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The Mishnayot in this perek have been discussing the laws of ḥadash – the new grains that are permitted only after the second day of Passover. The Mishna on our daf enumerates the types of grain that fall into this category – wheat, rye, oats, barley and spelt – all of which are also obligated in the mitzva of ḥalla.
In the Gemara Reish Lakish explains that the Mishna specifically comes to exclude orez – rice (oryza sativa) – and doḥan– millet (panicum miliaceum). He derives this from the parallel between the commandment to separate ḥalla when eating leḥem (see Bamidbar 15:19-21), and the commandment to eat matza – leḥem oni – for it is specifically from these types of grains that matza can be made. The Gemara learns this from the passage (Devarim 16:3) that forbids the eating of ḥametz in the same context as the command to eat matza, connecting the two to one-another.
We explore the halachic ramifications of the definition of the 5 grains for such issues as Pesach, rice and kitnyot.