פירוש על תרומות 9:2

בדמי תרומה – that the growth of heave-offering is forbidden to foreigners (i.e., non-Kohanim).

Introduction This mishnah begins to deal with the rules that apply to a field that has been sewn with terumah seeds. As we stated before, the plants are now considered terumah, at least by decree of the rabbis.

לא ילקטו אלא עניי כהנים – for we suspect that when they glean it they will cast it into their mouths.

And it is subject to gleanings, the forgotten sheaf and peah. The agricultural gifts must be given from this field, just as they must be given from a normal field.

אם כן לא ילקטו אלא טהורים – because a ritually impure Kohen is prohibited with [consuming] Terumah/heave offering. And the Halakha is according to Rabbi Akiva.

Poor Israelites and poor priests may glean them, but the poor Israelites must sell theirs to priests for the price of terumah and the money becomes theirs. There is now a debate concerning who may take the gleanings, the sheaves that have fallen to the ground and must be left for the poor. According to the first opinion, both poor Israelites and poor priests may collect the gleanings. Poor Israelites will have to sell the gleanings to priests because these gleanings are treated like terumah and cannot be eaten by Israelites. However, the poor Israelites can keep the money for themselves because the gleanings did belong to them, unlike terumah which one separates from one’s produce which must be given free to the priest.

Rabbi Tarfon says: only poor priests may glean them, lest [the others] forget and put it into their mouths. Rabbi Tarfon holds that poor Israelites cannot collect these gleanings lest they forget that they are terumah and they eat them themselves. Since poor people are not used to treating their gleanings like terumah, it would indeed seem likely that this would be a problem.

Rabbi Akiva said to him: if that be so, then only those who are clean should be allowed to glean. Rabbi Akiva points out that if we are concerned lest people forget that the usual rules of gleanings don’t apply here, then even poor priests shouldn’t collect. Generally, anybody can collect terumah, even people who are impure. However, if the person was impure when collecting the terumah, he would cause the terumah to become impure, thereby rendering it forbidden for consumption. So according to Rabbi Tarfon’s logic, even poor priests shouldn’t collect the gleanings lest they forget that the gleanings are terumah and they defile them. Rabbi Akiva seems to say that just as we let poor priests collect, and we are not concerned lest they be impure, so too we should let poor Israelites collect and not be concerned lest they eat the gleanings themselves.