## Mishnah Menachot Chapter 10

###### Mishnah Menachot 10:1
[Mishnah Menachot 10:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Mishnah%20Menachot/r/10:1)

רַבִּי יִשְׁמָעֵאל אוֹמֵר, הָעֹמֶר הָיָה בָא בְשַׁבָּת מִשָּׁלשׁ סְאִין, וּבְחֹל מֵחָמֵשׁ. וַחֲכָמִים אוֹמְרִים, אֶחָד בְּשַׁבָּת וְאֶחָד בְּחֹל, מִשָּׁלשׁ הָיָה בָא. רַבִּי חֲנִינָא סְגָן הַכֹּהֲנִים אוֹמֵר, בְּשַׁבָּת הָיָה נִקְצָר בְּיָחִיד וּבְמַגָּל אֶחָד וּבְקֻפָּה אַחַת. וּבְחֹל, בִּשְׁלשָׁה וּבְשָׁלשׁ קֻפּוֹת וּבְשָׁלשׁ מַגָּלוֹת. וַחֲכָמִים אוֹמְרִים, אֶחָד בְּשַׁבָּת וְאֶחָד בְּחֹל, בִּשְׁלשָׁה וּבְשָׁלשׁ קֻפּוֹת וּבְשָׁלשׁ מַגָּלוֹת:

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rabbi Yishmael says:** When the day of the sacrifice of the ***omer*** meal offering **would** occur **on Shabbat,** the labors performed that would otherwise be prohibited were kept to a minimum, and the one-tenth of an ephah of flour that was **brought** as an offering was processed **from three *se’a*** of reaped barley. **And** if it occurred **during the week,** the flour was processed **from five** *se’a* of reaped barley. **And the Rabbis say: Both on Shabbat and** during the **week,** the *omer* offering **would come from three** *se’a* of reaped barley. **Rabbi Ḥanina, the deputy High Priest, says: On Shabbat** the barley **was reaped by an individual and with one sickle and with one basket** into which the barley was placed; **and during the week,** it was reaped **by three** people **with three baskets and three sickles. And the Rabbis say: Both on Shabbat and** during the **week,** it was reaped **by three** people **with three baskets and with three sickles.**


###### Mishnah Menachot 10:2
[Mishnah Menachot 10:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Mishnah%20Menachot/r/10:2)

מִצְוַת הָעֹמֶר לָבֹא מִן הַקָּרוֹב. לֹא בִכֵּר הַקָּרוֹב לִירוּשָׁלַיִם, מְבִיאִים אוֹתוֹ מִכָּל מָקוֹם. מַעֲשֶׂה שֶׁבָּא מִגַּגּוֹת צְרִיפִין, וּשְׁתֵּי הַלֶּחֶם מִבִּקְעַת עֵין סוֹכֵר:

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**The mitzva of the *omer* is to bring** the barley reaped for the meal offering **from** fields **proximate** to Jerusalem. If the barley **did not ripen** in **the** fields **proximate to Jerusalem, one brings it from any place** in Eretz Yisrael. There was **an incident where the *omer* came from Gaggot Tzerifin and** the wheat for **the two loaves** on *Shavuot* came **from the valley of Ein Sokher.**


###### Mishnah Menachot 10:3
[Mishnah Menachot 10:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Mishnah%20Menachot/r/10:3)

כֵּיצַד הָיוּ עוֹשִׂים. שְׁלוּחֵי בֵית דִּין יוֹצְאִים מֵעֶרֶב יוֹם טוֹב, וְעוֹשִׂים אוֹתוֹ כְרִיכוֹת בִּמְחֻבָּר לַקַּרְקַע, כְּדֵי שֶׁיְּהֵא נוֹחַ לִקְצֹר. וְכָל הָעֲיָרוֹת הַסְּמוּכוֹת לְשָׁם, מִתְכַּנְּסוֹת לְשָׁם, כְּדֵי שֶׁיְּהֵא נִקְצָר בְּעֵסֶק גָּדוֹל. כֵּיוָן שֶׁחֲשֵׁכָה, אוֹמֵר לָהֶם, בָּא הַשָּׁמֶשׁ, אוֹמְרִים, הֵן. בָּא הַשָּׁמֶשׁ, אוֹמְרִים הֵן. מַגָּל זוֹ, אוֹמְרִים הֵן. מַגָּל זוֹ, אוֹמְרִים הֵן. קֻפָּה זוֹ, אוֹמְרִים הֵן. קֻפָּה זוֹ, אוֹמְרִים הֵן. בְּשַׁבָּת אוֹמֵר לָהֶם, שַׁבָּת זוֹ, אוֹמְרִים הֵן. שַׁבָּת זוֹ, אוֹמְרִים הֵן. אֶקְצֹר, וְהֵם אוֹמְרִים לוֹ קְצֹר. אֶקְצֹר, וְהֵם אוֹמְרִים לוֹ קְצֹר. שָׁלשׁ פְּעָמִים עַל כָּל דָּבָר וְדָבָר, וְהֵם אוֹמְרִים לוֹ הֵן, הֵן, הֵן. וְכָל כָּךְ לָמָּה. מִפְּנֵי הַבַּיְתוֹסִים, שֶׁהָיוּ אוֹמְרִים, אֵין קְצִירַת הָעֹמֶר בְּמוֹצָאֵי יוֹם טוֹב:

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**How would they perform** the rite of the harvest of the *omer*? **Emissaries of the court** would **emerge on the eve of the festival** of Passover **and fashion** the stalks of barley into **sheaves while** the stalks were still **attached to the ground, so that it would be convenient to reap** them. The residents of **all the towns adjacent to** the site of the harvest **would assemble there, so that it would be harvested with great fanfare.** **Once it grew dark,** the court emissary **says to** those assembled: **Did the sun set?** The assembly **says** in response: **Yes.** The emissary repeats: **Did the sun set?** They again **say: Yes.** The court emissary next says to those assembled: Shall I reap the sheaves with **this sickle?** The assembly **says** in response: **Yes.** The emissary repeats: With **this sickle?** The assembly **says: Yes.** The court emissary then says to those assembled: Shall I place the gathered sheaves in **this basket?** The assembly **says** in response: **Yes.** The emissary repeats: In **this basket?** The assembly **says: Yes.** If the sixteenth of Nisan occurs **on Shabbat,** the court emissary **says to** the assembled: Shall I cut the sheaves on **this Shabbat?** The assembly **says** in response: **Yes.** The emissary repeats: On **this Shabbat?** The assembly **says: Yes.** The court emissary says to those assembled: **Shall I cut** the sheaves? **And they say to him** in response: **Cut.** The emissary repeats: **Shall I cut** the sheaves? **And they say** to him: **Cut.** The emissary asks **three times with regard to each and every matter, and** the assembly **says to him: Yes, yes, yes.** The mishna asks: **Why do I** need those involved to publicize each stage of the rite **to that extent?** The mishna answers: It is **due to the Boethusians, as they** deny the validity of the Oral Law and **would say: There is no harvest of the *omer* at the conclusion of the** first **Festival** day of Passover unless it occurs at the conclusion of Shabbat. The publicity was to underscore that the sixteenth of Nisan was the proper time for the *omer* harvest.


###### Mishnah Menachot 10:4
[Mishnah Menachot 10:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Mishnah%20Menachot/r/10:4)

קְצָרוּהוּ וּנְתָנוּהוּ בְקֻפּוֹת, הֱבִיאוּהוּ לָעֲזָרָה, הָיוּ מְהַבְהְבִין אוֹתוֹ בָאוּר, כְּדֵי לְקַיֵּם בּוֹ מִצְוַת קָלִי, דִּבְרֵי רַבִּי מֵאִיר. וַחֲכָמִים אוֹמְרִים, בְּקָנִים וּבִקְלִיחוֹת חוֹבְטִים אוֹתוֹ, כְּדֵי שֶׁלֹּא יִתְמָעֵךְ. נְתָנוּהוּ לָאַבּוּב, וְאַבּוּב הָיָה מְנֻקָּב, כְּדֵי שֶׁיְּהֵא הָאוּר שׁוֹלֵט בְּכֻלּוֹ. שְׁטָחוּהוּ בָעֲזָרָה, וְהָרוּחַ מְנַשֶּׁבֶת בּוֹ. נְתָנוּהוּ בְרֵחַיִם שֶׁל גָּרוֹסוֹת, וְהוֹצִיאוּ מִמֶּנּוּ עִשָּׂרוֹן שֶׁהוּא מְנֻפֶּה מִשְּׁלשׁ עֶשְׂרֵה נָפָה, וְהַשְּׁאָר נִפְדֶּה וְנֶאֱכָל לְכָל אָדָם. וְחַיָּב בַּחַלָּה, וּפָטוּר מִן הַמַּעַשְׂרוֹת. רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא מְחַיֵּב בַּחַלָּה וּבַמַּעַשְׂרוֹת. בָא לוֹ לָעִשָּׂרוֹן, וְנָתַן שַׁמְנוֹ וּלְבוֹנָתוֹ, יָצַק, וּבָלַל, הֵנִיף, וְהִגִּישׁ, וְקָמַץ, וְהִקְטִיר, וְהַשְּׁאָר נֶאֱכָל לַכֹּהֲנִים:

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
After **they harvested** the *omer* **and placed it in** the **baskets, they brought it to the** Temple **courtyard. And they would singe in** the **fire** the kernels of barley while they were still on the stalks, **in order to fulfill the mitzva of parched** grain, as it is written: “And if you bring a meal offering of first fruits to the Lord, you shall bring for the meal offering of your first fruits grain in the ear parched with fire” (Leviticus 2:14). This is **the statement of Rabbi Meir. And the Rabbis say:** Prior to parching the kernels, they would remove them from the stalks by **beating** them **with** soft, moist **reeds and with cabbage stalks,** not with sticks, **so that** the kernels **would not be crushed.** **They** then **placed** the grain **into a hollow vessel [*le’abuv*], and** this **vessel was perforated so that the fire would take hold of** the grain **in its entirety.** After parching the kernels, **they** would **spread** the kernels **in the** Temple **courtyard and the wind would blow upon** the kernels, cooling and drying them. **They** then **placed** the kernels **in a mill** used **to** grind **grits,** so that the barley would not be ground so fine that the shell would be mixed with the grain. **And they produced from** the ground barley **a tenth** of an ephah of barley flour **that was sifted through thirteen sifters, and the rest is redeemed and** may be **eaten by any person. And** dough from this barley flour **is obligated in** the separation of ***ḥalla*, and** the grain is **exempt from the** separation of **tithe. Rabbi Akiva deems** this flour **obligated in** having ***ḥalla* and tithes** separated from it. After daybreak, the priest sacrificing the *omer* **came to the** sifted **tenth** of an ephah, **placed in** the vessel in his hand some of **its** *log* of **oil, and** placed **its frankincense** on the side of the vessel. He then **poured** some more oil from the *log* onto the high-quality flour **and mixed** them together, **waved and brought** the meal offering to the corner of the altar, and **removed the handful and burned** it on the altar. **And the rest** of the meal offering **is eaten by the priests.**


###### Mishnah Menachot 10:5
[Mishnah Menachot 10:5](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Mishnah%20Menachot/r/10:5)

מִשֶּׁקָּרַב הָעֹמֶר, יוֹצְאִין וּמוֹצְאִין שׁוּק יְרוּשָׁלַיִם שֶׁהוּא מָלֵא קֶמַח וְקָלִי, שֶׁלֹּא בִרְצוֹן חֲכָמִים, דִּבְרֵי רַבִּי מֵאִיר. רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר, בִּרְצוֹן חֲכָמִים הָיוּ עוֹשִׂים. מִשֶּׁקָּרַב הָעֹמֶר, הֻתַּר הֶחָדָשׁ מִיָּד, וְהָרְחוֹקִים מֻתָּרִים מֵחֲצוֹת הַיּוֹם וּלְהַלָּן. מִשֶּׁחָרַב בֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ, הִתְקִין רַבָּן יוֹחָנָן בֶּן זַכַּאי, שֶׁיְּהֵא יוֹם הָנֵף כֻּלּוֹ אָסוּר. אָמַר רַבִּי יְהוּדָה, וַהֲלֹא מִן הַתּוֹרָה הוּא אָסוּר, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ויקרא כג), עַד עֶצֶם הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה. מִפְּנֵי מָה הָרְחוֹקִים מֻתָּרִים מֵחֲצוֹת הַיּוֹם וּלְהַלָּן, מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהֵן יוֹדְעִין שֶׁאֵין בֵּית דִּין מִתְעַצְּלִין בּוֹ:

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Once the *omer* was sacrificed** people would **emerge and find the marketplace of Jerusalem full of the flour** from the **parched grain** of the new crop that was permitted by the waving and the sacrifice of the *omer* offering. That filling of the marketplace with the new crop was performed **not with the approval of the Sages;** this is **the statement of Rabbi Meir. Rabbi Yehuda says: They would do** so **with the approval of the Sages.** **From** the moment **that the *omer*** offering **was sacrificed,** the produce of the **new** crop **was permitted immediately.** For those **distant** from Jerusalem, the new crop **is permitted from midday and beyond. From** the time **that the Temple was destroyed, Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai instituted that the day of waving** the *omer*, the sixteenth of Nisan, **is entirely prohibited,** i.e., one may partake of the new crop only the next day. **Rabbi Yehuda said: But isn’t it forbidden by Torah law, as it is stated:** “And you shall eat neither bread, nor parched grain, nor fresh grain, **until this selfsame day,** until you have brought the offering of your God” (Leviticus 23:14)? This means that the new crop is prohibited on the day of the waving unless permitted by sacrifice of the offering. **And** if so, **for what** reason is it **permitted** for those **distant** to eat the new crop **from midday and beyond,** when the Temple is standing? It is **due to** the fact **that they know that the** members of the **court are not indolent in its** sacrifice, and certainly by midday the sacrifice of the *omer* offering has been completed.


###### Mishnah Menachot 10:6
[Mishnah Menachot 10:6](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Mishnah%20Menachot/r/10:6)

הָעֹמֶר הָיָה מַתִּיר בַּמְּדִינָה, וּשְׁתֵּי הַלֶּחֶם בַּמִּקְדָּשׁ. אֵין מְבִיאִין מְנָחוֹת וּבִכּוּרִים וּמִנְחַת בְּהֵמָה קֹדֶם לָעֹמֶר. וְאִם הֵבִיא, פָּסוּל. קֹדֶם לִשְׁתֵּי הַלֶּחֶם, לֹא יָבִיא. וְאִם הֵבִיא, כָּשֵׁר:

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
Sacrifice of **the *omer*** offering **would permit** consumption of the new crop **in** the rest of **the country** outside the Temple, **and the two loaves** offering would permit the sacrifice of the new crop **in the Temple. One may not bring meal offerings, or first fruits, or the meal offering** brought with libations accompanying **animal** offerings, from the new crop **prior to** the sacrifice of **the *omer*, and if he brought** them from the new crop they are **unfit.** After the *omer* but **prior to the two loaves one may not bring** these offerings from the new crop, but **if he brought** them from the new crop, they are **fit.**


###### Mishnah Menachot 10:7
[Mishnah Menachot 10:7](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Mishnah%20Menachot/r/10:7)

הַחִטִּים וְהַשְּׂעֹרִים וְהַכֻּסְּמִין וְשִׁבֹּלֶת שׁוּעָל וְהַשִּׁיפוֹן חַיָּבִין בַּחַלָּה, וּמִצְטָרְפִין זֶה עִם זֶה, וַאֲסוּרִים בֶּחָדָשׁ מִלִּפְנֵי הַפֶּסַח, וּמִלִּקְצֹר מִלִּפְנֵי הָעֹמֶר. וְאִם הִשְׁרִישׁוּ קֹדֶם לָעֹמֶר, הָעֹמֶר מַתִּירָן. וְאִם לָאו, אֲסוּרִים עַד שֶׁיָּבֹא עֹמֶר הַבָּא:

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Wheat, barley, spelt, oats, and rye; these are obligated in** the separation of ***ḥalla*, and** each **one** of them **joins together with the others**to constitute the measure that obligates one to separate *ḥalla*. **And they are prohibited** due to the prohibition of partaking **of** the **new** crop **prior to the Passover** Festival, **and** likewise it is prohibited **to reap** them **prior to the *omer*** offering. **If** these grains **took root prior the *omer*** offering, **the *omer* permits their** consumption; **and if not, they are prohibited until the next *omer* is brought** and sacrificed the following year.


###### Mishnah Menachot 10:8
[Mishnah Menachot 10:8](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Mishnah%20Menachot/r/10:8)

קוֹצְרִים בֵּית הַשְּׁלָחִים שֶׁבָּעֲמָקִים, אֲבָל לֹא גוֹדְשִׁין. אַנְשֵׁי יְרִיחוֹ קוֹצְרִין בִּרְצוֹן חֲכָמִים, וְגוֹדְשִׁין שֶׁלֹּא בִרְצוֹן חֲכָמִים, וְלֹא מִחוּ בְיָדָם חֲכָמִים. קוֹצֵר לַשַּׁחַת, וּמַאֲכִיל לַבְּהֵמָה. אָמַר רַבִּי יְהוּדָה, אֵימָתַי, בִּזְמַן שֶׁהִתְחִיל עַד שֶׁלֹּא הֵבִיאָה שְׁלִישׁ. רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן אוֹמֵר, אַף יִקְצֹר וְיַאֲכִיל אַף מִשֶּׁהֵבִיאָה שְׁלִישׁ:

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
Even before the *omer* offering is brought, **one may reap** a crop that grows in **an irrigated field in the valleys, but one may not arrange** the reaped stalks in **a pile. The residents of Jericho,** whose fields were categorized as irrigated fields in a valley, **reaped** the crops **with the approval of the Sages and arranged** the crops **in a pile without the approval of the Sages, but** the Sages **did not reprimand them. One may** reap crops in any field **for fodder** and **feed it to an animal. Rabbi Yehuda said: When** may one do so? **At a time when he begins** reaping **before** the crop reaches **one-third** of its potential growth. **Rabbi Shimon says: One may reap and feed** the crops to animals **even after they reached one-third** of their potential growth.


###### Mishnah Menachot 10:9
[Mishnah Menachot 10:9](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Mishnah%20Menachot/r/10:9)

קוֹצְרִין מִפְּנֵי הַנְּטִיעוֹת, מִפְּנֵי בֵית הָאֵבֶל, מִפְּנֵי בִטּוּל בֵּית הַמִּדְרָשׁ. לֹא יַעֲשֶׂה אוֹתָן כְּרִיכוֹת, אֲבָל מַנִּיחָן צְבָתִים. מִצְוַת הָעֹמֶר לָבֹא מִן הַקָּמָה. לֹא מָצָא, יָבִיא מִן הָעֳמָרִים. מִצְוָתוֹ לָבֹא מִן הַלַּח. לֹא מָצָא, יָבִיא מִן הַיָּבֵשׁ. מִצְוָתוֹ לִקְצֹר בַּלַּיְלָה. נִקְצַר בַּיּוֹם, כָּשֵׁר. וְדוֹחֶה אֶת הַשַּׁבָּת:

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**And one may reap** crops prior to the *omer* **due to** potential damage to **saplings** growing alongside the crops; and **due to the place of mourning,** i.e., to create room for those consoling mourners, who would bless them upon their return from the cemetery; and **due to** the need to create room for students to study, as failure to do so would lead to **dereliction of** Torah study in **the study hall.** After reaping the crops for any of these reasons, **one may not fashion them** into **sheaves, but he leaves them unbound.** **The mitzva of the *omer*** is for the barley **to come from standing grain.** If **one did not find** standing grain, **he brings from sheaves. Its mitzva is** for it **to come from** fresh, **moist** grain. If **one did not find** moist grain, **he brings from dry** grain. **Its mitzva is** for one **to reap** the grain **at night,** but if **it was reaped during the day,** it is **fit. And** reaping the grain for the *omer* **overrides Shabbat.**