Menachot 71a — the Talmud in English

Rabbi Elazar said to him ![](pamud.bmp "

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to Rabbi Yoshiya of his generation [

to Rabbi Yoshiya the amora, who was of his generation and age, contemporaneous with Rabbi Elazar ben Pedat the amora]:

Do not sit,

do not sit, but stand

on your feet

on your feet,

until you explain this matter to me,

until you explain this matter to me:

From where is it established that the omer permits through rooting,

even though at the time of the omer nothing had yet grown?

And we raise an objection:

From where do we know this!?

Is it appropriate to ask, “From where?” Surely the reason is because

it is written

in connection with the meal-offering of the omer: “

The aviv

roasted in fire, crushed karmel, you shall offer the meal-offering of your first fruits.” And

by implication

you learn from this

that there is

also produce

that is not aviv [

produce that has not fully ripened], which too is permitted through the omer. For Scripture excluded produce that is not aviv only with regard to the omer itself, but it did not exclude it from the permission effected through it. Thus we learn that produce is permitted even through rooting alone.

And we challenge this:

Perhaps

produce

that is not aviv [

fully ripened] is indeed permitted at the time of the omer,

but forever

Scripture permitted it only in a case such as when it

had entered

already

one-third

before the omer. But that rooting alone suffices—will you learn that from here!?

Rather, Shmuel said

there is another source for permission through rooting, as it is stated: “

From the beginning of the sickle

in the standing grain, you shall begin to count seven weeks.”

Is it not so

is it not the case that

by implication

you learn from this

that there is

produce

that is not “

of

the sickle” [

a harvesting sickle], namely produce that has not reached one-third and has not reached the stage of harvesting, which too is permitted through the omer. Scripture excluded this only from the omer itself, and not from the permission effected through it. It follows that even produce that has not reached one-third is permitted through it.

And we still challenge this:

Perhaps

produce

that is not of the sickle [

that has not reached one-third] is indeed permitted,

but forever

it is permitted only in a case where it was already

shachat

at the time of the omer, and fit for an animal; but rooting alone—not!?

He said

he answered

Rabbi Yitzhak:

for it is written: “

Standing grain.”

Is it not so

is it not the case that

by implication

you learn from this that there is produce

that is not fit to be standing grain, and Scripture permitted it through bringing the omer? But shachat is already fit to be standing grain. Necessarily, then, the omer permits through rooting alone.

And we still challenge this:

Perhaps

produce

that

is not fit to be standing grain

is indeed permitted,

but forever

it is permitted only in a case where it was already

agam [

produce that had grown slightly, enough for the head of the ear to bend toward its base].

Rather, Rava said

there is another source for the law of rooting with regard to the omer: it is written concerning the two loaves brought on Shavuot: “And the festival of the harvest, the first fruits of your work, which you sow in the field,” and from the expression “

which you sow”

we can learn that

from the time of sowing—

that is, whatever was only sown in the field at the time of the omer—the omer permits it.

He said

he objected

to him, Rav Pappa to Rava: If so,

if from “which you sow” you learn that the omer permits produce that is only sown in the field, then

even

although

it has

not yet rooted as well

it should be permitted, and from where do you know that rooting is required!?

He said

he answered

him,

Rava to Rav Pappa:

Sodani [

a Torah scholar, from the expression, “The secret of the Lord is for those who fear Him”]! For “you shall sow”

in the field

is written,

and this implies that it must take hold and root in the field, and not sowing alone.

Mishna: Although it is prohibited to harvest before the omer, nevertheless

:

They harvest

the produce in

the irrigated field [

there is a spring in it, and it does not grow from rainwater]

that is in the valleys—

And because we learned below, 85a: “One does not bring [the omer and the two loaves—ab initio] from the manure fields, nor from the irrigated fields,” because their produce is inferior; and in the beraita there in the Gemara we derive that harvesting was prohibited only “from a place from which you bring” the omer. Since the omer does not come from an irrigated field, harvesting from it is not prohibited by Torah law—

Nevertheless, an ordinary irrigated field was prohibited by the Sages, and only an irrigated field in the valleys, where there is a great loss if they are not harvested, because they ripen more quickly than the others, was not prohibited.

But they do not make stacks,

they do not make a stack of the produce harvested there until they bring the omer.

The people of Jericho who had irrigated fields in the valleys

harvested

them

with the consent of the Sages,

meaning that the Sages did not object to this

—

and they made stacks

of what they had harvested

without the consent of the Sages, and

nevertheless

they did not rebuke them.

The Mishna continues to explain additional reaping that is permitted before the Omer: and so

he may reap

—it is permitted to reap—

for fodder,

when it is still fodder, for it has not yet ripened,

and feed

in order to feed the fodder

to an animal;

for reaping fodder for an animal is not considered reaping, and was not prohibited.

Rabbi Judah said

to interpret the words of the first tanna [for wherever Rabbi Judah teaches “When,” he comes to interpret]:

When

is he permitted to reap even after the grain has produced one-third?

When he began

to reap the grain of the field

before it had produced

one-third of

its

[growth, that it had not grown to one-third of its growth], and then he may continue and reap the rest of the grain of the field for an animal even after it has produced one-third.

Rabbi Shimon says:

He may also reap

—he is permitted to begin and reap—

after it has produced

one-third of

its

grain, and feed it to his animal.

And

so

they may reap

before the Omer

because of

the

saplings

[saplings of a tree, with grain sown between them], so that the saplings should not be damaged, and because that grain is not fit for the Omer, as we learned below, 85a: “They do not bring [the Omer] from the house of the tree,” because the trees draw nourishment from the soil and weaken the grain.

And because of the house of mourning,

if the comforters require an open place in order to recite “the blessing of the open area,” they are permitted to reap, and because reaping for a mitzva is permitted, as is explained in the Gemara. And

so it is permitted to reap

because of the interruption of the house of study

because of the interruption of the house of study,

if they need a place in which the students can sit there to study Torah, they are permitted to reap, since it is reaping for a mitzva.

But he shall not make them—

the reaped grain, when he reaped it for these reasons—

bundles, but they place

the reaped grain

in piles,

[unbound sheaves], but not bound sheaves; and the reason will be explained in the Gemara. From here the Mishna deals with the Omer itself: The mitzva of the Omer is for it to come from standing grain,

which he shall reap for the sake of the mitzva, and if

he did not find

[grain] to reap from standing grain,

he shall bring it from sheaves

that were reaped

not for the sake of the mitzva.

Its mitzva,

that of the Omer,

is for it to come from moist grain

[moist grain], as it is stated, “You shall offer karmel,” and this is an acrostic for “soft and crushed” [crushed by hand]; and if

he did not find

moist grain,

he shall bring it from dry grain.

Its mitzva,

that of the Omer,

is

to reap at night

of the sixteenth of Nisan,

and if it was reaped during the day —

it is valid,

and it overrides Shabbat.

Gemara:

It was taught: Rabbi Benjamin says:

One verse says: “When you come to the land

and

you shall reap its harvest, and you shall bring the Omer

the first of your harvest to the priest,” and it implies: You shall reap a harvest for yourselves, and afterward bring an Omer; and if so, it is permitted to reap before reaping the Omer.

And it is written

in the continuation of the verse, “[and you shall bring the Omer]

the first of your harvest to the priest,”

and from this it implies that the Omer shall be the first of the harvest, and they shall not reap for themselves before reaping the Omer—

How can

these two verses be fulfilled? Sometimes you reap and sometimes you do not reap:

From a place from which you bring

[it is fit to bring] the Omer, from there

you may not reap,

but

from a place from which you do not bring—

such as an irrigated field, as below, 85a—

you may reap.

And this is the reason for what we learned: They may reap an irrigated field in the valleys, as was explained in the Mishna.

And we challenge:

Perhaps say:

perhaps Scripture came to teach:

from the kind that you bring the omer, namely, from the kind of barley,

you may not reap;

but from the kind that you do not bring —

and

that is, the other kinds of grain —

you may reap!?

you may harvest!?

And we answer:

That you cannot say

you cannot say so

from Rabbi Yohanan,

who learned above, 71b, “beginning” from “beginning,” from challa, to prohibit reaping the five kinds of grain as they become liable for challa.

We learned in the Mishna:

The people of Jericho reaped with the consent of the Sages, and piled up [the grain] without the consent of the Sages,

and they did not protest against them:

Who is it that you hear saying

the expression

“they protested”

and

“they did not

protest”

is it not

Rabbi Judah,

who used this expression in the beraita brought immediately below; and necessarily, the latter clause is according to Rabbi Judah. If so, the first clause is difficult:

And

does

Rabbi Judah hold that the reaping of the people of Jericho was with the consent of the Sages

and does Rabbi Judah hold that the reaping was with the consent of the Sages,

but it was taught

in a beraita that Rabbi Meir is the one who holds so, but Rabbi Judah disagreed and held that even their reaping was without the consent of the Sages!?

For it was taught:

The people of Jericho did six things; three

of them

they did with the consent of the Sages,

and

three they did without the consent of the Sages,

they would do.

And these

are the three

with the consent of the Sages

that they would do:

a.

They would graft palm trees all day

on the eve of Passover, even after midday, when work is prohibited, because they held: the work of grafting is not important work.

b.

And they would join together the Shema,

that is, they would recite the first verse of the Shema without interruption and would not pause to give space between one word and another.

And they would reap

their fields

before the omer, as is explained in our Mishna, that their reaping was with the consent of the Sages.

All these they did

with the consent of the Sages.

with the consent of the Sages.

And these

are the three

without the consent of the Sages

that they would do:

a. They even

would pile up [the grain] before the omer, as is explained in our Mishna, that they would pile up without the consent of the Sages.

b.

And

they would permit the shoots of consecrated carob and sycamore trees,

that is, their ancestors had consecrated carob and sycamore trees, and they would permit themselves to benefit from the growths that grew from them.

c.

And they would breach openings in their gardens and orchards

[on a weekday] — in order

to feed

[the fallen fruit]

to the poor in years of famine,

even

on Shabbatot and festivals,

because they were not concerned lest one come up and pluck [fruit],

the words of Rabbi Meir.

Rabbi Judah said to him: If they did all these with the consent of the Sages,

why did they do all these,

should everyone do so!?

Rather, both these and those,

the six that you say

they did,

were things that they did

without the consent of the Sages;

and from the things that the people of Jericho did — as Rabbi Judah will detail them — the division was in a different manner:

And concerning three they protested against them, and concerning three they did not protest against them,

and they were doing them without the consent of the Sages as well.

And these are the practices regarding which the Sages did not protest against them,

And these are the ones concerning which they did not protest against them,

even though they did them without the consent of the Sages, [two of them are those concerning which Rabbi Meir said that they did them with the consent of the Sages, and among the remainder enumerated here, concerning one Rabbi Meir said that they did them without the consent of the Sages, and concerning one Rabbi Meir said that they did them with the consent of the Sages]:

a.

They would graft palm trees all day, [unlike Rabbi Meir, who holds: they did them even with the consent of the Sages].

b.

And they would join together the Shema, [unlike Rabbi Meir, who holds that they did them even with the consent of the Sages].

c.

And they would reap

before the omer, [unlike Rabbi Meir, who holds that they did them even with the consent of the Sages]

And they would pile up [the grain] before the omer, [

this law Rabbi Judah transferred from the second division in Rabbi Meir's words to the first division in his own words, and there is no legal disagreement between them].

And these

are the three

that

even

they protested against them [two of them are those concerning which Rabbi Meir said that they did them without the consent of the Sages, and the third is an additional matter that Rabbi Meir did not mention, after Rabbi Judah transferred the piling to the first division]:

protested against them. [Two of these are the practices regarding which Rabbi Meir said that they were performed without the approval of the Sages, and the third is an additional practice not mentioned by Rabbi Meir, after Rabbi Yehuda transferred the piling of grain to the first division]: