Shecheyanu on Sefirah

Why don't we say a beracha of shecheyanu on sefiras haomer?  There are many answers given, Rav Michael Yammer lists eight.  The Rabbenu Yeruchim that says the answer is since the days of the omer are a time of din it is not fitting to say shechyanu can be found here.  (It is interesting that Rabbenu Yeruchem firsts asks why we don't say the beracha of zman which is normally used to refer to shecheyanu and he gives this answer but then he proceeds to ask why don't we say שהחיינו and gives other answers.  Why did he switch in the terminology of his question?)  Rabbenu Yeruchem cites another answer that we only say שהחיינו on a complete mitzvah and this mitzah is completed only after all 49 days.  R' Yeruchem asks but we say שהחיינו on the mitzvah of sukkah even though the mitzvah is only completed after a week.  He seems to have understood they meant to say shechyanu can only be said when a mitzvah is finished and hence asks from sukkah.  However, it is logical to assume they meant that shecheyanu is said on a complete mitzvah and each day of sitting in the sukkah is a complete mitzvah but sefirah is a buildup of a 49 day count.  The Radvaz (end of teshuva) likes this approach. 

The Shibalay Haleket (234) says ועוד כתב מה שלא נהגו לברך שהחיינו לפי שזמן ספירה תלוי בקביעת פסח כמה דתימר וספרתם לכם ממחרת השבת לכן נראה שאין מברכין עליו זמן ודי לו בברכת זמן של יום טוב עצמו. ואינו דומה לסוכה ולולב שטעונין זמן ואינן נפטרים בזמן של יום טוב עצמו דהתם איתחייב בזמן משעת עשייה ואם לא בירך משעת עשייה מברך בשעת קיום המצוה ושופר נמי שטעון זמן שהרי יש בו מעשה של תקיעות ובכל הני סוכה ולולב ושופר אית בהו מעשה מה שאין כן בספירת העומר.  In the beginning of his words he seems to say there is no shecheyanu for it is covered by the shecheyanu of Pesach but at the end of his words he says a new sevarah since there is no action done?  There is a discussion about this on otzar hachachmah forum. 

The Abudraham says וכן בספירת העומר כיון שהספירה אינה אלא לצורך הבאת הבכורים כמו שנאמר וספרתם לכם וגו' עד ממחרת השבת די לו בזמן שאומר על הכוס במועד.  Rabbi Yammer interprets this to mean since the count is to reach Shavuot the shecheyanu on Shavuot covers the omer.  However, the Abudraham says not that we ae counting to Shavuot but to offering the bikkurim meaning the shtei halachem, why does he put the focus on the korban?  See also Encyclopedia Talmudit footnote 25. Though the Eschol says it is covered by the beracha of shecheyanu of Shavuot without mentioning the shtei halechem. 

The כלבו (cited in ibid footnote 666) says למה אין מברכין שהחיינו לברכת העומר כמו לשאר ברכות. ויש לומר לפי שמצות העומר אינה נעשית שלמה בזמן הזה שעקר מצות העומר בזמן שבית המקדש קיים היה. להביא קרבן מן החדש כדמפרש בקרא ועכשו אין מקריבין ממנו קרבן ולפי שאין המצוה שלמה אין מברכין עליה שהחיינו דאין מברכין אלא כשהמצוה נעשית שלמה.  As noted in footnote 666 it is unclear what he means, is the mitzvah a Torah mitzvah but incomplete somehow or does he mean it is only a Rabbinic mitzvah to remember the korban along the lines the Briskor Rav says?  Either way, his direction is that shecheyanu must be said on a complete entity which is the same yesod as the answer of the Radvaz that the count is incomplete until the end and shecheyanu needs to be said on a  complete mitzvah. 

The Ran in Sukkah (22b in the dafey HaRif) has a whole different answer. He says since if one does not count at night, they can not count during the day, therefore there is no beracha of שהחיינו.  It is difficult to understand what the Ran means, what does the fact that one can't count during the day have to do with shecheyanu?  In the Meoray Hamoadim of Rav David Solevetchik he suggests that the Ran means to say the reason that sefirah can't be done in the day is since the omer korban must be cut during the night, it can not be done during the day.  If so, the counting of the omer is not defined as bound by time but rather dependent on the action of the cutting of the omer, therefore, one can not say שהחיינו ... לזמן הזה.  It is quite a stretch to read all of this into the Ran.  The severah itself that the sefira depends not on time but on the action of the offering of the korban omer the Maharam Chalavah (teshuva end of Shittas Kadmonim Bava Kammah) says in explanation of why the Ramban understands sefirah is not a time bound mitzvah and woman are obligated in it, since it does not depend on time rather sefirah exists only due to the korban omer, it is not categorized as a time bound mitzvah.  Tosfos Megillah (20a) ask why we say שיבנה בית המקדש only after the mitzvah of counting sefirah but not after taking lulav?  Tsofos at face value seems to answer that when them mitzvah is an action we don't say anything but when it is just words we add this passage.  It is hard exactly to understand this severah.  The Alter Rebbe (489:11) explains the Tosfos that the concept of sefirah only exists when there is a korban omer and therefore our counting is merely a zecher liMikdash and we add שיבנה בית המקדש as opposed to lulav where the act of shiking lulav exists nowadays (see Kovetz Migdal Or volume 11 by R' Ezra Schochet.)   

The Kedushas Levi (first piece on sefirah) says that we don't say shecheyanu since the point of the omer is to bring Klal Yisrael up from the depths of impurity to the be able to קרבם תחת כנפי השכינה, therefore, we would be happier if we could skip the steps and be able to connect to Hashem immediately.  Interestingly enough the Levush (siman 489) already says a similar idea.   

Tosfos Menachot (66a) says one can count sefirah בין השמשות even though it is still a safek yom since safek diRabbanan likulah.  Tosfos adds that this is in fact preferable (Tosfos says to count מבעוד יום סמוך לחשיכה which is צ"ע how one can count before dark, see Devar Avraham #34:5) because of תמימות.  In other words, תמימות says the entirety of the day should be counted.  It sounds from Tosfos since we say ספק דרבנן לקולא allows you to count בין השמשות one is even allowed to then say the beracha.  The Achronim raise contradictions to many places where we do not say that safek diRannanan allows you to say the beracha, rather as the straight logic would indicate, you can do the mitzvah but one should not say the beracha which is a safek saying Hashem's name in vein?  Possible one can say based upon a yesod the Achronim say that the beracha of sefirah is pat of the kium of sefirah.  In other words, altohugh one fulfills sefirah without a beracha, when one says the beracha it adds to the kium mitzvah.  So it is specifically in the situation of sefirah where the beracha is not tacked on to say before the mitzvah but becomes part of the mitzvah that it follows the pesak of the mitzvah.  Since the mitzvah of sefirah is diRabbanan and we can say ספק דרבנן לקולא the beracha gets the same rule of the mitzvah, ועדיין צ"ע.