7

Does the prohibition against consuming new grain ("Chodosh") before the second day of Passover (Leveticus 23:14) apply only in the Land of Israel or in the Diaspora as well? (Sources appreciated)

3

4 Answers 4

12

Those who hold it is forbidden in the Diaspora:

Rif, Rosh, Rambam, Rav Avraham Ben HaRambam, Semag, Semak, Ittur, Mordechai, Raavyah, Haghot Maymoniot, Ritva, Eshkol, Kolbo, Tashbetz, Sefer HaChinuch, Or Zarua, Rabbeinu Yerucham, Meiri, Terumat HaDeshen, Piskei Tosfot, Haghot Ashiri, Tur, Bach, Beit Yosef, Rama.

Those who hold it is permitted in the Diaspora:

Rabbeinu Baruch, Riva.

I'm keeping this to pre-Shulchan Aruch. Please edit in any other rishonim you can find.

Sources: Last Biur Halacha on OC 489; Tur YD 293; Chinuch 303; Toldot Adam VeChava 5:4:45; Kolbo 56; Beit HaBechira Challah 1; Semak 217; Shut Rav Avraham Ben HaRambam 85; Terumat HaDeshen 191; Eshkol 159b; Maamar Chametz LeRashbatz 140

4
  • 1
    Bet Yosef and Rama are pre-Shulchan Aruch? Apr 9, 2012 at 12:30
  • 2
    @Vram Sure! They are also post-SA.
    – Double AA
    Apr 9, 2012 at 14:57
  • The Bach though is post shulchan aruch.
    – Loewian
    Dec 10, 2014 at 22:46
  • @loewian I know, I know. He's sufficiently viewed by people as pre-shulchan arukh (as evidenced by the fact that you are the first person in three years to notice I snuck him in) that I think it's worth bending precision to include him because of how strong a point it is that even he, who wanted to justify the alleged minhag, didn't dare argue on consensus in this regard.
    – Double AA
    Dec 10, 2014 at 23:11
6

It's a machlokes Tanna'im, Amora'im, Rishonim, Achronim and contemporary poskim. The original machlokes is how to interpret "bchol moshvoseichem" in the Torah. Most of the standard rishonim holds it does apply mdoraysa in chutz l'aretz (Rambam, Rif, Rosh) and this is how the shulchan aruch paskens. Most people have been lenient on this issue for a long time, with various kulos suggested (see Rema, Bach, Taz, Aruch haShulchan).

3
  • 1
    The biblical nature of the prohibition is what's disputed. Even the minority position agrees there's a rabbinic prohibition in chutz la'aretz.
    – Loewian
    Apr 23, 2015 at 15:18
  • @Loewian "Even the minority position agrees there's a rabbinic prohibition in chutz la'aretz." But many of them hold that chutz la'aretz only includes lands near Israel, similar to (Aruch Hashulchan) other rabbinical prohibitions on agriculture like terumah. So no, (some of) those held it was allowed in say Europe or Russia.
    – MichoelR
    Nov 28, 2021 at 13:55
  • Perhaps. But in any case, it applies unanimously to at least part of the diaspora. (And seemingly, only those who do not practice the separating of challah would rely on that minority opinion?)
    – Loewian
    Nov 29, 2021 at 6:25
3

The prohibition to eat "new" grain (grain which was harvested after the day of the omer offering, which is on Day 2 of Pesach) does apply in the Diaspora, according to most poskim.

However:

Wheat often sits in silos for a year or two after harvesting, before it is made into flour. grains like barley are dried and sealed in plastic bags, and they can sit in a warehouse or on the shelf for years.

The Rema brings a double doubt: maybe the grain product you now possess is old, and even if it was harvested this year, maybe it took root before Pesach.

R' Moshe Feinstein says that one may rely on this Rema, but it is better to be strict, if possible.

http://www.torahlab.org/download/yoshon_and_chodosh.pdf

Until recently, most kosher consumers in the Diaspora were not able to be strict.

Today, one can obtain a list of barcodes for bags of flour in the supermarket (at least in the United States). Thus, it is possible to find out exactly when any given bag of flour was milled. If it was milled before Pesach of this year, obviously the grain took root before Pesach, and it is yoshon.

I couldn't find a specific website for barcodes, but this site will help anyone who wants to start ensuring that all grain in their own home is yoshon http://www.star-k.org/kashrus/kk-yoshon-prepyoshon.htm

Certainy one may rely on the Rema, as cited by R' Moshe Feinstein, and eat in the home of any shomer kashrus, or any reliably certified kosher restaurant, regardless of their zeal with barcode checking on bags of flour and dried barley.

However, the issur of chadash is a Torah prohibition. If one has sufficient storage space at home to purchase all grain products before the first chadash could possibly hit the stores (if memory serves, you have from pesach until at least Rosh Hashannah), that is a praiseworthy practice.

3
  • I'm not sure the sefeik sefeika has to do with the question. The Rama agrees that Chadash applies in the Diaspora. Isn't that all the question asked?
    – Double AA
    Jan 2, 2012 at 14:58
  • 1
    @DoubleAA just to say "yes, issur chadash applies in the Diaspora" would not explain why many Orthodox Jews in the Diaspora do not meticulously check every barcode of every bag of flour or grain product during the fall and winter months. I filled in information to bridge the gap between "yes, it applies" and "every grain product you've ever eaten from Sukkos to Pesach is treif"
    – user1095
    Jan 2, 2012 at 16:31
  • @Will I still think that belongs in a separate question. Feel free to ask it and answer it yourself!
    – Double AA
    Jan 2, 2012 at 16:33
1

According to S"A Y"D 293 it applies everywhere and the Rama doesn't disagree. However, the Ashkenazim accepted the Bah (on the Tur) to be Mekil out of Eres Yisrael on gentiles grain.

3
  • 1
    The Shach, GRA and Aruch HaShulchan ad loc all reject the Bach, and they were all Ashkenzim.
    – Double AA
    Jan 2, 2012 at 0:36
  • 1
    Also, the Bach agrees that it applies in Chul, just that it doesn't apply for non-jews' grain.
    – Double AA
    Jan 2, 2012 at 0:43
  • 1
    @DoubleAA you keep yoshon? Jan 2, 2012 at 1:11

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .