Q. I counted sefiras haomer 18 minutes after shkiah and the next night when I counted I said today is so and so and yesterday was so and so.
Can I still count now onwards with a bracha?
Thanks,
A. Rav Ovadia Yosef Shlit"a , (Yavia Omer 4,43 - Yalkut Yossef 489,29), writes that if someone totally forgot to count Sefirah the night before and also did not remember during the following day, until after the shkiah, he should immediately count without a brochoh, and then wait for nightfall and count the next day with a brochoh. He recommends to delay counting until Rabeinu Tam's time for nightfall, and then subsequently keep this schedule, even if he normally does not wait for Rabeinu Tam's zman, so it will not appear as he is following contradictory timetables.
He adds that this Psak is limited to counting before the time nightfall of the Geonim (13.5 minutes zemanios after the Shkiah).
Sefer Ysroel Vehazmanim (p. 544), addressed this same question and his opinion is far more lenient. If the individual regularly follows Rabeinu Tam, the above would apply until the beginning of Rabeinu Tam's Shkiah (13.5 minutes before Rabeinu Tam's nightfall - He quotes a position that extends until the full 72 minutes after the Shkiah).
Horav Shlomo Miller's Shlit"a opinion is that the above applies until approximately 30 minutes (Toronto area) after the Shkiah only.
Rabbi A. Bartfeld as revised by Horav Shlomo Miller Shlit"a
Important Numbers
