Menachos 10:2-3

Menachos 10:2

The mitzvah of the omer requires that it be brought from somewhere close to Jerusalem. If the barley near Jerusalem was not yet ripe, then it could be brought from anywhere. It once happened that the omer was brought from Gagos Tzrifin (near Lud) and the two loaves were brought from the plain of Ein Socher (near Shechem).

Menachos 10:3

The omer was reaped as follows: the court’s representatives went out on erev Pesach and tied the unreaped stalks of barley into bunches to make them easier to reap. People came from all the neighboring towns so that the omer might be reaped with great fanfare. Once night fell on 16 Nisan, the reaper asked the people whether the sun has set and they replied in the affirmative. He asked again whether the sun has set and they again replied in the affirmative. (This was done three times.) He then asked whether he should use that sickle and they replied in the affirmative. This question was also repeated (for three times). He next asked whether he should reap into that basket and they replied in the affirmative. This question was also repeated (for three times). On Shabbos, he asked whether he should reap on Shabbos and they replied in the affirmative, again repeating (for three times). Finally, he asked, “Shall I reap?” and they replied, “Reap!” (Again three times.) This procedure was so heavily publicized because of the Boethusians (a heretical sect, comparable to the Sadducees) who claimed that the omer was not meant to be reaped at the conclusion of the first day of Passover.