Barley Harvest

Question

Shalom,

Given that we’re close to the new festal year, a question came to mind. Historically, prior to Hillel’s calendar, the state of the barley crop was used to determine whether the year was to be intercalated (San. 12a-13b). In Menachoth/Bikkurim we are told that there were specific fields around Jerusalem that were set apart for the purpose of bringing the omer for the first fruits offering. As you know, climates in Israel differ based on location. The farmers’ fields in the Jordan Valley or Negev would ripen earlier than those around Jerusalem. So…the question is…if no one else could harvest their fields at all until the omer was reaped for the offering, couldn’t farmers in the southern regions potentially lose some or much of their crop since it would be sitting on the stalks unharvested, able to succumb to rot, animals, etc.? How did those farmers deal with that? Were they allowed to harvest their crop but just not partake?

Thank you!

Shalom

0

Answers

  1. The Just Ask! - AskTheRabbi.org Team

    Even though the climate differs in various parts of Israel the effect on the barley crop was minimal. If anything, barley that ripened a little earlier to the barley crop in the Jerusalem area would have been drier and, therefore, of a higher caliber than the still-damp barley around Jerusalem. That means that the barley harvested straight after the Omer from the Jerusalem area might still need to be air-dried so that it could be used whereas the barley crops from the hotter areas of Israel would be at the optimum quality.

    Best wishes from the AskTheRabbi.org Team