that the counting he did when he was a koton was meaningless, and since he missed some days he can no longer make a beracha or do we say he still retains the "temimus" and he can make a beracha.

The Achronim point out that this question is only according to the B'Hag who holds all of sefirah is one long mitzvah. If we assume not like the B'Hag that each day is independent mitzvah then of course he can make a beracha.

The Minchas Chinuch (Hil Sefiras HaOmer) addresses this issue and mentions two reasons why there is no chisaron of temimus.

1) A koton has a chiyuv m'd'rabanan of chinuch and his chiyuv d'rabanan can take care of his chiyuv m'd'oreisa. The Minchas Chinuch proves this from a Mordechai in Megilla (discussed in a previous post)

2) Even if there would be no chiyuv d'rabanan on the koton, at the end of the day he still had counted. He would not lose his temimus just because he counted as a koton.

The K'sav Sofer (Siman 99) also adresses this issue and makes a couple of poins.

1) Whether or not the koton has a chiyuv of chinuch is a machlokes Rashi and Tosfos (Berachos 48a). Rashi hold sthe chiyuiv chinuch is on the father and Tosfos holds it is on the koton. Furtehrmore, Tosfos holds a chiyuv d'rabanan can't be motzei a chiyuv d'oreisa. Therefore, according to both Rashi and Tosofos the koton's counting did not fulfill his chiyuv d'oreisa. According to Rashi a chiyuv d'rabanan CAN be motzei a chiyuv d'oreisa, HOWEVER a koton has no chiyuv chinuch. According to Tosofos a koton HAS a chiyuv chinuch but a chiyuv d'rabanan CAN NOT be motzei a chiyuv d'oreisa.

The K'sav Sofer concludes that we pasken like Tosfos and a koton has a chiyuv chinuch and since sefirah b'zman hazeh is only m'd'rabanan, the koton's counting will fullfill his chiyuv.

2) The Ksav Sofer also agrees that even if there was no chiyuv on the koton, he still counted and did not lose his temimus. However, he quotes a Noda B'Yehuda who argues (nafka mina by an onein who is patur from mitzvos, the Noda B'Yehuda holds he loses his temimus)

The final psak of the Ksav Sofer is that a koton who becomes Bar Mitzvah can count with a beracha. At best it is a s'fek s'feika. Safeik maybe we don't pasken like the B'hag and even if we do maybe we pasken like Tosfos and the koton has a chiyuv chinuch.

I saw brought down in the Piskei Teshuvos 3 shittos

1) the approach above that koton does not lose his temimus
2) his temimus only starts when he becomes a godol. Even if he did not count as a koton he can still make a beracha upon becoming Bar Mitzvah
3) the koton loses his status of temimus