Included in the section of the holidays in Parshas Emor is the Omer offering (Vayikra 23:9-13), followed (23:14) by the prohibition against eating the new crops (of the five grains that can become Chametz) until this offering is brought (or—when there is no Temple—until the day this offering would have been brought). The connection is simple; the first offering in the Temple that included grain from the new crops was the Omer offering, and it would be inappropriate for us to partake of the new crops before it was offered to God (see Sefer HaChinuch 303). Even after the Temple was destroyed, it remains inappropriate to partake of these crops until the offering would have been brought, especially since we hope the Temple will be rebuilt ASAP, and this offering brought again.
Where the grain for this offering (in this case, barley) must come from, and where the prohibition against eating the new crops applies, is a matter of (Talmudic) discussion. The Mishna (Menachos 8:1) says that, with two exceptions, the grain used for Temple offerings can come from anywhere, and can be from both the new (“Chodosh”) crops and from the old (“Yoshon”) crops. The two exceptions are the Omer offering (brought on the first day of Chol HaMoed Pesach) and the offering of two loaves (brought on Shavuos), whose grain must have grown in Eretz Yisroel and come from the new crops. The Talmud (Menachos 83b-84a) quotes other opinions; one allows old crops even for these two offerings, and another allows grain grown outside Eretz Yisroel even for these two offerings. The Talmud then adds that according to the opinion that even these offerings can come from grain that grew outside Eretz Yisroel, the prohibition against eating the new crops must also apply to crops grown outside Eretz Yisroel.
Interestingly, Rambam (Hilchos Temidin 7:5) says that the Omer must come from grain that grew in Eretz Yisroel and also (Hilchos Ma’achalos Asuros 10:2) that even new crops grown outside Eretz Yisroel are forbidden until the Omer is brought (or until the day it would have been brought), which goes against the Talmud’s implication that if the new crops are forbidden even outside Eretz Yisroel, they can be brought for the Omer offering. This issue is discussed by several Acharonim; Aruch HaShulchan (YD 293:4) suggests that while those who allow the Omer to be brought from grain that grew outside Eretz Yisroel must also be of the opinion that new crops are forbidden even outside Eretz Yisroel, those who require the Omer to be brought from grain grown in Eretz Yisroel need not connect it with the prohibition against eating the new crops, which could therefore be prohibited outside Eretz Yisroel as well.
Whether new crops are, in fact, prohibited outside Eretz Yisroel has been a major topic throughout the generations, starting with the Mishna and the Gemara (Kiddushin 37a). Until relatively recently, it was rare to find anyone living outside Eretz Yisroel who avoided eating Chodosh, despite it being prohibited by Rambam, Tur and Shulchan Aruch (YD 293). Aruch HaShulchan goes through the various approaches for being lenient as well as their weaknesses. It is clear that the attempts to justify eating Chodosh were based on the extreme circumstances that would have arisen had a leniency not been found, as otherwise nothing made from wheat or barley (two of the five grains included in the prohibition) could be consumed for about half the year, meaning no bread and no beer-like drink (which were their staples). Aruch HaShulchan’s suggestion is that since it was considered an extreme need (“שעת הדחק”), we can rely on those Rishonim who followed the Chachamim (in Kiddushin), who allowed Chodosh outside Eretz Yisroel (as opposed to R’ Eliezer, who forbade it).
Generally speaking, this “extreme need” no longer applies, as evidenced by the large number of people who currently avoid Chodosh products. Some suggest that the widespread reliance on leniencies over the many decades (when there was a “שעת הדחק”) created a “Minhag” that supersedes the Halachic process. Aside from relying on Minhag outweighing Halacha, it’s unclear if this qualifies as a real Minhag. Either way, now is a great time to consider avoiding Chodosh, since everything “Chodosh” became permissible over Pesach, and the next “new” crops likely won’t hit the market until the end of the summer, leaving plenty of time to stock up on items not easily available later (e.g. pasta and cereals), as well as to research which establishments have Yoshon items all year long.
I recently began reading Yitzhak D. Gilat’s “R. Eliezer ben Hyrcanus,” and he suggests that R’ Eliezer “preserve[d] and reflect[ed] the ancient halakhic tradition of Temple times,” which “conflicted with the trends active (in the Sanhedrin) at Yavneh towards molding the shape of the halakhah, in response to the changes which had set in with the destruction of the Temple.” Our editions of the Talmud (in Kiddushin) almost always have the abbreviation ר”א rather than spelling out which Tanna forbade Chodosh everywhere, so it’s unclear whether it was actually R’ Eliezer (ben Hyrcanus). (Even though our editions do have “R’ Eliezer” once, “Eliezer” and “Elazar” have been interchanged often enough not to rely on it.])Nevertheless, the manuscripts of our Gemara consistently have “R’ Eliezer” (although they have “R’ Elazar” in the Mishna!), and the Mishna (Kiddushin 1:9) also has “R’ Eliezer.” If it was R’ Eliezer ben Hyracunus who insisted that Chodosh was prohibited everywhere, and the Chachamim who argued with him did so because they knew that after the Temple’s destruction the nation would be exiled to areas where storing Yoshon grain wouldn’t be feasible, the Halachic process worked out well, בס”ד.
Normally, the Halacha follows the majority, which, in this case, would mean that new grain grown outside Eretz Yisroel would be permitted even before the Omer was brought. But the “extreme need” the Chachamim might have been concerned about didn’t really apply everywhere, or all the time. The major פוסקים (Rambam, Tur, Shulchan Aruch) followed R’ Eliezer—likely because the Mishna in ערלה they based their פסק on reflected the original Halacha—thereby allowing/requiring us to avoid Chodosh when possible, while other פוסקים followed the Chachamim, thereby allowing the masses to have what to eat and drink when Yoshon was not easily available.
Rabbi Dov Kramer has avoided eating Chodosh since late 1984. If anyone wants information or help navigating this biblical prohibition, he can be contacted at [email protected].
