Beer,Bread and Hadash

Adapted from Rabbi David Bassous, Congregation Etz Ahaim , Highland Park NJ

One of the laws that has been neglected, outside Israel, until now, and is just starting to come into vogue is that of hadash and yashan. Today one may notice many kosher bakeries have signs that read "We use yashan flour." For many, these signs have no meaning and draw blank stares, even people who understand Hebrew may be baffled by these signs. 

This article will explain what ‘hadash and yashan’ flour is, and will strive to delineate the halakhic basis for this law. It will also examine the various diverse opinions that exist and guide the reader to practical observance.

 The Five Species of Grain

The following are referred to in halakhah as the ‘hameshet haminim’ (five grains):

1. Oat.
2. Wheat.
3. Barley.
4. Rye .
5. Spelt.

Certain distinct Jewish laws apply to them that are not applicable to other grains, fruits or vegetables as follows:

Beer and Other Alcoholic Beverages

The Pnei Yehoshua, Mishkenot Yaakov and others are lenient regarding beer and other alcoholic beverages that are made from hadash produce. Their rationale is that the Talmud defines all fruit juices as ‘zeya bealma’ sweat of the fruit but not its main fruit and because of this definition the Talmud states that the blessing over all fruit juices is ‘shehakol.’ The exceptions to this rule are the grape and olive which are frown specifically for their juices which are the main part of the fruit. The liquids obtained from grains that are then processed into beer fall into the category of ‘zeya bealma’ they are therefore permitted according to Torah law even when the grain is forbidden as they are not considered a part of the grain. Outside Israel since there is a debate as to the law regarding hadash one may be lenient regarding beer. Rabbi Ovadia Yoseph quotes this Pnei Yehoshua in an analysis of the halakhic status of steam.

The Crops of North America

Generally in North America there are two kinds of crops: winter crops and spring crops.

Spring crops are generally planted around Pesah however since they only take root (hashrashah) after the fifteenth of Nissan they are halakhically considered hadash. They only become yashan on the following sixteenth of Nissan or later.

Winter crops are planted in the fall, lie dormant in the winter and finish growing in the spring and summer when they are harvested. Since they take root before the sixteenth of Nissan they are always yashan.

In the United States spelt and rye are always winter crops and are therefore always yashan whereas barley and oats are almost all spring crops and are therefore hadash. Wheat however, is available in either spring or winter varieties.

All grain that took root before Pesach (sixteenth of Nissan) are yashan and therefore all grains that are available from the sixteenth of Nissan until the harvest of the spring crop which is in August are yashan.

There are different varieties of wheat each with different gluten content. Wheat flour can be divided into four groups.

1. High gluten flour, which is used for chewy products like: bread, hallah, and pizza. These are usually made from spring wheat.
2. Medium gluten flour is made from both winter and spring wheat it is used for: pizza, hallah and bread.
3. Low gluten flour made from winter wheat is used for crumbly products such as: cookies, matzah, and pretzels.
4. Durum wheat very high gluten content is usually a spring crop in the United States except Arizona and is used in pasta products.

The only way to make the spring flour yashan is by storing it until after the following Pesach.

In the USA high gluten spring wheat is only grown in four states, all of them are clustered in the upper Midwest : North Dakota , South Dakota , Montana and Minnesota . The harvest starts in South Dakota around the beginning of August and works its way north. This wheat belt continues northward into Canada where it is harvested even later.

The New York State mills obtain their high gluten wheat from Duluth , Minnesota . It's harvest starts about the second week in August. The Hadash flour starts arriving in the New York mills a couple of weeks later in the beginning of September.

Israel

There is no question that the laws of Hadash should be strictly adhered to in Israel as according to all our legal decisors Hadash in Israel is a Torah requirement.

The United States

The overwhelming majority of kashrut certifying agencies in the United States certify as kosher Hadash grain derivatives relying on the lenient Ashkenazi custom and legal decisors mentioned above.

The prevailing custom of the American Sephardic communities is to rely on the popular kashrut authorities’ lenient ruling. However certainly in places where Yashan is readily available with no incurred inconvenience it would be advisable for Sepharadim to be strict in this regard.