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Movement II·B · The Ceremony and Processing

The Ceremony From the Omer to Shavuos The ceremony itself is the dramatic climax of

13 · מְנָחוֹת י:ג · Menachos 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.
How was it performed? Court emissaries went out on the eve of the Festival, fashioning sheaves while still attached to the ground — so it would be easy to reap. All the towns nearby assembled there — so it would be reaped with great fanfare. Once darkness fell, he said to them: Has the sun set? They said: Yes. Has the sun set? Yes. This sickle? Yes. This sickle? Yes. This basket? Yes. This basket? Yes. On Shabbos he said: This Shabbos? Yes. This Shabbos? Yes. Shall I reap? Cut. Shall I reap? Cut. Three times for each and every matter — and they would say to him: Yes, yes, yes. Why all of this? Because of the Baissusim, who would say: there is no Omer harvest at the conclusion of Yom Tov.
Green — Positive ruling
Blue — Reason
Purple — Condition
Fuchsia — Rule
Black — Case / Narrative
Go deeperOpen what helps. Nothing here is needed to learn the Mishnah.
The timeline — 36 hours from preparation to ceremony
14th Nisan · Daytime
Erev Pesach — Preparation
מֵעֶרֶב יוֹם טוֹב
Court emissaries go out to the fields. Sheaves formed while grain still attached to the ground. Towns nearby assemble.
15th Nisan · Full day
The first day of Pesach
יוֹם טוֹב
Pesach itself. The prepared sheaves wait in the field. ~36 hours pass between preparation and ceremony.
15th Nisan at nightfall · Start of 16th
Motzaei Yom Tov — The Ceremony
כֵּיוָן שֶׁחֲשֵׁכָה
Darkness falls at the conclusion of Yom Tov. The call-and-response begins. The reaping commences.
The call-and-response ceremony at nightfall
Each element confirmed twice — then the full triple confirmation rule applied
בָּא הַשָּׁמֶשׁ? בָּא הַשָּׁמֶשׁ?
הֵן הֵן
מַגָּל זוֹ? מַגָּל זוֹ?
הֵן הֵן
קֻפָּה זוֹ? קֻפָּה זוֹ?
הֵן הֵן
שַׁבָּת זוֹ? שַׁבָּת זוֹ? — when 16th falls on Shabbos
הֵן הֵן
אֶקְצֹר? אֶקְצֹר?
קְצֹר קְצֹר
שָׁלשׁ פְּעָמִים עַל כָּל דָּבָר וְדָבָר
Three times for each and every matter
— the rule governing the entire ceremony
The Baissusim controversy — why the ceremony exists
The Baissusim held
אֵין קְצִירַת הָעֹמֶר בְּמוֹצָאֵי יוֹם טוֹב
The Omer harvest cannot take place at the conclusion of Yom Tov. They read "the day after the Shabbos" (Vayikra 23:11) as the literal weekly Shabbos — so the Omer must always fall on a Sunday, and Shavuos always on a Sunday.
The Sages hold
מוֹצָאֵי יוֹם טוֹב
"The day after the Shabbos" means the day after the first day of Pesach — the Yom Tov itself is called Shabbos. The Omer falls on the 16th of Nisan regardless of what day of the week it is. The public triple ceremony announces this fact dramatically.
Position in the Omer to Shavuos arc — 43 mishnayos
Preceding · Mishnah 12
Menachos 10:1
Quantities and reapers — the ceremony's practical parameters
Current · Mishnah 13
Menachos 10:3 — The Ceremony
From the Omer to Shavuos
The ceremony itself is the dramatic climax of Movement II·B. After the legal frame (mishnayos 10–11) and the quantities dispute (mishnah 12), here is the ceremony in full: the preparations erev Pesach, the nightfall assembly, the triple call-and-response, and the reaping at the very start of the 16th of Nisan. The Baissusim dispute is why the ceremony has the form it has.
Following · Mishnah 14
After the Omer is brought
From stalk to altar — the full processing sequence
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