פירוש על תרומות 11:8

המערה – [one who pours] wine or [olive] oil of Terumah/heave-offering from one pitcher to another, and after he had poured everything that is in it, three drops dripped from it, one drop after another, in the manner of the utensils after he had poured out everything that was within them.

Introduction This mishnah continues to deal with someone clearing out a container that had been used to store terumah and which he now wants to use to store hullin, a similar topic to that in the previous two mishnayot.

נותן לתוכה חולין – and there is no need to wipe off/cleansse it well prior to putting into it the unconsecrated produce.

One who pours from jar to jar and three drops drip, he may place in it hullin. If one is pouring out a jug of wine that had been used to store terumah wine or oil into a different jug, and after he is finished pouring he turns the jug upside down and three last drops come out, then he has sufficiently emptied out the jug and he may now use it to store hullin wine or oil. The fact that three separate drops come out, one at a time, is a sign that he has taken out enough of the liquid and he need not be concerned with that which is left.

הרכינה – he tilted it on its side, for the barrel had it in it other heave-offering that he poured all all what was within it and sucked out the wine or the [olive] oil that it was init and it appears that it was gathered into it.

But if he inclined the jar [on its side] in order to drain it, it is terumah. However, if after the three drops come out of the jar, he tilts the jar on the side in order to drain out the remaining dregs that had been absorbed by the sides of jug, this wine or oil counts as terumah. In other words, although he is allowed to put hullin wine or oil into this jug and not worry that the wine or oil left inside will be considered terumah, before he does so, any wine or oil that he does succeed in getting out is still considered terumah.

הרי זו תרומה – and we don’t say that they are unconsecrated [produce] for since he poured all what was inside it and there dripped from it three drops.

How much terumat maaser of demai must there be for him to take it to the priest? One eighth of an eighth [of a log]. Terumat maaser is the terumah that the Levite gives from the tithes he receives. Demai is doubtfully tithed produce. Our mishnah is discussing someone who separates tithes from demai. The tithes do not actually have to be given to the Levite (because the produce might already have been tithed), but the terumat maaser must be given to the priest (because terumah is prohibited to non-priests, whereas tithe is not). The question our mishnah asks is how much terumat maaser of demai has to be gathered together before it must be put aside to be given to the priest. The answer the mishnah gives is is one eighth of one eighth of a log, 1/64 of a log. If he has less than this amount he can simply throw it away, although he cannot eat it. If this had been terumah taken from regular tithes, and not from demai, he would have had to bring even the smallest amount to the priest, because such terumah is certainly forbidden to non-priests. In contrast, terumah taken from demai is only possibly forbidden to non-priests, and therefore the halakhah is more lenient. The reason that this halakhah is here is that it again mentions a case in which one must not be concerned about a small amount that may be terumah.

בתרומת מעשר של דמאי – hat the tithe is his, and he gives (as a Levite) the Terumah of the tithe to the Kohen, and if he has in his hand one-eighth of an eight of a LOG, one must brig it to a Kohen, but not less than this. And these words refer to something impure, but something pure, even a little bit, one must search after that which is doubtfully tithed, but with something definitely tithed, whether impure or pure, whether a lot or a little, one must search after a Kohen.