Comentario sobre Demai 3:2
הָרוֹצֶה לַחֲזֹם עֲלֵי יָרָק לְהָקֵל מִמַּשָּׂאוֹ, לֹא יַשְׁלִיךְ עַד שֶׁיְּעַשֵּׂר. הַלּוֹקֵחַ יָרָק מִן הַשּׁוּק וְנִמְלַךְ לְהַחֲזִיר, לֹא יַחֲזִיר עַד שֶׁיְּעַשֵּׂר, שֶׁאֵינוֹ מְחֻסָּר אֶלָּא מִנְיָן. הָיָה עוֹמֵד וְלוֹקֵחַ וְרָאָה טֹעַן אַחֵר יָפֶה מִמֶּנּוּ, מֻתָּר לְהַחֲזִיר, מִפְּנֵי שֶׁלֹּא מָשָׁךְ:
Quien desee cortar las hojas de vegetales para aligerar su carga no debe descartar [las hojas] hasta que las haya diezmado. Si uno compra verduras del mercado y luego decide devolverlas, no debe devolverlas hasta que las haya diezmado, ya que a ellos [los paquetes] les falta nada más que contar. Sin embargo, si está parado y seleccionando [los vegetales] y luego ve otro paquete que es de mejor calidad, puede devolverlos [sin diezmar] porque aún no los ha agarrado [en una forma de adquisición].
Bartenura on Mishnah Demai
לחזום (to trim leaves of vegetables for the sake of lightening the burden) – to cut and to sever but there is nothing similar to it in the Mishnah.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Demai
Introduction
This mishnah teaches that in certain cases a person must tithe produce even if he is getting rid of that produce or it is not yet even his.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Demai
להקל ממשאו – that it will it will not weigh upon him.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Demai
One who wants to cut off leaves of vegetables in order to lighten his burden, he may not throw them down until he has [first] tithed them. A person while traveling might discard leaves of vegetables because he doesn’t intend to eat them. Discarding them will lighten his load. The problem is that a poor am haaretz might come by and pick up the leaves and eat them because he has nothing else to eat. To prevent the am haaretz from unwittingly eating untithed produce he should tithe the leaves before he discards them. One should always be cautious that his actions don’t cause others to stumble.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Demai
לא ישליך עד שיעשר – lest those not observing religious customs regarding tithes and Levitical cleanness find them and eat them when they are not legally fit for use by giving the priestly dues, and it is found that he places a stumbling-block [before them]. But these words concern vegetables that are put up in bunches (which are subject to tithes from the time they are tied), for if they are not gathered in bunches, they are not yet obligated in tithes.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Demai
One who takes vegetables from the market [with the intention of buying them], and then decides to put them back, he should not put them back until he has [first] tithed them, for nothing is missing [after they are tithed] except for their quantity. There are two conflicting interpretations of this section. According to Albeck (according to whose interpretation I translated), when the person in our mishnah picks up the vegetables he has not yet bought them, but is only considering buying them. When he changes his mind and decides not to buy them, he shouldn’t return them to the seller until he tithes them. The mishnah explains that tithing doesn’t cause a loss to the seller because the seller, or the one who later on buys from him, is going to have to tithe in any case. This is the meaning of “nothing is missing except for their quantity” the value has not gone down. Although this is the rule, a person should not intentionally put himself in such a situation because the seller probably doesn’t want others tithing his produce. According to the Bavli and the commentators who explain accordingly, the purchaser has acquired the vegetables by picking them up even though he hasn’t counted them yet. This is the meaning of “nothing is missing except [counting] the quantity.” Since they belong to him, he can’t return them until he tithes them.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Demai
הלוקח ירק מן השוק – and he took tied up bundles of vegetables in his hand whose value was known as such and -such bundles for a penny, and after he had taken them, he changed his mind upon them to return them to the seller.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Demai
But if he was standing [there and deciding what to] buy and then saw another load of better quality, he may put them back [untithed], since he had not yet drawn them into his possession. In this section the person has not yet picked up the vegetables. He can “put them back,” meaning he can change his mind, since they have not yet become his. When he puts them back he need not tithe them.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Demai
לא יחזיר עד שיעשר – and he will give him the cost of the tithing that he sets aside, for when when he lifts them they became his, and he is liable for them to tithe them.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Demai
שאינו מעושר אלא מנין – this [word] "מעושר" its meaning is "מחוסר"/lacking, meaning to say, he already bought them through lifting them and nothing was lacking other than to count them, for he already knew such-and-such bundles for a penny.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Demai
היה עומד ולוקח – but he did not take them in his hand and he did not lift them up.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Demai
טוען אחר – another load of vegetables.
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