ויקרא, פרק כ״ג, פסוק י״ד

A fundamental law governs the agricultural and dietary cycle, forbidding the consumption of any new grain harvest until the Omer offering is brought to the Temple. This restriction encompasses all methods of preparing the grain and remains in effect for all generations. The Torah specifies three distinct types of forbidden food to emphasize that they represent three separate violations. Eating all three before the permitted time results in three distinct punishments of lashes [רלב״ג, תורה תמימה, אדרת אליהו]. The primary approach among commentators is that the first category, bread, refers exclusively to loaves baked from the five species of grain, which are wheat, barley, spelt, oats, and rye, completely excluding legumes [תורה תמימה, מלבי״ם, חזקוני, אדרת אליהו]. The second category involves roasted grain, which is understood either as flour made from soft, fresh kernels dried and roasted in an oven [רש״י, רש״ר הירש, ביאור יש״ר, ברכת אשר], or simply as whole ears of grain roasted directly in the fire [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. The final category consists of fresh grain, interpreted as green kernels eaten in their natural state [רש״ר הירש, ביאור שטיינזלץ], roasted kernels [רש״י, ביאור יש״ר], or crushed groats prepared before the offering is brought [רלב״ג, פירושי רד״צ הופמן].

The precise moment the new crop becomes permitted hinges on a dual condition, referencing both the specific date and the act of bringing the offering to God. Commentators clarify that this offering is the Omer meal offering itself, rather than any accompanying animal sacrifices [בכור שור, מלבי״ם, אילת השחר]. This dual condition addresses two distinct historical realities. While the Temple stands, the physical act of bringing the Omer offering is what permits the new grain. However, in the absence of the Temple, the date itself, the sixteenth of Nissan, serves to lift the restriction [תורה תמימה, מלבי״ם, רש״ר הירש, אדרת אליהו]. Even during the Temple era, if the court was negligent and failed to bring the offering, the arrival of the day alone would permit the new crop [רלב״ג, פרדס יוסף, פירושי רד״צ הופמן]. There is a debate regarding the exact timing on that day. Some maintain that the prohibition expires immediately at dawn [העמק דבר, רש״ר הירש], whereas others argue it remains in effect throughout the entire day [תורה תמימה, מלבי״ם]. Regardless of the exact moment, the Omer only permits grain that had already taken root in the ground before the offering time. Any grain planted or rooted afterward remains strictly forbidden until the Omer of the following year [רלב״ג, רש״ר הירש, פירושי רד״צ הופמן].

The geographic scope of this Commandment is the subject of an ancient and extensive debate. One approach takes the instruction regarding settlements quite literally, asserting that the prohibition is a Biblical requirement wherever Jews live, even outside the Land of Israel [רלב״ג, מלבי״ם, רש״ר הירש, אדרת אליהו, פירושי רד״צ הופמן]. This position was strongly reinforced in later generations, although some authorities adopted a more lenient stance regarding grain grown by non-Jews outside of Israel [תורה תמימה, פרדס יוסף]. Conversely, an opposing perspective argues that the restriction applies exclusively within the Land of Israel. According to this view, the reference to settlements teaches that the Commandment did not take effect immediately upon the Israelites entering the land. Instead, it only became obligatory after fourteen years of conquest and land distribution, once the nation had achieved a state of permanent residence and rest [רש״י, מזרחי, תורה תמימה, הכתב והקבלה].