In summer when one davens early on Friday night and one finishes the meal at night, what is the correct order of saying these three things. Krias shma, Benshing and Omer.
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I would think that the general rule of "tadir vesh'eno tadir" - the more "frequent" occurrence applies, here. The exception is that benching is related to the meal and should occur close to the meal itself. So, I would say benching, shma, then omer. This concept would also follow the logic of "expiring time limits" in increasing order. I.e. you have a bit over an hour or so to bench; the entire night for shma and until the following night for omer. So benching is most "urgent".– DanFApr 28, 2014 at 20:39
1 Answer
The correct order to perform the Mitzvos would be:
1 - Krias Shema(which is most frequent)
2 - Birchas Hamazon
3 - Sefiras HaomerMany people are accustomed to recite Krias Shema after Birchas Hamazon, even though Krias Shema is the more frequent Mitzvah. The reason why many permit this is that one is not obligated to interrupt his meal to perform other Mitzvos. Birchas Hamazon is considered by some to be a component of the meal, and therefore one is not obligated to recite Krias Shema until completion of the entire meal including Birchas Hamazon.10 Still, Sefiras Haomer according to all opinions is recited last.
From an article by Rabbi Yisroel Langer of Chicago Community Kollel http://www.cckollel.org/parsha_encounters/5766/achrei_mos_66.pdf
Detailed discussion from above
One rule, which applies in situations such as these, is that a Mitzvah performed more frequently should precede a Mitzvah performed less frequently. We find this concept by Korbonos. The Korbon Tomid (daily sacrifice) preceded the other Korbonos of the day because it was most frequent. A pracatical application of this Halacha is that one who upon finishing eating becomes obligated to recite the beracha “Asher Yatzar”. At the same time he is also obligated to recite the Beracha Acharona on what he ate. Which Beracha should he recite first? The Maharshal1 , applying the principle that the more frequent mitzvah comes first, rules that the Beracha of “Asher Yatzar” precedes the Beracha Acharona.
R’ Akiva Eiger2 questions what the ruling would be if one had to recite Birchas Hamazon and Asher Yatzar. In this instance perhaps Birchas Hamazon, which is a Mitzvah D’oraysa, is considered a Mitzvah of greater sanctity and therefore can come before “Asher Yatzar”. Whether or not a Mitzvah d’oraysa precedes a Mitzvah D’rabanan is subject to a dispute amongst the Gedolei Acharonim. The Noda B’Yehuda3 is of the opinion that a Mitzvah D’oraysa is considered a Mitzvah of greater sanctity than a Mitzvah D’rabanan and therefore will precede a Mitzvah D’rabanan. The Shaagas Aryeh4 disagrees with this and holds that a Mitzvah D’oraysa doesn’t necessarily precede a Mitzvah D’rabanan.5 In this situation, the Chavos Yair6 Paskins that “Asher Yatzar” precedes even Birchas Hamazon.
With regard to Birchas Hamazon and Sefiras Haomer according to the Noda B’Yehuda Birchas Hamazon certainly takes precedence since it is a Mitzvah D’oraysa while Sefiras Haomer is only a Mitzvah Mid’rabanan (according to the majority of opinions). According to the Shaagas Aryeh one could actually chose whichever he would like to do first. Even though Birchas Hamazon is recited more frequently than Sefiras Haomer, since one is not obligated to eat bread during the week it is not considered by Halacha to be a more frequent Mitzvah.7 However on Shabbos and Yom Tov when one is required to eat bread and therefore required to bentch, the Mitzvah of Birchas hamazon is considered to be a more frequent Mitzvah than Sefiras Haomer and will therefore precede it.8
Consequently, returning to our original question, on Friday night the correct order to perform the Mitzvos would be:9
1 - Krias Shema(which is most frequent)
2 - Birchas Hamazon
3 - Sefiras Haomer Despite what we have clarified, it seems that many people are accustomed to recite Krias Shema after Birchas Hamazon, even though Krias Shema is the more frequent Mitzvah. The reason why many permit this is that one is not obligated to interrupt his meal to perform other Mitzvos. Birchas Hamazon is considered by some to be a component of the meal, and therefore one is not obligated to recite Krias Shema until completion of the entire meal including Birchas Hamazon.10 Still, Sefiras Haomer according to all opinions is recited last.11Note: According to most Poskim, these rules only apply when one is prepared to do all the Mitzvos consecutively. But if one is not yet ready to bentch he may recite Sefiras Haomer during the meal. Or if one is not yet ready to recite Krias Shema until a later point in the evening he may bentch and recite Sefiras Haomer first
1 Quoted in M.B. Siman 8 s.k.2 2 O.C. Siman 8 3 O.C. 39 4 22 5 See ibid. for reason 6 Mkor Chaim (Kitzor Halachos, 165) 7 This is called a “Tadir Hamtzoy” 8 There are more than 50 Shabosos and Yom Tov during the year. Sfiras haomer is only done 49 times during the year. 9 Shaagas Aryeh 21-22. 10 HaRav Dovid Feinstein Shlita, HaRav Chaim Stein (Rosh Yeshiva Telshe Cleveland)- [heard from HaRav Boruch Hirshfeld shlita] 11 Shaagas Aryeh 22