Dear Rabbi, thank you for your answers, may Hashem bless you! It is verse 14 that confuse me: Lev 23:14 And ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears, until the selfsame day that ye have brought an offering unto your God: [it shall be] a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. Parched corn or green ears doesn’t contain chamets (as far as I know), are that also forbidden during HaMatsah? Or is this prohibition referring to something else, i.e. to the time period from after sunset on the 15th to the next day after the offering that we should not eat any grain product? thank you and shalom Gerhard

Shalom, Thank you for your follow up question. The verse you ask about, Lev 23, 14, is referring to a very special law that applies to new grains each year. The Torah forbids eating the new grain crop until the 16th of Nissan (the second day of Passover). Any grains growing before that date are forbidden for consumption. On the 16th of Nissan a special offering was given in the Temple, called the Omer offering. It was from the new grain. After this was offered up, all grains became permitted to eaten. (After the destruction of the Temple we wait another day to permit the new grains). This law does not contradict the law not to eat leaven (hametz). The grains themselves become permitted on this day (by way of the offering), but because it's still Passover, they must be baked in a way that will not cause them to become leaven – such as baking them into matzah. The correct translation of the hebrew verse is “You shall not eat bread or [flour made from] parched grain or fresh grain, until this very day, until you bring your God's sacrifice. [This is] an eternal statute throughout your generations in all your dwelling places. “ Blessings.