Quien le dice a su amigo: "Aquí está este Issar por diez higos que elegiré por mí mismo", puede elegir y comer [los higos de uno en uno sin diezmar. Si él dijo:] "Para un racimo de uvas que elegiré para mí", puede recoger [uvas del racimo] y comer [una a la vez]. [Si él dijo:] “Para una granada que elegiré para mí”, puede desarmar [la granada] y comer [una pieza a la vez]. [Si dijo] "Para un melón que elegiré para mí", puede cortarlo y comerlo [una pieza a la vez]. Pero si dijo "Por estos veinte higos", o "Por estos dos racimos", o "Por estos dos melones", puede comerlos de la manera habitual y quedar exento [de los diezmos], porque los compró mientras estaban todavía unido al suelo.
Bartenura on Mishnah Maasrot
שאבור – that I will select and choose.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Maasrot
Introduction
This mishnah teaches ways in which a person can buy produce and yet continue to eat it without tithing.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Maasrot
בורר ואוכל – he detaches one by one and eats, but if he didn’t detach and combined two of them, he is liable [for tithing].
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English Explanation of Mishnah Maasrot
One who says to his friend: “Here is an issar for ten figs which I choose for myself,” he may choose them and eat [one at a time without tithing]. [If he said] “For a cluster of grapes which I choose for myself,” he may pick grapes from the cluster and eat. [If he said], “For a pomegranate which I choose for myself,” he may take apart [the pomegranate] and eat [it one piece at a time]. [If he said] “For a watermelon, which I choose for myself,” he may slice and eat [it one piece at a time]. In all of the cases in this mishnah, the person gives the person money on condition that he chooses which particular piece of fruit he is buying. The fruit is still attached to the ground. The purchase is only completed once he picks the fruit. Therefore, he can eat them without tithing, but only one at a time, as was Rabbi Judah’s opinion in yesterday’s mishnah. The same is true for the grapes, pomegranate and watermelon mentioned in the remainder of this section. Since he doesn’t determine which piece of fruit he is buying until he picks it, this is considered a case of buying produce that is already detached from the ground.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Maasrot
מגרגר – he harvests each berry and eats them.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Maasrot
But if he said “For these twenty figs,” or “For these two clusters,” or “For these two water-melons,” he may eat them in his usual way and be exempt [from tithe], because he bought them while they were still attached to the ground. In this case he specifies which of the fruit he wants to eat. In this way, he succeeds in acquiring the fruit while it is still attached to the ground. Buying fruit while it is still attached to the ground does not make it liable for tithes, and therefore, he can eat from it in a chance fashion before it is tithed.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Maasrot
פורט – while the pomegranate is attached [to the ground], he splits it into segments/singles them out and eats berry after berry.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Maasrot
ובאבטיח סופת ואוכל – that is to say, he cuts small slices and eats [them].
