Daf Yomi - Rosh Hashana 13 - IS THE NEW GRAIN WORSE THAN PIG?

Rav Kahana was asked by his contemporaries regarding the korban omer that the Jews brought when they entered Eretz Yisroel. They inquired of him as to where did the barley come from for this korban. It could not have been grown by a non-Jew for the Torah states that it should be from “your harvest.” The Gemora proves that the korban omer was brought that year from the verses in Yehoshua which state that the Jews ate from the new grain only on the day after Pesach began. It is evident that they originally did not eat because the korban was not brought and it was only on the second day of Pesach, which is the day the korban omer is brought that they began to eat from the new grain.

The Turei Even asks from the Gemora in Chulin 17a which states that during the seven years that the Jews were capturing Eretz Yisroel, they were even permitted to eat pig. Why could they not eat from the new grain as well, even without the offering of the korban omer?

One of the answers that are offered by the Acharonim is that only prohibitions that will not become permitted later were they allowed eating then. The new grain would become permitted with the bringing of the korban omer and therefore before the korban, it could not be eaten.

The Ohr Chodosh answers that only eating prohibitions were permitted then; For one to eat from the new grain, one would be required to harvest it first and that is also not allowed before the korban omer is brought. The prohibition of harvesting before the omer was not permitted at that time.