A Zeman Nakat Project
From the Omer to Shavuos · Mishnah 21 of 43 · Interactive Edition
Movement II·D · The Omer's Legacy
21 · מְנָחוֹת י:ה · Menachos 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 עַד עֶצֶם הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה.
Once the Omer was sacrificed, they would emerge and find Jerusalem's market full of flour and parched grain — not with the Sages' approval (R' Meir). R' Yehuda: with the Sages' approval. Once the Omer was sacrificed, new grain was permitted immediately. For those distant: permitted from midday onward. After the Temple was destroyed, Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai enacted that the entire day of waving be prohibited. R' Yehuda said: but isn't it forbidden by Torah law — "until this selfsame day" (Vayikra 23:14)?
Green — Positive ruling
Fuchsia — Negative ruling
Blue — Reason
Gold — Tana
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The Jerusalem market scene — the Omer's immediate effect
שׁוּק יְרוּשָׁלַיִם שֶׁהוּא מָלֵא קֶמַח וְקָלִי
The moment the Omer was sacrificed — early morning, the 16th of Nisan — the city's grain markets filled with new flour and parched grain. Jerusalem had held the new crop through all of Pesach. The Omer's permission was immediate for those in the city. R' Meir and R' Yehuda disagree on whether this market surge was sanctioned by the Sages or merely tolerated: the Sages could not prevent it (R' Meir's reading of "shelo birtzono" — not with their consent — suggests they had limited enforcement power in the Temple period) or they actively approved it (R' Yehuda). Either way, the scene is vivid: a city flooded with flour the morning after the Omer.
The permission — who, when, where
Chadash permission after the Omer — during Temple times
Immediately
For those in Jerusalem and surrounding areas — new grain permitted the moment the Omer is sacrificed (early morning, 16th of Nisan)
From midday
For those distant — they could not know exactly when the Omer was sacrificed, but they know the Beis Din does not delay it. By midday they may assume it has been brought and eat new grain
The R' Meir / R' Yehuda dispute
R' Meir — not with the Sages' approval
שֶׁלֹּא בִרְצוֹן חֲכָמִים
The market surge happened without rabbinic authorization. The Sages preferred restraint but lacked enforcement power. "Shelo birtzono" signals the limits of rabbinic authority in the Temple period — the people moved faster than the Sages could govern.
R' Yehuda — with the Sages' approval · Halacha
בִּרְצוֹן חֲכָמִים הָיוּ עוֹשִׂים
The market surge was fully approved by the Sages. The permission is absolute — why hold back? The Omer is done; the grain is permitted. Halacha follows R' Yehuda.
RYbZ's takanah after the churban — a living memorial
הִתְקִין רַבָּן יוֹחָנָן בֶּן זַכַּאי שֶׁיְּהֵא יוֹם הָנֵף כֻּלּוֹ אָסוּר
Without the Omer, new grain is technically permitted from dawn of the 16th of Nisan (when the Omer would have been brought). RYbZ enacted that the entire day remain forbidden — the prohibition extends until the 17th. This is a zecher lamikdash — a memorial to the Temple and the Omer's role. The prohibition that existed only during Temple times (when the Omer releasing grain at dawn made it forbidden until then) is maintained post-churban as a reminder of what was lost. R' Yehuda's objection — "isn't it forbidden by Torah law anyway?" — is answered by the context: post-churban, without an Omer, the Torah's prohibition does not apply. RYbZ's takanah creates a rabbinic prohibition in its place.
Position in the Omer to Shavuos arc — 43 mishnayos
Preceding · Mishnah 20
Pesachim 7:4
The Omer among five brought in tumah but not eaten in tumah
Current · Mishnah 21
Menachos 10:5 — What the Omer Releases
Movement II·D
This is the Omer's moment of release — the most human mishnah in the series. The city floods with grain, the nation's fields open, and the long prohibition of Chadash that began this entire series (mishnah 1, Orlah 3:9) is finally lifted. The chapter closes with RYbZ's takanah — the Omer's absence from our world echoes forward into every 16th of Nisan.
Following · Mishnah 22
RH 4:3 + Sukkah 3:12
The same takanah recorded twice — and what it tells us about literary transmission