12 May To Say or Not to Say?

Most people who travel via airplane to Eretz Yisroel recite the brocha of HaGomel upon landing. What is the halacha regarding a child who travels to Eretz Yisroel for his own Bar Mitzva. He becomes Bar Mitzvah upon his arrival the next day. Is Birchas HaGomel said for his travels as a kotton or not?

Rabbi Aron Leib Shteinman paskened that the Bar Mitzvah boy does make the brocha of HaGomel for a trip that occurred when the person was still a kotton. Rabbi Mendel Shporn and other Rabbonim agree.

Rabbi Mordechai Gross dissents. He quotes a Maharsham that explains that the vernacular of the bracha is “HaGomel le’Chayavim Tovos” (who rewards the guilty with good.) This seems to indicate that only a bar Chiyuva would be required to say this brocha and since a koton is not a bar chiyuva, he would not be mechuyav. Rav Gross does say that in the event that there are some people like the Klausenberger Chassidim who say the brocha without Hashem’s name in all cases, so in this scenario the Bar Mitzva boy should say the bracha without saying Hashem’s name.

Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky and Rabbi Mendel Shporn explained the word of Le’Chayavim to mean that we all are required to thank Hashem for giving us good even when undeserving. Hashem does “lifnim mi’shuras ha’din” which would apply to a koton who became bar mitzvah and he would need to say the brocha properly.

We can try to compare this question to the following question of Reb Akiva Eiger. A child ate a full meal before his Bar Mitzva and then he becomes a Bar Mitzva while he is still satiated. Does he need to bentch min ha’Torah?

We can say that since this is a safek bracha, which is only mi’de’Rabbonon, it would stand to reason that the Bar Mitzvah bochur should say the brocha of Ha’Gomel without saying Hashem’s name.