May Israelis eat grain products produced abroad?

25.02.2012                      02.Adar. 5772                     Teruma

Frag den Rabbi:

May Israelis eat grain products produced abroad?

While there are those who believe the grains must be planted two weeks before the cutoff date, normative practice asserts that the grains must only have taken root by 13 Nisan.

In addition to commemorating significant historical events usually connected to the Exodus story, the major Jewish pilgrimage holidays mark significant points of the agricultural year. Passover, for example, heralds the beginning of the spring harvest (Hag Ha’aviv, the holiday of spring), which is marked by the omer sacrifice of the first grains of barley on the second day of the holiday (Leviticus 23:11).
Nestled within the holiday’s depiction is a significant restriction on the use of the first grains before the offering of the omer sacrifice….