וַאֲכַלְתֶּ֥ם יָשָׁ֖ן נוֹשָׁ֑ן וְיָשָׁ֕ן מִפְּנֵ֥י חָדָ֖שׁ תּוֹצִֽיאוּ׃
You shall eat old grain long stored, and you shall have to clear out the old to make room for the new.
ואכלתם ישן נושן. הַפֵּרוֹת יִהְיוּ מִשְׁתַּמְרִין וְטוֹבִים לְהִתְיַשֵּׁן, שֶׁיְּהֵא יָשָׁן הַנּוֹשָׁן שֶׁל שָׁלוֹשׁ שָׁנִים יָפֶה לֶאֱכֹל מִשֶּׁל אֶשְׁתָּקַד (בבא בתרא צ"א):
ואכלתם ישן נושן AND YE SHALL EAT STORE OF FORMER YEARS (lit., ye shall eat old that has become old) — This involves a promise that the fruits (grain) will be fit to keep the whole year and will even be of such good quality as to become old, so that the old grain that has grown old, that which is in its third year, will be better for food than that of the last year (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 3 1; cf. Bava Batra 91b).
וישן מפני חדש תוציאו. שֶׁיִּהְיוּ הַגְּרָנוֹת מְלֵאוֹת חָדָשׁ וְהָאוֹצָרוֹת מְלֵאוֹת יָשָׁן, וּצְרִיכִים אַתֶּם לְפַנּוֹת הָאוֹצָרוֹת לְמָקוֹם אַחֵר, לָתֵת הֶחָדָשׁ לְתוֹכָן (שם):
וישן מפני חדש תוציאו AND YE SHALL CLEAR OUT THAT OF THE FORMER YEARS BECAUSE OF THE NEW — because the threshing floors in the fields will be full of new grain while the granaries are still full of the old, so that you will have to clear the granaries out into another place in order to place the new fruit in them (for this requires a dry place to preserve them, while the old fruit has already become dry and may therefore be removed from the granaries) (Bava Batra 91b)
״וְיָשָׁן מִפְּנֵי חָדָשׁ תּוֹצִיאוּ״ – מְלַמֵּד שֶׁהָיוּ אוֹצָרוֹת מְלֵאִין יָשָׁן וָגֳרָנוֹת מְלֵאִין חָדָשׁ, וְהָיוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל אוֹמְרִים: הֵיאַךְ נוֹצִיא זֶה מִפְּנֵי זֶה? אָמַר רַב פָּפָּא: כׇּל מִילֵּי עַתִּיקָא – מְעַלְּיָא, לְבַר מִתַּמְרֵי, וְשִׁיכְרָא, וְהַרְסָנָא.
The continuation of the verse: “You shall bring forth the old from before the new,” teaches that there will be storehouses full of old produce and threshing floors full of new produce, and the Jewish people will say: How will we manage to take out this produce from the storehouse before that produce is brought in? Rav Pappa said: Everything that is old is superior in quality to the new, except for dates, liquor, and small fish, which are better when they are fresh.
ואכלתם ישן נושן. תרגום אונקלוס ותיכלון עתיקא דעתיק. הנ"ל עפ"י מ"ש בפי' הפיוט של שבת ואזמין בה השתא עתיקא קדישא. כי בשבת יורד השפע מעולם הזקן. ולעתיד יהיו כל הימים בבחי' עתיקא קדישא יום שכולו שבת. וז"פ ואכלתם ישן נושן בחי' הרחמים העליונים צריך להמשיך לעוה"ז. וישן מפני חדש תוציאו. כי הנה בטובו מחדש בכל יום תמיד מעשה בראשית וכן איתא בתד"א בכל יום האדם נברא וצריך להמשיך הרחמים בבחינת התחדשות לעוה"ז וזהו מפני חדש ובעבורו תוציאו הרחמים דעתיק:
You will eat old grain: Targum Onlekos translates the words "old grain" as atik of atik. This is like the hymn that invites the atika kadisha. On Shabbat, the divine comes down from the Old World (atik). When Moshiach will come, all days will be on the level of atik which why it says that all days will be like Shabbat. This is the meaning of "you will eat old grain": this refers to the mercy of Hashem that we must bring to this world. "You have remove the old grain for the sake of the new grain." Hashem renews each day with His goodness, and every person is created anew and Hashem must bring down His mercy to renew people in this world. Hashem has to bring out the mercy from atik, the old world.
A Zen Parable (as told by Tom Das) - Story referenced by Rabbi Rachel Barenblatt
Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era (1868-1912), received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen.
Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitor’s cup full, and then kept on pouring.
The professor watched the overflow until he no longer could restrain himself. ‘It is overfull. No more will go in!’
‘Like this cup,’ Nan-in said, ‘you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?’