A stringency of terumah: In Yehudah they are believed in respect to the cleanliness of wine and of oil all the days of the year. ["In Yehudah" (specifically) because a strip of the land of the Cuthi'im divided the Galil from Yehudah. And Jerusalem is in the land of Yehudah. So that it was impossible to bring kodesh from the land of the Galil to Yehudah, uncleanliness having been decreed upon the land of the nations. And even (the kodesh) of chaverim in the Galil could not be brought as libations. ("they are believed, etc.":) If an am ha'aretz said: "This wine is clean, and it is for libations; this oil is clean, and it is for meal-offerings," he was always believed; for because of the stringency of kodesh, he would be heedful and would not lie. But if he said: "This wine and oil is clean and is for terumah," he is not believed. For the interdict against the uncleanliness of terumah is not so severe in the eyes of an am ha'aretz, and we fear that he might be lying.] And at the wine-press and the olive-press, (they are) also (believed) in respect to terumah. [At the time of the grape harvest and of the squeezing of the olives in the olive-press, they are believed for terumah, too; for all men cleanse their vessels when they make wine and oil in order to separate terumah in cleanliness.] If the [times of] the wine-press and of the olive-press have passed, and he [an am ha'aretz] brings him [a Cohein chaver] a jug of terumah wine [or terumah oil, saying it is clean], he should not accept it from him [as being clean. For after the (time of the) wine-press and the olive-press he is not believed.] But he leaves it for the next wine-press. [The am ha'aretz who knows that after the (time of the) wine-press and the olive-press he is not believed leaves this jug for the next wine-press, at which time he gives it to the Cohein; for at that time he is believed in respect to it.] And if he (the am ha'aretz) says to him: "I have separated into it a revi'ith [of a log of wine] kodesh [i.e., for libations], he is believed [in respect to the entire jug. For since he is believed in respect to kodesh, he is also believed in respect to terumah.] Pitchers of wine and pitchers of oil which are medumaoth (intermixed) — they are believed concerning them at the time of the wine-press and of the olive-press, and before the olive-press, seventy days. [If one (an am ha'aretz) cleanses his tevel (untithed produce) for libations, and now there are (intermixed) chullin, terumah, and kodesh, and he comes to say about the pitchers, too, that they are clean, even though an am ha'aretz is not believed concerning pitchers, even at the time of the wine-press, now he is believed concerning the pitchers even seventy days before the time of the wine-press. For since he is believed in respect to kodesh, he is also believed in respect to terumah and pitchers. For it is demeaning to kodesh that the pitchers from which it is poured have a status of uncleanliness, when it (the kodesh) is offered (upon the altar). "Seventy days" — it being the custom to order and cleanse the vessels seventy days before the (time of the) wine-press.]
Bartenura on Mishnah Chagigah
שביהודה נאמנים וכו' – for this reason, the Mishnah took [the words} “in Judea” because a strip of the land of the Cutheans interrupted between the Galilee and Judea but Jerusalem was part of the land of Judea and it was not possible to bring sanctified things from the Galilee to Judea, because they (i.e., the Rabbis) decreed ritual defilement on the land of idolaters, and even on that of Haverim/those who observed the Levitical laws of purity in the Galilee, they could not bring it for libations.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
English Explanation of Mishnah Chagigah
Introduction
This mishnah begins to teach ways in which terumah is treated with greater stringency than sacrifices. The central issue in this mishnah is how much to trust an am haaretz, an unlearned person, when he tells you that he preserved the purity of a food item. As we shall see, if he says that he preserved its purity so that it would be used for a sacred thing (wine for a libation or oil for a minhah offering) than he is believed because the am haaretz respects the purity of sacred things. He would not allow an impure thing to be offered on the altar of the Temple. However, if he says he preserved its purity because it is terumah then the am haaretz is not believed.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Bartenura on Mishnah Chagigah
נאמנים על טהרת יין ושמן – all the days of the year, ignoramuses who said that this wine is ritually pure and is for libations; that this oil is ritually pure as it is for meal-offerings are always believed/deemed faithful because of the stringency of sanctified things, they take care and do not lie, but if he said that this wine and oil were pure and it was for Terumah/priest’s due, he is not believed, for the prohibition of ritual impurity of Terumah is not severe in the eyes of the ignoramuses and we suspect that perhaps they are lying.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
English Explanation of Mishnah Chagigah
Greater stringency applies to terumah [than to sacred things], for in Judah [the people of the land (amei] are trusted in regard to the purity of [sacred] wine and oil throughout the year; and at the season of the wine-presses and olive-presses even in regard to terumah. The farmers in Judah would have known that some of their produce, namely wine and oil would need to be pure so it could be used as libations and to accompany the minhah sacrifice. They respected this and would not have allowed it to become impure. Since sacrifices are needed all year round, they are believed all year if they say that they preserved its purity for it to be used as sacrifices. However, they are not believed if they say that they preserved the produce because of the terumah that would have to be separated from it. However, during the main time of the year when everyone presses their grapes and olives they are believed because everyone purifies their vessels at that time of the year, in anticipation of having to take terumah out of the wine and oil. One could think of this as sort of the “high holiday season” of purity, at least for farmers. Although they may not be particularly meticulous in their observance during the rest of the year, they are during these two periods.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Bartenura on Mishnah Chagigah
ובשעת הגיתות והבדים – at the time of the harvesting /vintage and at the time that when the olives are stored away in the vat for pressing, they are believed even about Terumah/priest’s due, because everyone purifies their utensils at the time of the making of wine and oil in order to separate the Terumah in [a state of] ritual purity.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
English Explanation of Mishnah Chagigah
If [the season of] the wine-presses and olive-presses passed, and they brought to him a jar of wine of terumah, he [the priest] should not accept it from him, but [the am ha-aretz] may leave it for the coming [season] of the wine-press. If the time of wine and olive pressing has passed, a priest who is meticulous about his observance should not accept wine or olive oil from an am haaretz. However, the am haaretz can leave over that wine until the next wine pressing and then the priest can accept it from him, even if the priest knows that this was not made during the current pressing. It’s as if we are willing to believe the am haaretz because he was willing to hold onto his wine for so long.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Bartenura on Mishnah Chagigah
עברו הגיתות וכו' – after the time of the vintage, or the time of the storing of the olives in the building containing the tank and the implements for the pressing of the olives and an ignoramus brings a jug of wine or of oil, it is for a Kohen who observes the laws of Levitical purity and he states that they are ritually pure. לא יקבלנה ממנו – that they are considered ritually pure, for after the vats for wine-pressing and the presses for olives, he is not believed.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
English Explanation of Mishnah Chagigah
But if he said to him, “I have set apart a quarter log [of wine] as a sacred thing,” he is believed [in regard to the purity of the whole jug]. If the am haaretz says that he set apart some of the wine to be used in the sacrificial service, then he is believed to say that the whole jug is pure, even for the terumah in the jug. Since he is believed when it comes to the sacred part of the wine, he is believed for the terumah as well.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Bartenura on Mishnah Chagigah
אבל מניחה לגת אחרת – the ignoramus who knows that after the vats for wine-pressing and the presses for olives that he is not believed, he leaves this jug for another vat for wine-pressing and then gives it to a Kohen who at that time is believed concerning it.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
English Explanation of Mishnah Chagigah
[When it comes to] jugs of wine and jugs of oil that are meant for terumah, they are believed during the season of the wine-presses and the olive-vats and prior to [the season of] the wine-presses seventy days. The am haaretz is trusted when he says he preserved the purity of the empty wine and oil jugs both in the time of the pressing and before the pressing for seventy days. Evidently, they would begin preparing the jugs to hold the wine and oil for seventy days before the pressing. However, for the terumah itself they are only believed to have preserved its purity during the time of the pressing.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Bartenura on Mishnah Chagigah
רביעית – one-quarter of a log (i.e., a log equals the volume of six eggs) for libations is believed for his entire jug, for if he had intended to tell a lie, he would have invented one more advantageous to his case, for since he is believed for sanctified things, he is believed also for priest’s due/Terumah.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Bartenura on Mishnah Chagigah
כדי יין וכדי שמן המדומעות – He who ritually purifies his otherwise improvised meal that had been made without separating priestly or Levitical shares for libations, and now, there is non-holy produce with priest’s due and sanctified foods mixed in where the priestly and Levitical shares had not been separated out, and he comes to say all on the pitchers that they are ritually pure, even though an ignoramus is not believed at the time regarding the pitchers the season for wine pressing. Today, we believe him regarding the pitchers even seventy days prior to the season for wine pressing, for since if he had intended to tell a lie, he would have invented one more advantageous to his case, so just as we believe him regarding sanctified things, we believe him also regarding Terumah/priest’s due and the pitchers, for it is a disgrace for the sanctified things that the pitchers that were intertwined were considered as ritually impure it was offered. And [the Rabbis] took seventy days prior because it was the way of the world to designate the utensils for use and ritually purify them seventy days prior to the wine-pressing.
