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Not including issues related to the International Dateline and the Halachic Dateline, are there issues of concern when traveling, especially when traveling for pleasure/vacation, during Sefirath Ha'Omer?

I can think of at least two issues/questions. What are the answers to these, and are there others?

  1. If one takes a late-afternoon flight overseas and arrives at his destination in the morning/early afternoon, when would one count the 'Omer (one is not spending an entire night on the plane, but passing through the night - in fewer hours than nature would otherwise allow on the ground), and would one count with a Berachah if counting on the plane (same reasoning)?

  2. It doesn't seem like a very sad thing to do during a period of sadness. On that note, what if one travels on the 32nd day, passing into the 33rd night (La"G Ba'Omer)?

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The answer to your first issue/question quickly is no, you wouldn't need to worry. My answer expands on your question, hopefully answering questions other people who visit this site may have.

Assuming one flies from New York to the Far East (during the Omer period), such that he loses a day.

Lets consider the example of a person who takes a Monday night flight that arrives in Hong Kong on Wednesday. On Monday night, of course, he counts as usual with a Beracha. If that night is the 32nd day of the Omer, for example, then he recites the Beracha and counts the 32nd day as usual. If he is aware when the flight crosses the International Date Line, and he sees that it is nighttime, (such that it is Tuesday night at his current location,) he may count the 33rd day with a Beracha.

If this is too difficult for the traveler, as he cannot precisely determine when he crossed the Date Line, or he is unsure whether it is during the night when this occurs, then he should delay the counting until he arrives in Hong Kong on Wednesday during the day. He should then count the 33rd day without a Beracha, just as one does whenever he misses a counting at night but then counts during the following day. He may then resume counting with a Beracha the next night – the 34th day of the Omer – since he did not miss an entire day of counting.

Similarly, when one travels to the Far East and crosses the International Date Line, he has the option of either counting with a Beracha during the flight, at nighttime, after he crosses the Date Line, or waiting until he arrives at his destination during the day and then counting without a Beracha. Either way, he resumes counting the next night with a Beracha.

When one returns from the Far East, he simply counts in the Far East the night he leaves, and then counts again the next night when he returns home. Needless to say, if, as a result of crossing the Date Line, he returns home on the same day on which he had counted the Omer, he does not count again, and instead waits until the next night.

Summary:

One who travels to the Far East during the period of the Omer has the option of either counting the Omer with a Beracha during the flight, at night, after crossing the International Date Line, or waiting until arriving at his destination, during the day, in which case he counts without a Beracha. In either case, he counts as usual with a Beracha henceforth.

this answer has been taken and edited from DailyHalacha.com

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  • I think I see where you are going with this, but you don't make the conclusion easy to infer (or else you are not answering my question at all). I was asking about issues not related to the international dateline. I am assuming your point is "if the dateline doesn't kill your count, regular overnight travel certainly won't". However, that is not being made clear here. Also, a short(er) flight overnight with no dateline crossover might be slightly different. That's why I worded the question the way I did.
    – Seth J
    Apr 10, 2012 at 17:38
  • Your right, it isn't clear. I think counting of the omer isn't dependent on the amount of time it has been for you (between Pessach and Shavuot), moreover, the amount of time its been for everyone else. If you loose time in relation to everyone else, you count with everyone else.
    – wizlog
    Apr 10, 2012 at 21:26

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