Surowość terumah: w Judzie wierzy się z powodu czystości wina i oliwy przez wszystkie dni roku. [„W Judzie” (konkretnie), ponieważ pas ziemi Cuthi'im oddzielił Galila od Jehudy. A Jerozolima jest w ziemi Judzkiej. Tak więc nie można było sprowadzić kodesz z ziemi Galilów do Judy, a nieczystość została ogłoszona na ziemi narodów. I nawet (kodesz) chaverim w Galil nie mógł być sprowadzony jako libacje. („wierzy się, itd.” :) Jeśli am ha'aretz powiedział: „To wino jest czyste i przeznaczone do libacji; ta oliwa jest czysta i przeznaczona na ofiary z posiłków”, zawsze mu wierzono; ponieważ z powodu surowości kodesz byłby uważny i nie kłamał. Ale jeśli powiedział: „To wino i oliwa są czyste i przeznaczone na terumę”, nie uwierzy się. Albowiem zakaz nieczystości terumah nie jest tak dotkliwy w oczach am ha'aretza i obawiamy się, że mógłby kłamać.] A w tłoczni winnej i tłoczni oliwek są także ( wierzyli) w odniesieniu do terumah. [W czasie winobrania i wyciskania oliwek w tłoczni, uważa się, że są również terumah; bo wszyscy ludzie oczyszczają swoje naczynia, gdy robią wino i oliwę, aby oddzielić terumah w czystości.] Jeśli [czasy] tłoczni winiarskiej i tłoczni oliwek minęły, a on [an am ha'aretz] przynosi on [a Cohein chaver] dzban wina terumah [lub oliwy terumah, mówiąc, że jest czysty], nie powinien go od niego przyjmować [jako czysty. Albowiem po tłoczni winiarskiej i tłoczni oliwnej nie wierzy się]. Ale zostawia je dla następnej tłoczni. [Am ha'aretz, który wie, że po (czasach) tłoczni wina i tłoczni oliwek, nie wierzy się, że zostawia ten dzban do następnej tłoczni, kiedy to oddaje go Coheinowi; bo w tamtym czasie wierzy się w to.] A jeśli on (am ha'aretz) mówi do niego: „Wydzieliłem w nim revi'ith [kłody wina] kodesz [tj. do libacji ], wierzy się [w odniesieniu do całego dzbanka. Bo skoro wierzy się w kodesz, wierzy się też w terumah.] Dzbany wina i dzbany oliwy, które są medumaoth (zmieszane)—wierzy się o nich w czasie tłoczenia wina i tłoczenia oliwek, i przed tłoczeniem oliwek, siedemdziesiąt dni. [Jeśli ktoś (an am ha'aretz) oczyści swój tevel (produkt bez dzianiny) do libacji, a teraz są (zmieszane) chullin, terumah i kodesz, a on także przychodzi, aby powiedzieć o dzbanach, że są czyste, chociaż nie wierzy się w am ha'aretz w odniesieniu do dzbanów, nawet w czasach tłoczenia wina, teraz wierzy się, że dotyczy on dzbanów nawet siedemdziesiąt dni przed czasem tłoczenia wina. Ponieważ wierzy się w kodesz, wierzy się także w terumę i dzbany. To bowiem dla kodeszu poniżające, że dzbany, z których się go wylewa, mają status nieczystości, gdy są ofiarowane (na ołtarzu). „Siedemdziesiąt dni”— zwyczajowo zamawiać i czyścić naczynia siedemdziesiąt dni przed (czasem) tłoczni.]
Bartenura on Mishnah Chagigah
שביהודה נאמנים וכו' – for this reason, the Mishnah took [the words} “in Judea” because a strip of the land of the Cutheans interrupted between the Galilee and Judea but Jerusalem was part of the land of Judea and it was not possible to bring sanctified things from the Galilee to Judea, because they (i.e., the Rabbis) decreed ritual defilement on the land of idolaters, and even on that of Haverim/those who observed the Levitical laws of purity in the Galilee, they could not bring it for libations.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
English Explanation of Mishnah Chagigah
Introduction
This mishnah begins to teach ways in which terumah is treated with greater stringency than sacrifices. The central issue in this mishnah is how much to trust an am haaretz, an unlearned person, when he tells you that he preserved the purity of a food item. As we shall see, if he says that he preserved its purity so that it would be used for a sacred thing (wine for a libation or oil for a minhah offering) than he is believed because the am haaretz respects the purity of sacred things. He would not allow an impure thing to be offered on the altar of the Temple. However, if he says he preserved its purity because it is terumah then the am haaretz is not believed.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Bartenura on Mishnah Chagigah
נאמנים על טהרת יין ושמן – all the days of the year, ignoramuses who said that this wine is ritually pure and is for libations; that this oil is ritually pure as it is for meal-offerings are always believed/deemed faithful because of the stringency of sanctified things, they take care and do not lie, but if he said that this wine and oil were pure and it was for Terumah/priest’s due, he is not believed, for the prohibition of ritual impurity of Terumah is not severe in the eyes of the ignoramuses and we suspect that perhaps they are lying.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
English Explanation of Mishnah Chagigah
Greater stringency applies to terumah [than to sacred things], for in Judah [the people of the land (amei] are trusted in regard to the purity of [sacred] wine and oil throughout the year; and at the season of the wine-presses and olive-presses even in regard to terumah. The farmers in Judah would have known that some of their produce, namely wine and oil would need to be pure so it could be used as libations and to accompany the minhah sacrifice. They respected this and would not have allowed it to become impure. Since sacrifices are needed all year round, they are believed all year if they say that they preserved its purity for it to be used as sacrifices. However, they are not believed if they say that they preserved the produce because of the terumah that would have to be separated from it. However, during the main time of the year when everyone presses their grapes and olives they are believed because everyone purifies their vessels at that time of the year, in anticipation of having to take terumah out of the wine and oil. One could think of this as sort of the “high holiday season” of purity, at least for farmers. Although they may not be particularly meticulous in their observance during the rest of the year, they are during these two periods.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Bartenura on Mishnah Chagigah
ובשעת הגיתות והבדים – at the time of the harvesting /vintage and at the time that when the olives are stored away in the vat for pressing, they are believed even about Terumah/priest’s due, because everyone purifies their utensils at the time of the making of wine and oil in order to separate the Terumah in [a state of] ritual purity.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
English Explanation of Mishnah Chagigah
If [the season of] the wine-presses and olive-presses passed, and they brought to him a jar of wine of terumah, he [the priest] should not accept it from him, but [the am ha-aretz] may leave it for the coming [season] of the wine-press. If the time of wine and olive pressing has passed, a priest who is meticulous about his observance should not accept wine or olive oil from an am haaretz. However, the am haaretz can leave over that wine until the next wine pressing and then the priest can accept it from him, even if the priest knows that this was not made during the current pressing. It’s as if we are willing to believe the am haaretz because he was willing to hold onto his wine for so long.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Bartenura on Mishnah Chagigah
עברו הגיתות וכו' – after the time of the vintage, or the time of the storing of the olives in the building containing the tank and the implements for the pressing of the olives and an ignoramus brings a jug of wine or of oil, it is for a Kohen who observes the laws of Levitical purity and he states that they are ritually pure. לא יקבלנה ממנו – that they are considered ritually pure, for after the vats for wine-pressing and the presses for olives, he is not believed.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
English Explanation of Mishnah Chagigah
But if he said to him, “I have set apart a quarter log [of wine] as a sacred thing,” he is believed [in regard to the purity of the whole jug]. If the am haaretz says that he set apart some of the wine to be used in the sacrificial service, then he is believed to say that the whole jug is pure, even for the terumah in the jug. Since he is believed when it comes to the sacred part of the wine, he is believed for the terumah as well.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Bartenura on Mishnah Chagigah
אבל מניחה לגת אחרת – the ignoramus who knows that after the vats for wine-pressing and the presses for olives that he is not believed, he leaves this jug for another vat for wine-pressing and then gives it to a Kohen who at that time is believed concerning it.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
English Explanation of Mishnah Chagigah
[When it comes to] jugs of wine and jugs of oil that are meant for terumah, they are believed during the season of the wine-presses and the olive-vats and prior to [the season of] the wine-presses seventy days. The am haaretz is trusted when he says he preserved the purity of the empty wine and oil jugs both in the time of the pressing and before the pressing for seventy days. Evidently, they would begin preparing the jugs to hold the wine and oil for seventy days before the pressing. However, for the terumah itself they are only believed to have preserved its purity during the time of the pressing.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Bartenura on Mishnah Chagigah
רביעית – one-quarter of a log (i.e., a log equals the volume of six eggs) for libations is believed for his entire jug, for if he had intended to tell a lie, he would have invented one more advantageous to his case, for since he is believed for sanctified things, he is believed also for priest’s due/Terumah.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Bartenura on Mishnah Chagigah
כדי יין וכדי שמן המדומעות – He who ritually purifies his otherwise improvised meal that had been made without separating priestly or Levitical shares for libations, and now, there is non-holy produce with priest’s due and sanctified foods mixed in where the priestly and Levitical shares had not been separated out, and he comes to say all on the pitchers that they are ritually pure, even though an ignoramus is not believed at the time regarding the pitchers the season for wine pressing. Today, we believe him regarding the pitchers even seventy days prior to the season for wine pressing, for since if he had intended to tell a lie, he would have invented one more advantageous to his case, so just as we believe him regarding sanctified things, we believe him also regarding Terumah/priest’s due and the pitchers, for it is a disgrace for the sanctified things that the pitchers that were intertwined were considered as ritually impure it was offered. And [the Rabbis] took seventy days prior because it was the way of the world to designate the utensils for use and ritually purify them seventy days prior to the wine-pressing.
