Until Israel entered the Land, they were not obligated to bring the Omer offering, and there was no restriction on eating from the new grain. On the 10th of Nisan in the year 2489 from Creation, Israel crossed the Jordan and entered Eretz Yisrael. From that point onward, it became forbidden to eat from the new grain before the Omer was brought. This prohibition applies not only in Eretz Yisrael but throughout the world, and it applies both to grain owned by Jews and to grain owned by gentiles, as the verse states: \u201can everlasting statute throughout your generations in all your dwellings\u201d (Vayikra 23:14; see below, section 5).<\/p>\n
The prohibition remained in force even after the destruction of the Temple, as the verse states, \u201can everlasting statute throughout your generations.\u201d When the Temple stood, the new grain became permitted once the Omer was offered on the 16th of Nisan. After the destruction, however, it becomes permitted only after the 16th of Nisan has fully passed, as the verse also says, \u201cuntil this very day, until you have brought the offering of your God.\u201d When the Temple is standing, the determining phrase is \u201cuntil you have brought the offering of your God\u201d; when the Temple is no longer standing, it is \u201cuntil this very day.\u201d In the Diaspora, where two festival days are observed, one must wait an additional day; the new grain therefore becomes permitted only after the 17th of Nisan has ended (Mena\u1e25ot<\/em> 68b; MT, Laws of Forbidden Foods 10:2; SA YD 293:1).<\/p>\n This mitzva is rooted in the fact that grain provides the staple of human nourishment; for that reason, the divine values bound up in it must be given special expression. The Torah therefore commands us to restrain ourselves and not eat from the new grain before offering its first portion to God. In this way, we return our food to its sacred root and prepare ourselves to receive His goodness as we eat. Through this, holiness and divine values illuminate our eating throughout the year. Yet only after Israel entered the Land was its holiness revealed, enabling grain to be connected to its sacred root through the Omer offering.<\/p>\n Even now, when the Temple is destroyed and we cannot offer the Omer, this awareness still elevates the Jewish people and shapes our eating: the first portion of the grain should have been offered to God, and for that reason one may not eat from the new grain until the day of the Omer (see Sefer ha-\u1e24inukh<\/em> \u00a7303; \u1e24izkuni<\/em> to Vayikra 23:10; below, 2:2).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Until Israel entered the Land, they were not obligated to bring the Omer offering, and there was no restriction on eating from the new grain. On the 10th of Nisan in the year 2489 from Creation, Israel crossed the Jordan and entered Eretz Yisrael. From that point onward, it became forbidden to eat from the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[221],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11887","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-17-01"],"yoast_head":"\n