A Zeman Nakat Project
From the Omer to Shavuos · Mishnah 11 of 43 · Interactive Edition
Movement II·A · The Legal Frame
11 · שְׁבִיעִית א:ד · Sheviit 1:4
הָיָה אֶחָד עוֹשֶׂה כִּכַּר דְּבֵלָה וּשְׁנַיִם אֵין עוֹשִׂין, אוֹ שְׁנַיִם עוֹשִׂין וְאֶחָד אֵינוֹ עוֹשֶׂה — אֵין חוֹרְשִׁין לָהֶם אֶלָּא לְצָרְכָּן, עַד שֶׁיִּהְיוּ מִשְּׁלשָׁה עַד תִּשְׁעָה.
הָיוּ עֲשָׂרָה, מֵעֲשָׂרָה וּלְמַעְלָה, בֵּין עוֹשִׂין בֵּין שֶׁאֵינָן עוֹשִׂין — חוֹרְשִׁין כָּל בֵּית הַסְּאָה בִּשְׁבִילָן.
שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר, בֶּחָרִישׁ וּבַקָּצִיר תִּשְׁבֹּת.
אֵין צָרִיךְ לוֹמַר חָרִישׁ וְקָצִיר שֶׁל שְׁבִיעִית,
אֶלָּא חָרִישׁ שֶׁל עֶרֶב שְׁבִיעִית שֶׁהוּא נִכְנָס בַּשְּׁבִיעִית,
וְקָצִיר שֶׁל שְׁבִיעִית שֶׁהוּא יוֹצֵא לְמוֹצָאֵי שְׁבִיעִית.
רַבִּי יִשְׁמָעֵאל אוֹמֵר,
מָה חָרִישׁ רְשׁוּת, אַף קָצִיר רְשׁוּת —
יָצָא קְצִיר הָעֹמֶר.
If one of the three trees produces a cake of pressed figs but the other two do not, or two produce but one does not — they may plow only for their individual needs, as long as there are between three and nine trees. If there are ten trees — from ten and above, whether they produce or not — they plow the entire beit seah on their account.
As it is stated [Shemos 34:21]: "In plowing and in harvesting, you shall rest." There is no need to state plowing and harvesting of the Shemittah year itself — rather: the plowing of the eve of Shemittah that extends into the Shemittah year, and the harvest of the Shemittah year that extends into the year after. Rabbi Yishmael says: Just as plowing is optional [never obligatory], so reaping [in the verse] is optional — thus excluding the Omer harvest [which is obligatory].
As it is stated [Shemos 34:21]: "In plowing and in harvesting, you shall rest." There is no need to state plowing and harvesting of the Shemittah year itself — rather: the plowing of the eve of Shemittah that extends into the Shemittah year, and the harvest of the Shemittah year that extends into the year after. Rabbi Yishmael says: Just as plowing is optional [never obligatory], so reaping [in the verse] is optional — thus excluding the Omer harvest [which is obligatory].
Green — Positive ruling
Red — Negative ruling
Purple — Condition
Blue — Reason / Proof
Gold — Name of Tana
Black — Case
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Background — what Shemittah prohibits and what the verse says
The Shemittah year (every seventh year) prohibits all agricultural work. The Torah also writes:
בֶּחָרִישׁ וּבַקָּצִיר תִּשְׁבֹּת
"In plowing and in harvesting, you shall rest" (Shemos 34:21)
This mishnah contains a fundamental dispute about what that verse is talking about. The anonymous Tanna reads it as referring to Shemittah — and derives from it an extension of Shemittah restrictions into the boundary years. R' Yishmael reads the very same verse as referring to Shabbos (its plain meaning, since the verse is embedded in a Shabbos context) — and from it derives that the Omer harvest is excluded from Shabbos's rest prohibition.
The anonymous Tanna — reads the verse as about Shemittah
"In plowing and harvesting you shall rest" — applied to the boundary years around Shemittah
חָרִישׁ שֶׁל עֶרֶב שְׁבִיעִית
Plowing of the eve of Shemittah — plowing done in year 6 that extends into year 7 and benefits the seventh-year growth is prohibited. The verse adds this restriction beyond year 7 itself.
קָצִיר שֶׁל שְׁבִיעִית
Harvest of the eve of the year after Shemittah — grain that grew in year 7 and is harvested in year 8 carries Shemittah-year status. The verse extends the prohibition into year 8 for this grain.
Rabbi Yishmael — reads the verse as about Shabbos, not Shemittah
רַבִּי יִשְׁמָעֵאל: מָה חָרִישׁ רְשׁוּת — אַף קָצִיר רְשׁוּת. יָצָא קְצִיר הָעֹמֶר.
Plowing is always optional — no mitzvah ever requires you to plow
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The verse pairs plowing with harvesting — they must share the same legal character
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Therefore: the verse's "harvesting" also refers only to optional reaping — not obligatory reaping
R' Yishmael applies the principle of mah charish reshut, af katzir reshut — a binyan av argument. Shemos 34:21 restricts "harvesting" in the Shemittah year. But what kind of harvesting? Plowing, which the verse pairs with harvesting, is always optional — there is no mitzvah that obligates you to plow. Therefore, the verse's restriction on harvesting applies only to optional harvesting. The Omer harvest, which is a biblical obligation with a fixed time and no substitute, is excluded by definition.
The ruling — and what it means
יָצָא קְצִיר הָעֹמֶר — הָעֹמֶר נִקְצָר אֲפִלּוּ בַּשְּׁבִיעִית
The Omer harvest is excluded from the Shemittah prohibition. Even when the 16th of Nisan falls in a Shemittah year, the Omer must be reaped. The obligation is absolute and cannot be set aside by the seventh-year rest. This parallels the Omer's Shabbos override (mishnah 5): the same logic applies — an obligatory mitzvah with a fixed time cannot be displaced by a resting prohibition, whether Shabbos or Shemittah.
Position in the Omer to Shavuos arc — 43 mishnayos
Preceding · Mishnah 10
Megillah 2:6
The entire night is valid for the Omer reaping — its temporal character established
Current · Mishnah 11
Sheviit 1:4 — The Omer Overrides Shemittah
Movement II·A
The legal frame is complete: the Omer is a nighttime mitzvah valid all night (mishnah 10), and an obligatory mitzvah that overrides even the Shemittah year's rest (this mishnah). Both establish the Omer's inviolable character before the ceremony itself unfolds. The series has now shown: Chadash is global, the Omer releases it, and nothing — not Shabbos, not Shemittah — can prevent the Omer from being brought.
Following · Mishnah 12
Menachos 10:1
How many se'ah of barley — and how is it reaped on Shabbos?