One may not set aside <i>Terumah</i> by measure, by weights, or by number. However, one may set aside <i>Terumah</i> from that which has been measured, weighed, or counted. One may not set aside <i>Terumah</i> in a basket or container with a known measure. However, one may set aside <i>Terumah</i> in them [by only filling them] a half or a third. One may not set aside <i>Terumah</i> in [a container that holds one] <i>Seah</i> [specific unit of volume, by only filling it] a half, since half of it is a measure.
Bartenura on Mishnah Terumot
אין תורמין לא במדה – As it is written (Numbers 18:27): “ This shall be accounted to you as your gift…” by thought, you donate [the sacred gift], that is to say, by estimation, but you do not donate neither by measure nor by weight nor by number. And even though this Biblical verse is written concerning the tithe of the tithe which the Levite owes to the Kohen (Numbers 18:26 – which is 10% of what he had received from Israelites -תרומת מעשר ), if it has no relation to the tithe of the tithe, for the Torah indeed had given it a measure, and he must measure in order that he gives the appropriate size/limit.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Terumot
Introduction
As I stated in the introduction, the Torah does not establish a precise measure for how much terumah a person is supposed to give. The rabbis do set a measure, saying that 2 per cent is the standard measure, less is stingy and more is generous. Nevertheless, when one comes to give terumah, in order to retain some sense of the Torah’s original meaning, one should not separate his terumah by measuring it in a precise fashion.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Terumot
They may not give terumah according to measure, or weight, or number, but one may give it from that which has already been measured, weighed or counted. When one gives terumah, one should not give it by using a precise measure, such as a measuring cup, a scale or by the number of units he is giving. However, he may give the terumah from produce that has already been measured. He would just have to estimate exactly how much terumah he is giving, instead of giving it in by using a precise measure.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Terumot
They may not give terumah in a basket or a hamper of a measured capacity, but one may give in it when it is a half or a third filled. Although one shouldn’t give terumah by putting the produce in a type of basket whose precise measure is known, he can give by filling up such a container to a half or a third full.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Terumot
He may not give a half of seah in a seah measuring vessel, for this half constitutes a known measure. The one exception is giving half a seah in a vessel usually used to measure a seah. This is also a standard measure and thus one should not give terumah in such a manner.
