daf bit: Menachot 71

[cellio]

The mishna on today's daf discusses the omer (grain) offering brought on Pesach. The grain is not supposed to be reaped in advance (and if it is, you are not permitted to tie it into sheaves), but there are several circumstances under which it is permitted, or perhaps even required, to reap early. The omer offering is to be brought from the standing grain (i.e. not reaped in advance) so that the crop will be reaped specifically for the fulfillment of this command. If it cannot be brought from the standing grain then it may be brought from that already reaped, but it should be brought from the fresh harvest. If this is not possible it may be brought from the dry. The omer is to be reaped at night (but is still valid if reaped by day), and this overrides Shabbat: if Pesach is on a Saturday, the grain is reaped Friday night. (71a)

Comments

[dvarin.livejournal.com]

I vaguely wonder about the practical problems of wielding a sickle at night--it seems prone to self-injury at the least.

[cellio]

Hmm, good point. I don't know.

One thing that helps is that the moon will be full.