Kommentar zu Maaser Sheni 1:9

מעשר שני אין מוכרין אותו – even carrying it to Jerusalem since it is holy. And the anonymous Mishnah is according to Rabbi Meir who said that the Second Tithe money belongs to On High [i.e., God].

Introduction The Torah calls maaser sheni “holy” (Leviticus 27:30). Our mishnah teaches that it must be treated as holy produce and not as one would treat hullin, non-sanctified food.

אין מחליפין אותו – He should not say to him [his fellow]: Here is wine and give me oil; [or here is] oil and give me wine.

Second tithe: one may not sell it, use it as a pledge, exchange it, or use it as a weight. It is forbidden to act in any of these ways with maaser sheni because this is how one might typically treat non-sacred produce one sells it, uses it as a pledge to secure a loan, and one exchanges it with friends. “Using it as a weight” does not refer to actually weighing maaser sheni but rather it refers to using maaser sheni whose weight is known as a counterweight on a scale. The mishnah is probably referring to maaser sheni coins which were exchanged for the maaser sheni produce.

ואין שוקלין כנגדו – A Selah’s-worth of unconsecrated food in exchange for a Selah’s worth of Second Tithe, because of the despising of the commandment [involved].

One may not say to his friend [even] in Jerusalem: “Here is [second tithe] wine, give me [in exchange] oil, and the same with all other produce. This section emphasizes that one cannot exchange maaser sheni products one for another, even if one is in Jerusalem, where maaser sheni must be brought. Again, this is not considered a respectful act and shouldn’t be done with maaser sheni.

ולא יאמר אדם לחבירו בירושלים – Above we are speaking about outside of Jerusalem, but here it comes to teach us that even in Jerusalem when we purchase with its value food or drink, one is not permitted to exchange them.

But people may give it to one another as a free gift. Giving maaser sheni to another person as a present, when one does not expect anything in return, is not disgraceful and therefore it may be done.

וכן שאשר כל הפירות – Even their fruits of [Second] tithe themselves, for it is not other than a Rabbinic ordinance.

אבל נותנים זה לזה מתנת חנם – such as when one invites him to eat with him at his table, which are the words of all [opinions] , but to give him an actual gift is prohibited, according to the one who says that a gift is like a sale.

אין מוכרין אותו – for we derive [through an analogy made – actually היקש – from two verses in close proximity one to the other] גאולה גאולה – derived from חרמים /property set apart for the priest’s or Temple use. It is stated concerning tithes (Leviticus 27:33): “it cannot be redeemed/לא יגאל ,” and it is stated concerning property set apart for the priest’s or Temple use (Leviticus 27:28): “[But of all that anyone owns, be it man or beast or land of his holding, nothing that he has proscribed for the LORD may be sold or proscribed; "לא ימכר ולא יגאל"[every proscribed thing is totally consecrated to the LORD].” Just as there (in the section concerning tithes) it states that the sale is with him, so too here in the case of proscribed property, the sale is with him.

Introduction Since yesterday’s mishnah taught that one cannot sell maaser sheni, today’s mishnah compares and contrasts this rule with rules governing cattle tithes, and first-born animals.

תמים חי – And the same law applies regarding that which is slaughtered, as it says, “nothing…may be…proscribed” and is not sold (see Leviticus 27:28 above), whether living nor slaughtered nor unblemished nor blemished, but an unblemished animal, its fat and its blood are offered on the altar and its meat is eaten by its owners in Jerusalem. But a blemished animal – its owners eat it in every place [other than Jerusalem]. And since the Mishnah needed to teach at the end regarding a first-born animal that we sell it unblemished [and] alive, the Mishnah also teaches at the beginning of an unblemished living [animal] that is alive.

Tithe of cattle: one may not sell it when it is unblemished and alive, and when it is blemished [one may not sell it] neither alive nor slaughtered, nor may one betroth a woman with it. The tenth of every domesticated animal born into one’s flock must be tithed. The animal’s fat and blood are offered on the altar and its meat can be eaten by the owners (or anyone else) in Jerusalem (see Leviticus 27:32-33). When it is blemished it can be eaten anywhere by anybody and none of it is offered on the altar. With regard to the cattle tithe the Torah specifically states, “It shall not be redeemed” (Leviticus 27:28). The rabbis understood this to mean that it also cannot be sold. While the mishnah says that this is prohibited when the animal is alive, the Talmud understands that it is also prohibited when it has been slaughtered, and it does not matter whether it is unblemished or blemished. It cannot be treated as money and therefore, after having been slaughtered, it cannot be used as betrothal money in betrothing a woman.

ואין מקדשין בו את האשה – for it is like a sale

A first-born animal: one may sell it when it is unblemished and alive, and when blemished [one may sell it] both alive and slaughtered, and one may betroth a wife with it. Similar to the cattle tithe, the fat and blood of the first born animal must be offered on the altar. The meat belongs to the priests and when it is unblemished only priests may eat it. When it is blemished, anyone can eat it, and therefore, the priest may sell it or its meat to a non-priest and anyone can use it to betroth a woman. When it is unblemished the priests may sell it as long as it is still alive. However, after it has been slaughtered it may not be sold because this is considered disgracing a sacrifice.

הבכור מוכרים אותו תמים חי – because concerning a first-born, it is written (Numbers 18:17): “[But the firstlings of cattle, sheep, or goats] may not be redeemed; [they are consecrated. You shall dash their blood against the altar, and turn their fat into smoke as a gift for a pleasing owner to the LORD],” but they can be sold.

One may not redeem second tithe with unstamped coins, nor with coins which are not current, nor for money which is not in one's possession. Maaser sheni must be redeemed for usable coins. This would exclude unstamped coins, whose value is equivalent only to the value of the metal, non-current coins, stamped by governments that no longer rule, and coins to which a person does not have access. The coin must be stamped, usable and accessible in order to use it to redeem maaser sheni.

ומקדשין בו את האשה – since it is the money of the Kohen, and it is permissible to sell it.

אסימון – a coin that lacks a shape/form on it, and we do not redeem Second Tithe with it, as it is written (Deuteronomy 14:25): “[you may convert it into money.] Wrap up the money (in your hand) [and take it with you to the place that the LORD your God has chosen],” money that has upon it a shape/form.

ולא על המטבע שאינו יוצא – as it is written (Deuteronomy 14:26): “and spend the money on anything you want [ - cattle, sheep, wine, or any other intoxicant, or anything you may desire…,” except for money that is not current use, for he is not able to purchase with it anything that he wants.

ולא על המעות שאינן ברשותו – such as the case where his purse fell into the Great Sea (i.e., Mediterranean Sea), he is not able to redeem [his] Second Tithe with the monies that are within it, for he must hire someone who sails over the sea to remove it.

הלוקח בהמה לזבחי שלמים – from the monies of the Second Tithe, for this is the main object of the commandment of the monies of Second Tithe – to purchase from them peace-offerings, as we derive by a Gezerah Shavah/an analogy between two laws established on the basis of verbal incongruities in the text, as we derive from [the usage of[ שם שם from Mount Ebal (see: Deuteronomy 27:4-5 and Joshua 8: 30,32: “[Upon crossing the Jordan, you shall set up these stones, about which I charge you this day, on Mount Ebal, and coat them with plaster]. There/שם, [too, you shall built an altar to the LORD your God…..]” and “[At that time Joshua built an altar to the LORD, the God of Israel, on Mount Ebal….and] there/שם, [on the stones, he inscribed a copy of the Teaching that Moses had written for the Israelites].”

Introduction The rest of this chapter deals with using maaser sheni money to buy food in Jerusalem. There are two important rules to keep in mind here: first of all, food that one buys becomes holy and there are certain rules that apply to it. Second, one can only buy food products with maaser sheni money. If one buys non-food products with maaser sheni money, the tule is that he must go and buy in Jerusalem an equivalent value of food. Our mishnah teaches that if there is a product that contains both food and non-food parts, it can be bought with maaser sheni money and the non-food part of it does not become holy.

וחיה – which is not worthy for offering, and was purchased from the monies of the Second Tithe to eat desired meat, that is to say, non-sacred [meat].

One who bought a domesticated animal for a shelamim offering or a wild animal for non-sacrificial eating, the hide becomes hullin [non-sacred], even though the value of the hide exceeds the value of the flesh. It was considered normal to buy sacrifices with maaser sheni money. Only domesticated animals, sheep, goats and cows, can be used for such offerings. Wild animals such as deer are kosher, but cannot be used as sacrifices. One can buy them with maaser sheni money. In these cases, since he acted in a proper manner, the hide, which obviously cannot be eaten, becomes hullin, non-sacred. This is true even if the value of the hide is greater than that of the food-part of the animal, the flesh.

יצא העור לחולין – and you do not have to eat its monetary value in Jerusalem.

Sealed jars of wine [which were bought] in a place where they were usually sold sealed, the jars are hullin. The wine referred to here was sold in sealed jars, meaning that the jars were sold with the wine. This was typical of the place where he bought the wine. The jars were secondary to the wine, and therefore, the sanctity of the maaser sheni money is not transferred to the jugs. The jugs become non-sacred.

יצא הקנקן לחולין – and it is not necessary to sell it and to eat its monetary worth in the holiness of the [Second] Tithe in Jerusalem. And these words [apply regarding] when the seller and buyer are common people and they don’t desire anything other than meat to eat and wine to drink , but if one of them was an artisan who prepares hides, or [someone] who crafts earthenware [vessels] that now surely thinks of (literally, “puts his eye upon”) on hides or jars, he is like one who buys this for himself and the other who buys for himself – and they don’t fulfill [the Mitzvah in a state of being] non-sacred.

Walnuts and almonds, their shells become hullin. Nut shells, such as those of walnuts and almonds, remain hullin, because what he was really buying was the meat of the nuts. The shells were only secondary to the nuts themselves.

התמד – the refuse of grapes when he placed water upon them

Grape-skin wine: before it has fermented it cannot be bought with second tithe money, but after it has fermented it may be bought with second tithe money. Before grape-skin wine is fermented, it is considered like water. One cannot buy water with maaser sheni money because water is not food. Once it has been fermented, one can buy it with maaser sheni money.

אינו נקח בכסף מעשר – for they are considered like water and we require fruit, from fruit or what is grown in the ground.

נקח בכסף מעשר – for since it has soured, it is considered food, and we put upon it three and we find [that it becomes] four.

הלוקח חיה לזבח שלמים – for a sacrifice cannot come from a wild-beast, as it is written (Leviticus 1:2): “[Speak to the Israelite people, and say to them: When any of you presents an offering of cattle to the LORD, he shall choose his offering] from the herd or from the flock.”

Introduction This mishnah contains cases that are opposite of those found in yesterday’s mishnah. In these cases the non-food item bought does not become hullin.

ובהמה לבשר תאוה – But the Sages decreed that they should not purchase cattle from the monies of the Second Tithe, but [only] peace-offerings, because originally, it was permissible to purchase cattle for meat that you may desire; but since everyone would purchase cattle for meat that you may desire, and they exclude it from being on the altar, they retracted and said that [cattle] should not be purchased.

One who bought a wild animal for a shelamim offering or a domesticated beast for non-sacrificial eating, the hide does not become hullin. Wild animals cannot be used as shelamim offerings, or any other offerings for that matter. While domesticated animals can be bought for non-sacrificial purposes, the rabbis dictated that with maaser sheni money one should buy only shelamim sacrifices and not just normal non-sacred beasts. Since in both of these cases the person did not act properly, the hide does not become hullin. This means that he will have to buy food the equivalent value of the hide and treat that food with the sanctity of maaser sheni.

אין העור יוצא לחולין – that is to say that it is not in this category that the hide should go to non-sacred purposes, but rather, he did not purchase for [Second] Tithe neither wild-beast nor cattle, for it became like someone who purchases a bull for ploughing with the monies of [Second] Tithe, for he did not purchase [Second] Tithe.

Open or sealed jars of wine [which were bought] in a place where they are usually sold open, the jars do not become hullin. In this case, the sale of wine occurred in a place where wine was normally sold open, meaning that the jars were usually not part of the sale. Even if he does buy the jar along with the wine, the jar is not considered secondary to the wine (it doesn’t automatically come with the wine) and therefore the jar does not become hullin. He will have to buy food the value of the jar and treat that food with the sanctity of maaser sheni.

לא יצא הקנקן לחולין – since they had the custom of selling the wine without the jar.

Baskets of olives or baskets of grapes [bought] together with the vessel, the value of the vessel does not become hullin. Normally, olives and grapes are not sold with the baskets they come in. Therefore, the basket is not considered ancillary to the olives or grapes and the basket does not become hullin. While wine is sometimes sold in sealed jars, meaning the jars are sold along with the wine, this is not true of produce such as olives and grapes. Therefore, if one does buy the jar with them, the jar is not part of the sale, and this is considered buying a non-food item with maaser sheni money.

לא יצאו דמי הכלי לחולין – because it was the practice to sell it without the jar.

הלוקח מים ומלח – water and salt are not purchased with the monies of Second Tithe, as it is written (Deuteronomy 14:26): “And spend the money on anything you want”– a generalization – “cattle, sheep, wine, or other intoxicant,” – a specification – “anything that you may desire” – another generalization; “if a general rule is followed by a specification and this again by a generalization, you must be guided by the specification.” Just as the specification is explained as something that is food or grows in the ground, but cattle and sheep grow from the plants which are things that grow in the ground, and from something that is detached, and something that is preserved until one leads them to Jerusalem – even all things that are food and grow in the ground and are detached, and something that is preserved, which excludes water and salt, even though they are food, but are not [something] grown in the ground, and excludes produce that are attached to the ground that are not detached, which excludes produce that has become rotten before it arrives in Jerusalem, which is not something preserved. For all of these are not purchased with the monies of [Second] Tithe.

One who bought water or salt, or produce still joined to the soil, or produce which cannot reach Jerusalem, he has not purchased maaser [sheni]. Water and salt are not considered to be food and therefore one should not buy them with maaser sheni money. Produce still attached to the ground also is not considered food and therefore, it too should not be bought with maaser sheni money. Finally, one should not buy produce that will rot before it can reach Jerusalem. In all of these cases, that which he bought is not considered maaser. What he will need to do is use an equivalent amount of money to buy the type of food that he should have bought in the first place. That food he should bring to Jerusalem and eat there.

לא קנה מעשר – and the holiness of [Second] Tithe does not take effect on something that is purchased, and were not fulfilled through the use of [Second Tithe] monies for non-sacred [foods].

One who bought produce unwittingly, the money must be restored to its former place. This person bought produce using maaser sheni money without knowing that it was maaser sheni money. The result of this would be that he would have to take the produce to Jerusalem and eat it there. However, since he did this by accident, the purchase is considered an accidental purchase and he can return the produce to the seller and get his money back. Since it was accidental, we don’t trouble him to take the food all the way to Jerusalem, which might be difficult.

הלוקח פירות שוגג – for he did not know that from [Second] Tithe monies he was purchasing them.

But if intentionally, the produce must be taken up and be consumed in the [holy] place, and when there is no Temple, it must be left to rot. Maaser sheni money should be used to purchase food only in Jerusalem. If a person nevertheless intentionally buys produce with maaser sheni money outside of Jerusalem, he has to take the produce to Jerusalem and eat it there. He cannot ask for his money back. If there is no Temple, then he must let the produce rot it is forbidden for him to redeem it for money.

יחזרו דמים למקומן – the seller takes his produce/fruits and returns the monies, because it is like a fraudulent purchase, and if the purchaser had known that they are [Second] Tithe monies, he would not have purchased with them this produce/fruits, because of the painstaking preparations on the way, and because he erred inadvertently, the purchase is nullified.

יעלו ויאכלו במקום – (Deuteronomy 14:24): “in the place where He will choose [to establish His name],” that is to say, Jerusalem.

ואם אין מקדש ירקבו – for the thing purchased with the monies of [Second] Tithe are not redeemed purely in a place distant [from Jerusalem], as it is taught in the Mishnah further on in Chapter three.

תקבר ע"י עורה – with its hide, because its hide is also prohibited.

Introduction This mishnah teaches the same rule that we saw in yesterday’s mishnah, except whereas yesterday’s mishnah discussed produce, today’s mishnah refers to buying an animal.

One who bought a domesticated animal unwittingly, the money must be restored to its former place. Intentionally, it must be taken up and eaten in the [holy] place. And when there is no Temple, it must be buried together with its hide. The same exact rules that applied to the produce apply to the animal. If there is no Temple, then the animal can never be eaten, nor can it be used for work. Rather he should leave it alone until it dies, and then bury it together with its hide. The mishnah emphasizes that even the hide, which is not food and which remains hullin if the animal was purchased for a sacrifice (see mishnah three), is forbidden and it must be buried.

אין לוקחין עבדים וקרקעות – because they are not food, and the All-Merciful said: (Deuteronomy 14:26): “…cattle, sheep…[or anything you may desire]. And you shall feast there…”

Introduction The final mishnah of this chapter lists other things that one cannot buy with maaser sheni money.

יאכל כנגדן – corresponding to the Second Tithe monies that he expended on these things, he should spend from his own [funds] and purchase something that he eats and consume it in the holiness of [Second] Tithe in Jerusalem. And here we are speaking about when the seller fled and because of this, , [the Mishnah] did not teach that he should return the monies to their place. Alternatively, our Mishnah is speaking of someone who did this on purpose/willfully, but if he had done so inadvertently, he should return the monies to their place.

One may not buy male slaves or female slaves, land, or unclean animals with maaser sheni money. And if he did buy [one of these], its value must be consumed [as maaser sheni in Jerusalem]. None of these are food and therefore one cannot use maaser sheni money to purchase them. If one does, he must purchase and eat an equivalent amount of food in Jerusalem. This is the standard rule when one buys something with maaser sheni money that should not have been bought. It is stated more explicitly below in section three.

קיני זבים וקיני זבות – two doves or two pigeons that the men and/or women afflicted with a flux/gonorrhea are obligated to bring, and we establish/hold that anything that is obligatory should not come from other than the non-sacred, for a person does not repay his liability with Second Tithe monies.

One may not bring bird-offerings of a zav or zavah, or bird-offerings of women after child-birth, or sin-offerings, or guilt-offerings, from maaser sheni money. And if he did buy [one of these], their value must be consumed [as maaser sheni in Jerusalem]. All of these are mandatory offerings, unlike shelamim offerings which are voluntary. According to the rabbis, one cannot use maaser sheni money to buy offerings which he/she would have had to bring in any case. The zav and zavah are a man or woman who had an abnormal genital discharge (see Leviticus 15:14). They bring bird-offerings after they become pure, as does the woman after childbirth.

This is the general rule: whatever [is bought] out of maaser sheni money which cannot be used for eating or drinking or anointing, its value must be consumed [as maaser sheni in Jerusalem]. This is the general rule stated twice above.