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The Mitzvah of Sefirat HaOmer serves as the bridge between Pesach and Shavuot where each night we stand, recite the Berachah, and personally count the days that have passed since the Korban Omer was brought. The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 489:1) stresses that one must count for himself (L’Atzmo).
A fascinating debate among the Acharonim stems around the question of can a person fulfill the actual counting by hearing the chazzan count in shul through the principle of Shomeah K’Oneh that “one who hears is considered as if he has answered”?
The Magen Avraham (489:2) cites two Teshuvot of the Rashba. In one (1:126), the Rashba permits hearing the beracha from the Shliach Tzibbur and then counting silently to oneself. The counting can’t be fulfilled through hearing it from anyone else. What is the reasoning behind this? The Magen Avraham explains that it is based on the Gemara in Menachot, which derives from “U’Sefaratem Lachem” that each individual must count personally similar to parallel to Halachah learned out from “U’Lekachtem Lachem” that requires each individual to take the Daled Minim by themselves.
However the Magen Avraham notes that the Beit Yosef quotes another Rashba (Vol. 1 #458) where the Rashba implies that the Shliach Tzibbur can do ‘“Sefirat HaShatz” on behalf of the Tzibbur. The Rashba rules that if a person did not intend to be Yotzei through the Chazzan, then he may make the Berachah and count again later. The Beit Yosef says that the Rashba’s language of “Sefirat HaShatz” suggests the possibility of fulfilling even the actual counting itself via Shomea K’Oneh.
The Chok Yaakov (489:4) disagrees sharply. He cites the Agudah on Menachot, which states that each person must count for himself and that the Chazzan cannot count on anyone’s behalf. The Chok Yaakov argues that the requirement to count by oneself is the clear implication of the Gemara and Poskim. The second Rashba quoted by the Beis Yosef, he argues, is referring only to the beracha and not to the actual counting.
What is the Nekudat HaMachloket between the Magen Avraham and the Chok Yaakov? Rav Betzalel Zolty (Mishnas Yaavetz Siman 26) explains that the Machloket stems from a deeper disagreement about the mechanics of Shomeah K’Oneh, seen in the classic dispute between Rashi and Tosafos (Succah 38b) about someone in the middle of Shemoneh Esreh who hears Kaddish or Kedusha. Rashi writes that one should pause and listen intently (without saying the words), because Shomeah K’Oneh makes listening equivalent to answering and through hearing the words one fulfills the Mitzvah of Kadish and Kedusha. Rabbeinu Tam argues that one should not pause to listen, because listening is tantamount to speaking and as such would create a Hefsek in one’s Shemoneh Esreh. Rav Zolty explains that Rashi and Rabbeinu Tam are arguing about how Shomeah K’Oneh operates in Mitzvot that require speech. According to Rabbeinu Tam, hearing with proper intent makes it as if the listener himself is actually saying the words and therefore pausing in the middle of Shemoneh Esreh to hear the words of Kadish would be a Hefsek. According to Rashi, Shomeah K’Oneh means that hearing constitutes an entirely independent and alternative method of fulfilling the Mitzvah; it does not mean the listener is “speaking,” but rather that he is fulfilling the Mitzvah through hearing it from the Chazzan without needing to say any words. Hence, pausing to hear Kaddish or Kedushah is not a Hefsek.
Rav Zolty continues to explain that the Magen Avraham who suggests fulfilling Sefirat HaOmer through Shomeah K’Oneh follows the understanding of Tosafos that Shomeah K’Oneh is akin to actually saying the words and therefore it would work to satisfy the personal requirement to count. However the Chok Yaakov follows the understanding of Rashi and therefore it’s only through verbally counting can one fulfill the mitzvah of Sefirah.
We can now take a step back and ask the fundamental question: Why would Shomeah K’Oneh not apply to Sefirat HaOmer in the first place?
Rav Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg, in Mishmeret Chaim, offers a beautiful explanation based on the Sefer HaChinuch (Mitzvah 306). The Sefer HaChinuch explains that the entire purpose of counting the Omer is to build anticipation and excitement for the day we receive the Torah on Shavuot. Counting is not merely a technical act but is rather a tangible expression of our growing eagerness and desire as we approach Mattan Torah. Each day we count, we actively demonstrate our excitement for that momentous event. Precisely because of this, Shomeah K’Oneh cannot be used. A Mitzvah whose essence is personal anticipation and excitement can only be fulfilled when you yourself do the counting. One cannot express or demonstrate his own excitement and anticipation through someone else’s counting. The personal act is indispensable to the very nature of the mitzvah.