One may not harvest any of the five species of grain growing in Eretz Yisrael before the barley for the Omer offering has been harvested. The verse states: “You shall bring an Omer, the first of your harvest, to the kohen” (Vayikra 23:10), teaching that the Omer offering must be the first grain harvested. One who harvests earlier violates this positive mitzva. Nevertheless, the grain that was harvested becomes permitted after the Omer is offered (MT, Laws of Temidin u-Musafin 7:21). Even after the destruction of the Temple, this prohibition remains in effect. The prohibition applies specifically to harvesting with a tool; picking by hand is permitted (Pesaḥim 11a).
The prohibition applies only to grain grown in a place from which the Omer offering may be brought. Therefore, grain grown in beit ha-shelaḥin – manually irrigated fields in valleys – may be harvested before the Omer, since such grain is of inferior quality and unfit for the Omer offering. The Sages, however, decreed that this grain may not be gathered into a heap before the day of the Omer, lest people come to eat it while it is still forbidden as ḥadash. They could have prohibited even its harvest, but because delaying the harvest could damage the crop, they limited the decree to gathering the grain into a heap (Menaḥot 71a; Shita Mekubetzet to Menaḥot 71a; MT, Laws of Temidin u-Musafin 7:13).
Nowadays, in cases where harvesting is permitted, one may harvest with a combine, even though it separates the kernels from the ears during harvesting and gathers them in a grain bin.[2]
One may likewise harvest new grain growing among young saplings, since such grain is sparse and unfit for the Omer. The Sages also did not prohibit harvesting it, because leaving it in place would damage the young saplings. It is also permitted to harvest new grain for the sake of a mitzva, such as clearing a field to make room for people to sit at a mourners’ meal or for a Torah class. This, too, is because the prohibition applies only to harvesting grain fit for the Omer for personal use, not to harvesting done for the sake of a mitzva.
To prevent people from mistakenly eating this grain, the Sages decreed that it may not be tied into sheaves in the usual way. Rather, it must be left in small, untied bundles called tzevatim. By minimizing the processing, people would remember that the grain is forbidden as ḥadash (Menaḥot 71a, 72a; Rashi to Menaḥot 71a; MT, Laws of Temidin u-Musafin 7:15–16). [3]
Before the day of the Omer, one may harvest grain that has not yet reached one-third of its growth if it is being cut for animal fodder, since the harvest is directed primarily toward fodder rather than the kernels. “One-third growth” is the stage at which grain is fit for human consumption in pressing circumstances and, if planted, will grow. [4]
Outside Eretz Yisrael, one may harvest grain before the day of the Omer, since the Omer offering may not be brought from grain grown outside the Land. However, authorities disagree over whether the Sages’ decree against gathering the grain into a heap applies there as well.
Grain from beit ha-shelaḥin – manually irrigated fields – and from valley fields may be harvested before the Omer because it is not of choice quality and is therefore unfit for the Omer. According to Maharam Ḥalawa, this leniency applies specifically to beit ha-shelaḥin located in valleys, where the produce is so inferior that it is invalid for the Omer even after the fact. According to Tosafot, Ran, and Rabbeinu Peretz, however, the leniency applies even to grain that would be valid for the Omer after the fact, as the Mishna teaches regarding beit ha-shelaḥin or valleys (Menaḥot 85a).
Even so, the Sages prohibited harvesting even grain whose harvest is permitted by Torah law, lest one come to eat it while it is still ḥadash. When delaying the harvest would cause loss, however, they permitted harvesting it, provided the grain was not gathered into a heap. This unusual handling would remind people not to eat it. Although several Rishonim write that the leniency depends on the potential loss involved (Rabbeinu Gershom; Tosafot; Ran; Shita Mekubetzet), it seems clear that financial loss itself cannot override a Torah prohibition. Rather, they mean that the basic leniency rests on the fact that grain grown in these places is unfit for the Omer. The Sages prohibited harvesting it only as a safeguard, lest one come to eat it, and they did not impose that decree in a case of financial loss. This is explicit in Meiri (Pesaḥim 11a). It also accords with the practice of the people of Jericho, who harvested before the Omer with the approval of the Sages (Menaḥot 71a); the Rishonim explain that this was because the Omer was not brought from there (Rashi; Rivan; R. Yeshaya di Trani; Shita Mekubetzet).
Apparently, “grain of the valleys” refers to grain grown in Jericho and the Jordan Valley. Because rainfall there is sparse, the grain required irrigation, like beit ha-shelaḥin. It was also unfit for the Omer because the region’s warm climate caused it to ripen early; by the time the Omer was offered, it was already past its prime and no longer of choice quality. It may also be that grain grown through manual irrigation is generally of lower quality than grain grown naturally. In any event, the same ruling appears to apply to the Beit She’an Valley, where the hot climate causes barley to ripen well before Pesaḥ; by Pesaḥ, it is no longer fresh or of superior quality and is therefore unfit for the Omer. This also fits the reasoning that manually irrigated grain is of lesser quality, for even though more rain falls there, supplemental manual watering is still needed.
Harvesting with a combine: Today, grain is normally harvested with a combine, which separates the kernels from the ears as it harvests. Therefore, wherever harvesting is permitted, it may be done with a combine as well. There is no need to prohibit this because of the rabbinic decree against gathering grain into a heap, since that decree may be understood to apply specifically to a heap of grain, not to combine harvesting, which is an entirely different process. One could argue the opposite: combine harvesting is more severe, because it brings the grain closer to an edible state. Nevertheless, today people do not normally eat raw grain, so the concern that someone may come to eat it does not apply. In addition, prohibiting the standard method of harvesting with a combine would cause enormous financial loss. It therefore stands to reason that just as the Sages waived their rabbinic prohibition against harvesting in cases of financial loss, they would likewise waive the prohibition against gathering grain into a heap in cases of loss. See R. Shlomo Rosenfeld’s article in Teḥumin 7.
[3]. A practical issue concerns harvesting the edges of grain fields to create firebreaks and prevent fire from spreading. At first glance, the Gemara permits harvesting only for the sake of a mitzva, as Rambam writes (MT, Laws of Temidin u-Musafin 7:15). Some, however, infer from the Gemara that any harvesting not meant to prepare grain for eating is permitted (Sefat Emet to Menaḥot 71a; AHS, Kodashim 116:8). According to this view, harvesting to create firebreaks would be permitted. By contrast, Be-ohalah Shel Torah 4:34 forbids harvesting for fire prevention, since it may involve a Torah prohibition. He adds that one should not rely on the minority view that the prohibition on harvesting ceased after the destruction of the Temple. He does, however, permit harvesting before the crop has reached one-third of its growth.
In that case, the harvest must be specifically for animal fodder, since the poskim write that the leniency before one-third growth applies only for animal use (Mahari Kurkus; Kesef Mishneh to MT, Laws of Temidin u-Musafin 7:15). This can be understood as follows: the harvest is directed not toward the grain kernels, but toward the ears, which are the animal fodder. Still, it seems that one may follow the rulings of Sefat Emet and AHS, because the Sages’ permission to harvest specifically for a mitzva applies only when the harvested grain will be eaten. When the harvest is not done for eating and the grain itself will not be eaten, the prohibition does not apply in the first place. This resembles melakha she-eina tzerikha le-gufa – labor not performed for its essential purpose, and therefore not the primary form of that labor.
Nevertheless, ideally one should have a gentile do the harvesting. The Gemara states that the Sages were uncertain whether it is forbidden to instruct a gentile to perform a Torah prohibition that is not punishable by court-imposed death, and most authorities rule stringently and forbid it (Bava Metzia 90a; see Peninei Halakha: Shevi’it 5, note 9). In the case of a positive mitzva, however, which carries no lashes, such as harvesting before the Omer, it appears that instructing a gentile is permitted. Indeed, Tosafot Ḥakhmei Anglia (Kiddushin 38b) permit telling a gentile to harvest ḥadash.
[4]. Authorities disagree about what qualifies as one-third growth. The main view is that it is the stage at which the fruit or grain becomes fit for consumption in pressing circumstances, similar to the halakhic stage known as ma’akhal ben Derusai. It is also the point at which the seed becomes viable and can be used for planting, as stated in Tosefta, Terumot, end of ch. 2; Yerushalmi, Ḥalla 1:3; and Yerushalmi, Shevi’it 2:7. Rambam codifies this (MT, Laws of Tithes 2:5; Laws of Terumot 2:10), as does SA YD 331:15. In grain, this stage is reached at the end of the milk stage, when the kernel’s contents begin to change from liquid to a waxy consistency. See Peninei Halakha: Shevi’it 3, note 6.
