Which of The 7 Species Are Used in Measurement? | Rabbi Stewart Weiss | Beit Midrash

Beit Midrash

Jewish Laws and Thoughts
Berachot - Blessings
Brachot on Food and on Smell

קטגוריה משנית

Parashat Hashavua Series'Library Piskei Din (Hebrew)Test Yourself

In truth, all of the Sheva Minim (wheat, barley, (grape)vines, figs, pomegranates, olives & (date) honey) relate to measurements. BIG gave the complete picture, quoting from the Gemara Eruvin 4: The time it takes to eat half a loaf of wheat bread was the basis for the time required for one to become ritually impure when entering a house afflicted with leprosy; a bone from a corpse the size of a grain of barley imparts ritual impurity through contact; a Nazir may not drink ¼ log of wine (grapes); carrying in a public domain on Shabbat a thing that is fig-size is prohibited; broken vessels with holes the size of pomegranates do not become tamei; many different items are viable halachically if they are the size of an olive; and honey - i.e. dates from which date honey is extracted - also determines a measure with regard to eating on Yom Kippur, as one is liable only if eating a large date-bulk of food. BIG really measured up on this one!

Brachot on Food and on Smell