Q&A: An Olive-Bulk
An Olive-Bulk
Question
In books I’ve seen that an olive-bulk of matzah is about a third of a machine-made matzah.
Now I see that it says on the Yerushalmi box, in this wording: the weight of one matzah is the measure of an olive-bulk.
I once heard in the name of a Torah scholar that an olive-bulk is exactly the size of an olive on the green tree of my neighbors—no less and no more.
Who is right?
The practical difference is if we merit to have a Second Passover now, to know how much an olive-bulk is,
or for next year in rebuilt Jerusalem.
Answer
I don’t know who is right. Seemingly, the Torah scholar you quoted is right. How that fits with the proportional calculations that lead to the commonly accepted frighteningly large measures—I don’t know. Simply speaking, the measure really is like an olive.
Discussion on Answer
In the words of the Sages there is no explicit ratio at all between the olive and other volume measures, and there is no difficulty with our small olive based on the length of the cubit or the size of the egg according to any of the views about their size.
Correct, it’s in the medieval authorities (Rishonim). That eases the difficulty but doesn’t eliminate it.
But the Talmud says there is room for two olives in the swallowing area.
Wow.