Yashan
Definition
In the Torah it says "You must not eat any bread, or roasted or new grain, until the very day you bring this offering to your God. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live." [1] Based on this verse, there is a concept derived called "Yoshon" (literally meaning "old") such that any grain product that is harvested before the 16th of Nissan cannot be eaten until after the passage of that date, which then transforms the food from the prohibited status of Chodosh to the permitted status of Yoshon.
In the Diaspora
There is a debate in the Gemara regarding the applicability of the prohibition to the diaspora. [2] Nearly all the Rishonim rule that the prohibition applies equally to the diaspora [3] However, a minority group believe that it is only a rabbinic prohibition outside of Israel. [4]
Other Spellings
Yoshon; Yoshen
References
- ↑ Leviticus 23:14
- ↑ Mishna on Kidushin 36B-37A and the ensuing Gemara
- ↑ Including the Rambam (Hilchot Maachalot Assurot 10:2), the Rif (Kiddushin 15a in the pages of the Rif), the Rosh (Kiddushin 1:62), and the Tur (Orach Chaim 489)
- ↑ the Or Zarua (328), Rabbeinu Baruch (quoted in Teshuvot Harosh 2:1), the Raavan (according to Teshuvot Mishkenot Yaakov 64), and the Maharil.
