(יג) חַ֧ג הַסֻּכֹּ֛ת תַּעֲשֶׂ֥ה לְךָ֖ שִׁבְעַ֣ת יָמִ֑ים בְּאׇ֨סְפְּךָ֔ מִֽגׇּרְנְךָ֖ וּמִיִּקְבֶֽךָ׃ (יד) וְשָׂמַחְתָּ֖ בְּחַגֶּ֑ךָ אַתָּ֨ה וּבִנְךָ֤ וּבִתֶּ֙ךָ֙ וְעַבְדְּךָ֣ וַאֲמָתֶ֔ךָ וְהַלֵּוִ֗י וְהַגֵּ֛ר וְהַיָּת֥וֹם וְהָאַלְמָנָ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר בִּשְׁעָרֶֽיךָ׃ (טו) שִׁבְעַ֣ת יָמִ֗ים תָּחֹג֙ לַיהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ בַּמָּק֖וֹם אֲשֶׁר־יִבְחַ֣ר יְהֹוָ֑ה כִּ֣י יְבָרֶכְךָ֞ יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֗יךָ בְּכֹ֤ל תְּבוּאָֽתְךָ֙ וּבְכֹל֙ מַעֲשֵׂ֣ה יָדֶ֔יךָ וְהָיִ֖יתָ אַ֥ךְ שָׂמֵֽחַ׃
(3) You shall not eat anything leavened with it; for seven days thereafter you shall eat unleavened bread, bread of distress—for you departed from the land of Egypt hurriedly—so that you may remember the day of your departure from the land of Egypt as long as you live. (4) For seven days no leaven shall be found with you in all your territory, and none of the flesh of what you slaughter on the evening of the first day shall be left until morning. (5) You are not permitted to slaughter the passover sacrifice in any of the settlements that your God יהוה is giving you; (6) but at the place where your God יהוה will choose to establish the divine name, there alone shall you slaughter the passover sacrifice, in the evening, at sundown, the time of day when you departed from Egypt. (7) You shall cook and eat it at the place that your God יהוה will choose; and in the morning you may start back on your journey home. (8) After eating unleavened bread six days, you shall hold a solemn gathering for your God יהוה on the seventh day: you shall do no work. (9) You shall count off seven weeks; start to count the seven weeks when the sickle is first put to the standing grain. (10) Then you shall observe the Feast of Weeks for your God יהוה, offering your freewill contribution according as your God יהוה has blessed you. (11) You shall rejoice before your God יהוה with your son and daughter, your male and female slave, the [family of the] Levite in your communities, and the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow in your midst, at the place where your God יהוה will choose to establish the divine name. (12) Bear in mind that you were slaves in Egypt, and take care to obey these laws. (13) After the ingathering from your threshing floor and your vat, you shall hold the Feast of Booths for seven days. (14) You shall rejoice in your festival, with your son and daughter, your male and female slave, the [family of the] Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow in your communities. (15) You shall hold a festival for your God יהוה seven days, in the place that יהוה will choose; for your God יהוה will bless all your crops and all your undertakings, and you shall have nothing but joy.
אֵלּוּ דְבָרִים שֶׁאָדָם יוֹצֵא בָהֶן יְדֵי חוֹבָתוֹ בְּפֶסַח, בְּחִטִּים, בִּשְׂעוֹרִים, בְּכֻסְּמִין וּבְשִׁיפוֹן וּבְשִׁבֹּלֶת שׁוּעָל. וְיוֹצְאִין בִּדְמַאי וּבְמַעֲשֵׂר רִאשׁוֹן שֶׁנִּטְּלָה תְרוּמָתוֹ, וּבְמַעֲשֵׂר שֵׁנִי וְהֶקְדֵּשׁ שֶׁנִּפְדּוּ, וְהַכֹּהֲנִים בְּחַלָּה וּבִתְרוּמָה. אֲבָל לֹא בְטֶבֶל, וְלֹא בְמַעֲשֵׂר רִאשׁוֹן שֶׁלֹּא נִטְּלָה תְרוּמָתוֹ, וְלֹא בְמַעֲשֵׂר שֵׁנִי וְהֶקְדֵּשׁ שֶׁלֹּא נִפְדּוּ. חַלּוֹת תּוֹדָה וּרְקִיקֵי נָזִיר, עֲשָׂאָן לְעַצְמוֹ, אֵין יוֹצְאִין בָּהֶן. עֲשָׂאָן לִמְכֹּר בַּשּׁוּק, יוֹצְאִין בָּהֶן:
These are the types of grain with which a person fulfills his obligation to eat matza on the first night of Passover: With wheat, with barley, with spelt [kusmin], with rye [shifon], and with oats [shibbolet shu’al]. And one fulfills his obligation by eating not only matza made from properly tithed grains, but even with matza made from doubtfully tithed produce, and matza made with first tithe from which its teruma was already taken, or second tithe and consecrated food that were redeemed. And priests may eat matza prepared from ḥalla, the portion of dough that is given to priests, or with teruma, as priests are permitted to eat these portions. However, one may not fulfill one’s obligation to eat matza made with untithed produce, nor with matza made from the first tithe from which its teruma was not separated, nor with matza made either from the second tithe, nor from consecrated grain that was not redeemed. With regard to one who prepared loaves of matza that are brought with a thanks-offering, or to the wafers brought by a nazirite, the Sages drew the following distinction: If he prepared them for himself, then he does not fulfill his obligation to eat matza with them. However, if he prepared them to sell them in the market to those who require these loaves or wafers, one fulfills the obligation to eat matza with them.
Rashi originally defined SS as oats, and others agree, but other rishonim believe he is wrong including rambam. SS does not fit the botanical description in the Mishnah, Gemara, or shulchan aruch.
- SS is definitely (pesachim 35a) a subspecies of barley. Oats is clearly not a part of the barley family – it is a distinct species of grain, unlike segala, which is a form of barley. Segala (a subspecies of barely) and barley cross breed, and oats and barley do not.
- the Mishnah in Kilaim 1:1 indicates that שבולת שועל and שיפון and barley can all cross-breed, which is simply false for oats (but true for segala).
- This ability to crossbreed is explicitly codified in Shulchan Aruch YD 297:14 so the classification of oats as שבולת שועל is inconsistent with the text of the Shulchan Aruch.
- Looking at the plants and the grain themselves, it is clear that oats do not even look like barley, unlike segala (which does). The pictures show that oats bear much less physical resemblance to barley than segala).
- Needs to rise!! We clearly see that to be considered one of the 5 grains it needs to ferment (35a) which is why they rejected rice as a possibility.
- oat were not commonly grown in Israel at the time of the mishna (there is also some discussion that past were not even eaten by people until the 1800’s)
- Shibboleth shual = foxtail. Possibly comes from the fact that foxes liked eating two row barely (segala)
- the Jerusalem Talmud in Challah 1:1 notes that שבולת שועל grows in a row, which is consistent with the definition of segala (also known as two-rowed barley) and not for oats.
Oat Matzah
Strong tradition not to use oat matzah at the seder
Saying a beracha on oat matzah is clearly a beracha lvatalah. Safek, we say don’t say the beracha.
- What laws apply to shibolet shual and the other 4 grains, but not to other grains?
- You would say hamotzi on it (As a side note, an interesting story is told that Rav Shlomo Zalman Aurbach used to say Shehakol on oats but Rav Elyashiv told him that since it was considered a grain all these years we shouldn’t change and should still say mezonot on it. It seems his explanation is not because it is a grain but just because we should continue what we have always done even if mistaken.)
- You would say birkat hamazon on it
- You can make matzah mitzvah out of it
- If mixed with water it would become hametz
- You can’t eat it before the omer is given (kemach yashan laws apply to it)
- The laws of hafrashat challah apply to it
- If you ate shibolet shual bread on sukkot you would be required to sit in the sukkah
- You would not violate kilayim laws, by planting barely Shibolet Shual and barley, since they are from the same family.
- Who thinks Shibolet Shual is not Oats but is rather 2-row barley
- Rambam in his Arabic translation to the Mishnah.
- Rabbi Kaphach corroborates this.
- Shulchan Aruch – he writes that Shibolet Shual must be a grain that cross breeds with barley. Since oats fail that test, both Rambam and Shulchan Aruch, the two most prominent and followed Sephardic rabbis of the last 1000+ years rule that oats is NOT one of the 5 grains.
- Leket Yosher and Rabbenu Av Hayeshiva
- Anyone who reads the descriptions in #1 above and sees that oats does not match any of the descriptions
- Who thinks Shibolet Shual is not 2-row barley and is oats
- Rashi (and Rabbenu Gershom). As a reminder Rashi, living away from the Middle East mistranslated many flora and fauna in the Bible. Not because he wasn’t an extremely well-versed rabbi, but simply because he grew up with a different language, culture, environment, and had not experienced the Middle Eastern environment of his ancestors.
- Anyone who follows Rashi regardless of oats not matching anything of what Shibolet Shual is and despite it not being able to rise and ferment and ability to turn into bread.
- On Passover can you eat Oats that were mixed with water?
- The bottom line is up to you. Of course oats that were mixed and water and it was made sure it didn’t rise is sold as oat matzah and is for sure kosher for Passover.
- Oats that was mixed with water but was not watched for rising, should still be kosher for Passover since Oats never rise
- If you follow Rambam and Sephardic tradition, there should be no reason to consider oats as being Shibolet Shual or any of the 5 grains
- If you are Ashkenazi and follow Rashi, then you need to decide if you want to just follow him blindly and simply ignore all the data and proofs and simply assume Rashi is infallible, or if you want to educate yourself and follow the Talmudic law based on the clear evidence.
- Can you make hamotzi, birkat hamazon, al achilat matzah, hafrashat challah and the other laws in #3 above on oats?
- Absolutely not. This is no matter what you believe and no matter which tradition you follow, there is too much evidence against oats being Shibolet Shual that one cannot make a beracha levatala on oats. The beracha should be shehakol or adama depending on what is done with the oats.