Comentário sobre Maasser Sheni 5:19

כרם רבעי מציינין אותו – they build near it a heap of stones and a sign so that they will recognize that it is fourth-year grapes.

Introduction The final chapter of Maaser Sheni deals with vineyards and other fruit-bearing trees which are in their fourth year. This topic is addressed in Leviticus 19:23-24: When you enter the land and plant any tree for food, you shall regard its fruit as forbidden. Three years it shall be forbidden for you, not to be eaten. In the fourth year all its fruit shall be set aside for jubilation before the LORD; and only in the fifth year may you use its fruit -- that its yield to you may be increased: I the LORD am your God.” While the Torah mentions only the vineyard, the rabbis extended this law to include all fruit-bearing trees. Thus during the first three years of a trees growth one cannot eat the produce. This is called “orlah” and there is an entire tractate dedicated to the subject. During the fourth year the fruits are holy and they must be brought to Jerusalem and eaten there, or redeemed, like maaser sheni, and the money is brought to Jerusalem and used there to buy food. Our mishnah deals with the topic of how they would mark a vineyard to let people know that it was in its fourth year.

בקוזזות – a heap of stones and/or clods of earth; a sign like the ground. Just as the ground which one derives benefit from and makes produce, even this also, when it is redeemed, it is permitted to derive benefit from it.

A vineyard in its fourth year, they mark it with clods of earth, and of orlah with potter's clay, and graves with lime which is dissolved and poured on. In order to let people know that various vineyards or orchards were prohibited, they would mark them off in different ways. They would mark off fourth-year vineyards and orchards with special clods of earth. If the vineyard or orchard was of “orlah” trees from their first three years then they would mark it off with potter’s clay. Finally, the mishnah notes that in order to let priests know where graves were located, they would mark them off with lime.

ושל ערלה בחרסית – in the ground when one makes from it an earthenware utensil. Its sign is like this burned-clay that one does not derive any benefit from it when one seeds it, one does not remove it in order to have a quantity of seed required for a field (see Mishnah Peah, Chapter 5, Mishnah 1), even this, there is no benefit from it.

Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel said: When does this apply? In the seventh year. Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel says that they didn’t always mark off fourth-year and orlah vineyards and orchards, only during the seventh year. During the seventh year all produce is considered ownerless and anyone can enter a field and eat from the trees. To let people know that this produce was prohibited because it was in its first four years of growth they would mark it off. But during other years, one is not allowed to enter into another person’s field and eat from the trees. One who does so is a thief. According to Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel we don’t need to take special actions to prevent thieves from eating prohibited food. On the contrary, we allow the thief to transgress another transgression as well, in the hope that he will receive his just punishment. This is, in my opinion, a radical, but interesting concept. Do we try to prevent people who are committing moral crimes (thievery) from also committing “ritual” crimes, such as eating prohibited food? Or do we hold back and watch them sin even more?

ושל קברות – so that a Kohen nor a Nazirite will not enter into there.

The conscientious used to put down money and say: any fruit gathered from this vineyard may be exchanged for this money. Those who conscientiously observed the commandments would not abide by Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel’s principal. Rather, they would go even a step further and set aside money that would be redeemed for any fruit that was picked from the tree/vineyard during its fourth year. When a person would enter the field, without the owner’s permission or knowledge, and he would steal some fruit from the tree, the sanctity of the fruit would automatically transfer to the money. This would prevent the thief from committing the additional sin of eating produce during its fourth year. We can see here that the “conscientious” refer to a group of people who were willing to spend their own money to make sure that others didn’t unwittingly transgress.

בסיד – A sign that the white plaster is like bones.

וממחה ושופך – dilute the plaster/lime in water so that it will become more glossy white and then it is poured upon the grave.

במה דברים אמורים – that they make a sign for fourth-year grapes and fruits of a tree during its first three years.

בשביעית – where everything is ownerless and people can take with permissions. But in the rest of the years of seven-year cycle, when they come to steal, they stuff the produce into the mouth of the wicked person so that he will glut it and die (See Talmud Bava Kamma 69a) and they will take it to eat while it is forbidden.

והצנועים – those who are exacting upon themselves, when they had fourth-year grapes during the seventh year, they would set aside the monies prior to harvesting and say: All that is harvested, when it will be harvest, will be redeemed on this.

כרם רבעי – it has the same law as that of Second Tithe, and one must bring the fruits up to Jerusalem and consume them there, either them or their redeemed monetary value, and the Sages ordained that a walk of [one] day all around Jerusalem they would bring up their fruits [themselves] in order to adorn the markets of Jerusalem with fruit, and since every person would consume the fourth year’s fruits of a young tree, the mark would become full of the rest of the fruits.

Introduction As we learned in the introduction to yesterday’s mishnah, during the fourth year of its growth, the produce of a vineyard or an orchard must be brought to Jerusalem and eaten there. Our mishnah teaches that produce that grew more than a day’s journey from Jerusalem can be redeemed, like maaser sheni. The money would then be brought to Jerusalem and used to buy food there.

שיהא נפדה סמוך לחומה – even the vineyard that is near the wall.

[The produce of] a vineyard in its fourth year was brought up to Jerusalem within a distance of one day’s journey on each side. Within a day’s walk on each side of Jerusalem, produce from fourth-year vineyards and orchards would be taken to Jerusalem and not redeemed.

שאימתי שירצו – if the fruit would be diminished

And what is the border [of a day’s journey on each side]? Eilat to the south, Akrabat on the north, Lod to the west, and the Jordan [river] to the east. “Eilat” in the Mishnah is of course, not modern Eilat, which is far more than a one day’s journey from Jerusalem. Some scholars say mishnaic Eilat was near Hebron.

משחרב בית המקדש היה התנאי – not because the fruits increased, as has been said, but rather since the Temple was destroyed and Jerusalem came into the hands of the enemies, and they would not suspect to adorn the markets of Jerusalem with fruits.

When produce increased, it was decreed that it can be redeemed even if the vineyard was close to the wall. According to the mishnah, the rule that produce within a day’s walk from Jerusalem had to be brought to Jerusalem and could not be redeemed referred to a time when produce was scarce. At that time, to encourage people to bring their produce to Jerusalem, they wouldn’t allow people who lived close to Jerusalem to redeem it. Once produce became more plentiful, they began to allow people to redeem the produce even right next to the walls of Jerusalem.

And there was a stipulation on this matter, that whenever it was so desired, the arrangement would be restored as it had been before. When they changed the rule, they made a stipulation that whenever they wished to change the law back to its original state, they could do so. Interestingly, this implies that without this stipulation, it would have been difficult to change the law. In order to make the law flexible, they had to include in it a special stipulation that when they wanted to, they could change it again.

Rabbi Yose says: this was the stipulation after the Temple was destroyed, and the stipulation was that when the Temple should be rebuilt the arrangement would be restored as it had been before. Rabbi Yose relates a different version concerning when the law changed. When the Temple was destroyed they changed the law to allow one to redeem produce even right outside the walls of Jerusalem. At that time, they made a stipulation that when the Temple was rebuilt, it would again be forbidden to redeem fourth-year produce (and by extension, maaser sheni) within one day’s journey from Jerusalem.

אין לו חומש – the owners do not have to add one-fifth [its value] when they redeem it.

Introduction This mishnah is found word for word in Peah 7:6. In it Bet Shammai and Bet Hillel argue whether when one redeems the grapes of a fourth-year vineyard, one has to add an extra fifth, as one does with maaser sheni. They also argue whether the law which mandates the removal of tithes from one’s home at the end of the fourth year applies to this produce.

ואי לו ביעור – in the fourth year and in the seventh year when the tithes are removed (see Deuteronomy 26:13), for the [added] fifth and removal are not mentioned with regard to the fourth-year grapes and removal [of the fruits] but with regard to tithes. And however, the School of Shammai admits that it has redemption, and even though redemption is not stated in the Biblical verses related to fourth-year grapes, that we derive it from what is written (Leviticus 19:24): “[In the fourth year all its fruit] shall be set aside for jubilation before the LORD.” We call it ceased to be sacred (i.e., by being redeemed) and thereafter it may be eaten.

[The grapes of] a vineyard in its fourth year:
Bet Shammai says: the laws of the added fifth and removal do not apply to them; But Bet Hillel says: they do. According to Bet Shammai when one redeems the grapes of a fourth year vineyard one does not need to add a fifth of the value, as one does for maaser sheni. With regard to maaser sheni Leviticus 27:31 states, “If anyone wishes to redeem any of his tithes, he must add one-fifth to them.” This, according to Bet Shammai, was stated only with regard to tithes and not with regard to the fourth-year vineyard. Bet Shammai also holds that another rule concerning tithes does not apply. Deuteronomy 14:28 states, “At the end of three years you shall bring out the full tithe of your yield of that year.” This means that at the end of three years one must get rid of all of the tithes within one’s household and give them to whomever they rightfully belong. According to Bet Shammai one does not have to get rid of the wine made of fourth year grapes. In short, Bet Shammai says that while there is some similarity between fourth year grapes and second tithe, they are not similar in all aspects. Bet Hillel says that all of the laws of second tithe apply to fourth year grapes. Therefore, when one redeems them he must add a fifth and they must be removed at the end of three years.

וב"ה אומרים יש לו – that is derived [by analogy] from [the doubling of the word] "קדש" "קדש"/”sanctified,” “sanctified (see Leviticus 19:24 “[In the fourth year all its fruit] shall be set aside [[קדש for jubilation before the LORD – with regard to fourth-year grapes and Leviticus 27:30: “All tithes from the land, whether seed from the ground or fruit the tree, are the LORD’s; they are holy [קדש] to the LORD” concerning Second-Tithe), to give it (i.e., fourth-year grapes) the law of [Second] Tithe (see Talmud Kiddushin 54b).

Bet Shammai says: the laws of peret and the defective clusters apply to them, and the poor can redeem the grapes for themselves. But Bet Hillel says: all [of them] go to the wine-press. The laws of peret (fallen grapes) and defective clusters (olelot) do not apply to tithes. Since Bet Shammai does not hold that the laws of tithes apply to the fourth year grapes, they therefore hold that the laws of peret and defective clusters do apply. The poor people would take their peret and olelot, redeem them, and bring the money to Jerusalem, just as the owner does with his own grapes/wine. Bet Hillel, on the other hand, holds that the poor do not receive the peret and the olelot because the agricultural gifts given to the poor do not apply to tithes. Since fourth year produce is like tithes, no agricultural gifts must be given. Rather, the owners take all of the grapes and bring them to the winepress, make wine and then either bring the wine to Jerusalem or redeem the wine and bring the money to Jerusalem.

יש לו פרט ויש לו עוללות – (For a definition of these terms, see Mishnah Peah, Chapter 7, Mishnayot 3-4.) That they (i.e., The School of Shammai) hold that the money belongs to the owner and that the money is not for “on high” (i.e., God’s), therefore, he is obligated for grapes fallen off during cutting and the gleanings reserved for the poor in every vineyard of the world. And the por who glean the grapes that had fallen off during cutting and gleanings reserved for the poor sell those that in their fourth year and redeem them for themselves and eat the redemption in Jerusalem. [Note that an עוללת can also be referring to a small single bunch (on a single branch, or handing down directly from the trunk – as opposed to אשכול/a cluster of grapes)].

וב"ה אומרים כולו לגת – for they (i.e., the School of Hillel) hold that it is money of “on-high” (i.e., God’s) like [Second] Tithe. Therefore, there are no [obligation for] grapes fallen off during cutting and the gleanings reserved for the poor, but one stamps on them all together as one and brings them up and eats them in Jerusalem, or he redeems it and brings up the monies [to purchase food] in Jerusalem.

מניח את הסך על פי שלשה – [three] specialists in estimation, for ordinary fourth-year’s fruits from a young tree’s monetary value is not known since you have to calculate the expenditures as the Mishnah teaches here.

Introduction This mishnah deals with the procedure for redeeming fourth year produce. How is the value of the produce evaluated?

לפדות בסלע – that is to purchase with a Selah while it is attached to the ground.

How does one redeem the fruit of a plant in its fourth year? The owner puts down a basket in the presence of three [people] and says: “How many such baskets would a man wish to redeem for himself for a sela on condition that the costs [to produce the fruit] shall be on his house? In the presence of three people, who will acts as estimators, the owner puts a sample of the produce to be redeemed into a basket. He then asks how much a person would redeem for himself the produce in the basket, under the condition that he would have to pay for the costs involved in growing the produce. We would term this “profit.” This is very important: the owner doesn’t redeem the produce at market cost; he only pays the potential profit. This is why three people are needed to do the estimate. It doesn’t take three people to figure out how much something costs at the market. What is more difficult is figuring out how much it would have cost to grow the produce.

על מנת להוציא יציאות מביתו – the salary of working the vineyard from the time that it is called a fruit, such as the salary for guarding and hoeing.

And then he puts down the money and says: “Whatever shall be picked from this plant may it be exchanged for this money at the price of so many baskets for a sela.” Once we have figured out how many baskets of produce can be redeemed for a sela, the owner puts down a sela and says that the sela will redeem however many baskets of future produce were determined.

ומניח את המעות – according to the estimation, after they estimated so-and-so many baskets per Selah.

ובשביעית – for there is no salary for guarding or for working the ground, he redeems it according to its value.

Introduction During the sabbatical year, it is forbidden to work the land. Therefore, there is no cost in growing the produce, and one who redeems it cannot reduce this cost.

אם היה הכל מופקר – if the owners made their fourth-year fruits from a young tree ownerless, the person who takes possession of them does not deduct anything other than the salary of harvesting, and he brings the fruits up to Jerusalem or redeems them and brings up their monetary equivalent [in cash]. But we don’t say that from when it became ownerless, he took possession and the law of the fourth year doesn’t apply with it. And on the seventh year, he does not deduct the salary of harvesting, for each person harvests for himself.

But in the seventh year he must redeem it for its full value. As was explained in the introduction, since one cannot work the land during the sabbatical year, when redeeming it there are no costs to reduce from the produce. It must, therefore, be redeemed for full market value.

מוסיף עליו חומש – The anonymous Mishnah is according to the School of Hillel, which derives [through an analogy of] "קדש" "קדש" (as seen in Mishnah 3 of this chapter) from [Second] Tithe.

If [in other years] it had all been made ownerless property, the person [who redeems it] can only claim the cost of picking it. If in other years during the sabbatical cycle, one makes his field ownerless, and then someone comes and picks the produce, the one who redeems the maaser sheni can only claim the costs involved in picking it. These will be quite minimal, just what one would pay to have someone pick his produce.

בין שניתן לו במתנה – while it is in the budding stage, for if it were after its ripening, the School of Hillel would hold that it is the money of “on-high” (i.e., God’s) like [Second] Tithe and you are not able to give it as a gift.

One who redeems his own plant in its fourth year, he must add a fifth of its value, whether the fruit was his own or was given him as a gift. This follows the opinion of Bet Hillel from mishnah three, who holds that the same rules that govern maaser sheni govern fourth year produce, and it is the same rule we saw in 4:3 with regard to maaser sheni.

ערב יום טוב הראשון של פסח וכו' – As it is written (Deuteronomy 14:28): “Every third year you shall bring out the full tithe of the yield of that year, [but leave it in your settlements],” and it states further on (Deuteronomy 31:10): “ Every seventh year, the year set for remission, at the Feast of Booths.” Just as there (Deuteronomy 31:10), it is speaking of a Festival, so here (Deuteronomy 14:28) too, it speaks of a Festival. If just as there (Deuteronomy 31:10), the Festival of Booths, so here (Deuteronomy 14:28) too, the Festival of Booths, as the inference teaches us, (Deuteronomy 26:12): “When you have set aside in full the tenth part of your yield…,” the Festival in which all the Tithes are completed. One can say that this is Passover, where the produce of the third year is not completed to be harvested completely until the Passover of the fourth year comes, and similarly, from the sixth year, until the Passover of the seventh year comes.

Introduction There are two places in which the Torah discusses removing tithes from one’s home. The first is Deuteronomy 14:28-29, “Every third year you shall bring out the full tithe of your yield of that year, but leave it within your settlements.29 Then the Levite, who has no hereditary portion as you have, and the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow in your settlements shall come and eat their fill, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the enterprises you undertake.” The second place is Deuteronomy 26:12-15, “When you have set aside in full the tenth part of your yield -- in the third year, the year of the tithe -- and have given it to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat their fill in your settlements, 13 you shall declare before the LORD your God: "I have cleared out the consecrated portion from the house; and I have given it to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, just as You commanded me; I have neither transgressed nor neglected any of Your commandments: 14 I have not eaten of it while in mourning, I have not cleared out any of it while I was unclean, and I have not deposited any of it with the dead. I have obeyed the LORD my God; I have done just as You commanded me. 15 Look down from Your holy abode, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel and the soil You have given us, a land flowing with milk and honey, as You swore to our fathers." The remainder of tractate Maaser Sheni deals with the laws concerning removing tithes from one’s possession, which is supposed to occur, according to the rabbis, at the end of the third and sixth years of the sabbatical cycle, or at the beginning of the fourth and seventh years, depending on how you look at it.

תרומה ותרומת מעשר לבעלים – to the Kohanim, for the heave-offerings/sacred gifts are theirs.

On the eve of the first [others read “last”] festival-day of Pesah in the fourth and in the seventh [years of the sabbatical cycle] the removal was performed. Right before the last day of Pesah, after the third and sixth years have been completed, meaning at the beginning of the fourth and seventh years, one is commanded to remove any of the tithes that one may have kept lingering in one’s home. This is how the rabbis understand Deuteronomy 14:28, “Every three years.”

ומעשר ראשון לבעליו – to the Levites.

Terumah and the terumah of tithe were given to their owners, the first tithe was given to its owner, the tithe of the poor to its owner, and maaser sheni and first-fruits were removed in every place. Each agricultural gift is given to its rightful owner. Terumah and any terumah removed from tithes must be given to the priests, first tithe is given to the Levites, and poor tithe is given to the poor. Maaser Sheni and first fruits are special cases because normally these should be brought to Jerusalem and eaten there. There is no one to give them to. Therefore, they should be brought out and left to rot so that they can be totally removed from the world.

ומעשר עמי לבעליו – to the poor.

Rabbi Shimon says: first-fruits were given to the priests like terumah. According to Rabbi Shimon first fruits are given to the priest. That is what the Torah means when it says, “And the priest shall take the basket and place it before the altar” (Deuteronomy 26:4). Rabbi Shimon also derives midrashically that first-fruits have the status of terumah. Since first-fruits are given to the priest, they do not need to be destroyed.

מתבערים בכל מקום – one must remove them and destroy them from the world.

As for a cooked dish [with maaser sheni in it]: Bet Shammai says: it must be removed. But Bet Hillel say: lo, it may be considered as already removed. According to Bet Shammai, if there is a cooked dish that has maaser sheni produce in it, it must be removed just as maaser sheni itself must be removed. Bet Hillel holds that since one can’t see the maaser sheni, because it has blended in with the dish, it need not be removed.

הבכורים נתנים להכהנים כתרומה – and there is no need to destroy them from the world because the All-Merciful One [calls them] (i.e., First-Fruits) Terumah/heave-offerings, and the Master stated (Deuteronomy 12:17): “[You may not partake in your settlements of the tithes of your new grain or wine, or oil, or of the firstlings of your herds and flocks]… “"ותרומת ידך/or of your contributions,” as it is written concerning them (Deuteronomy 26:4): “The priest shall take the basket from your hand…” But the Halakha is not according to the School of Shammai.

בזמן הזה – when the Temple does not exist

Introduction This mishnah addresses the question of what to do with maaser sheni once the Temple has destroyed and it is impossible to eat it in Jerusalem.

צריך לחללן על הכסף – As it is written (Deuteronomy 14:25): “[You may convert them into money.] Wrap up the money in your hand [and take it with you to the place that the LORD your God has blessed you.]” The money alone you take up [to Jerusalem].

One who had produce at this time and the time of removal arrived:
Bet Shammai says: he must exchange it for money. According to Bet Shammai, when the Temple no longer stands one should redeem maaser sheni produce with money and then put the money aside. Better to have the money sitting around then the produce. Perhaps Bet Shammai reasons that money will last longer than produce, so if he redeems the produce for money there is a chance that when the Temple is rebuilt he can bring it to Jerusalem.

אחד שהן כסף ואחד שהן פירות – which require hiding away, for what value is redemption? (see Ma’aser Sheni, Chapter 1, Mishnah 5 at the end).

But Bet Hillel says: it is all the same whether it becomes money or it remains fruit. Bet Hillel says it doesn’t matter whether the maaser sheni is produce or money, it must be removed at the end of the third or sixth year, because it can’t be brought to Jerusalem when the Temple no longer stands. So he should just leave the maaser sheni as produce and let it rot (see above 1:5).

מהרו ותקנו אעת פירותיכם – heave-offerings [for the Kohen] and [First] tithes [for the Levite] to give them to those whom are appropriate, and Second Tithe – to bring it up and to consume it in Jerusalem.

Rabbi Judah said: in early times they used to send to householders in the provinces [saying:] “Hasten to set right your produce before the time of removal arrives,” until Rabbi Akiva came and taught that all produce which has not reached the time of tithing is exempt from the removal. Before Rabbi Akiva, rabbis used to send messages to people all over the provinces of Israel warning them that they should hurry up and separate terumah and all tithes from their produce before the time to remove them from the home comes around. Furthermore, they won’t be able to do the confession over tithes (Deuteronomy 26:12-15) until they separate all the tithes from their produce. This all changed when Rabbi Akiva taught that all produce that has not reached the time when it must be tithed need not be removed from the home. These times were explicated in Maasrot 1:2-4.

שלא הגיעו לעומת המעשרות – Each and every fruit as its due season (i.e., harvested products when they have arrived at the stage when they are subject to tithes – see Mishnah Peah, Chapter 8, Mishnah 8 and Mishnah Ma’aserot, Chapter 5, Mishnah 5) is explained in the first chapter of Tractate Ma’aserot.

פטורים מן הביעור – For at first, they would say that prior to the stage when they are subject to tithes, they also require removal [from the house] (see Deuteronomy 26:14).

מי שהיו פירותיו רחוקים ממנו – they were already ritually prepared (i.e., tithed), and the time had arrived for removal.

Introduction This mishnah deals with how a person can set aside his tithes and give them to the rightful owners if his produce is at a distance from him. This would be necessary if the time for removal was drawing near and he needed to separate the tithes and give them away before that time passed.

צריך לקרות להם שם – (see also, Mishnah Ma’aser Sheni, Chapter 4, Mishnah 7) to make assignment of them to their owners, according to the precedent of Rabban Gamaliel and the Elders.

One whose produce was far away from him, he must call it by name. A person can separate his tithes even if he is not near his produce. He doesn’t need to be in close, physical contact with his produce in order to set aside the tithes and to transfer them to their proper owners. The mishnah now brings in the story of Rabban Gamaliel to illustrate exactly how this is done.

עשור שאני עתיד למוד – First Tithe that I will, in the future, give from the produce that I have in my house.

Once it happened that Rabban Gamaliel and the elders were traveling by ship, and Rabban Gamaliel said: “The tithe which I shall measure out in the future is given to Joshua, and the place which it is in is leased to him. The other tithe which I shall measure out in the future is given to Akiva ben Joseph that he may hold it for the poor, and the place which it is in is leased to him.” Rabban Gamaliel is traveling on a boat when the time to remove the tithes comes. He obviously can’t get to the produce to physically set it aside, so what he does is declare that the tithe that he has in such and such a place is given to Rabbi Joshua, a Levi who was traveling with him. To Akiva ben Joseph, known to you and me as Rabbi Akiva, he gave the poor tithe, not because R. Akiva himself was poor, but because R. Akiva was the charity collector who gave out tithes to the poor. Just allotting the tithes to Rabbi Joshua and Akiva was not sufficient. He also had to lease them the space where the tithes were located. This was a technique that he used so that they could acquire the tithes without actually taking them into their hands. Transactions involving produce cannot be done with mere statements, so in order to transfer to them the produce he also had to transfer to them, at least temporarily, the land on which the tithes were currently being stored. Rabbi Joshua and Akiva would then pay Rabban Gamaliel for the rental of the land (this is stated explicitly at the end of section three) and in this way, their land could acquire the produce found on it.

נתון ליהושע – He was a Levite. But he did not give the “Great Tithe” now (i.e., the two-percent portion that was to given at the outset to a Kohen), because the Terumah/heave-offering is separated at the granary, [as is taught in a Baraitha], for it is impossible for the granary to be uprooted other than if the “Great Tithe” was already given, and it had already been separated in the granary.

Rabbi Joshua said: “The tithe [taken from terumah] which I shall measure out is given to Elazar ben Azariah, and the place which it is in is leased to him,” and they each received rent one from another. Now that Rabbi Joshua had received tithe from Rabban Gamaliel, he needed to transfer the terumat maaser (the terumah that the Levite gives to the priest) to Elazar ben Azariah, who is a priest. As above, he also rented him the place where the tithe was being held and then Elazar paid him the rent. In this way, everyone successfully separated their tithes and they could keep sailing on their ship, without worrying about their tithes.

ומקומו מושכר לו – and the place of the [First] Tithe was already leased to him, and he will purchase the Tithe on account of the land.

עשור אחר – the Poor Tithe (which is separated in the third and sixth years of the seven-year agricultural cycle).

נתון לעקיבא בן יוסף – He was the treasurer/manager of the Poor.

עשור שאני עתיד למוד – the tithe of a tithe – which I have to give to a Kohen from the [First] Tithe that Rabban Gamaliel gave me.

נתון לאלעזר בן עזריה – He was a Kohen and tenth [generation] to Ezra [the Scribe].

ונתקבלו שכר זה מזה – Rabban Gamaliel received from Rabbi Yehoshua the payment of his place (i.e., rental) of the First Tithe and the payment of his place (i.e., rental) of the Poor Tithe from Rabbi Akiba and Rabbi Yehoshua received the payment of his place (i.e., rental) – “the tithe of the tithe” from Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah, and each one acquired a place of the Tithe that was appropriate for him with the money that he gave to the renter, for the renting of land is acquired through money.

ביום טוב אחרון היו מתודין – and they would not confess on the first day of the Festival immediately after the removal [of the fruits of the third and sixth years of the seven-year cycle], in order that he would have something to eat during the Festival. Therefore, on the eve of the first day of the Festival, he would remove [fruits] and leave them over until the last day.

Introduction This mishnah and the following three mishnayot are an extended midrash on Deuteronomy 26:12-15, the tithe confession. We should note that according to a simple reading of these verses, they only refer to one type of tithe, although it is not entirely clear to whom this tithe is allotted. However, the rabbis midrashically read into these verses all of the various types of agricultural gifts that a person must remove from his home before he can recite the tithe confession.

זה מעשר שני ונטע רבעי – which are called holy/sacred.

At minhah on the last festival day they would make the confession. The tithe confession would be made at the last possible time on the last day of Pesah, at minhah, or late afternoon.

זה מעשר לוי – that is, the First Tithe

How was the confession made? The actual confession consisted simply of reading all of the verses from Deuteronomy. The mishnah interpolates these verses with midrash, meant to explain what the various phrases in the confession refer to.

וגם נתתיו זה תרומה גדולה – and also, it is a supplement, implying that “I have given it to the Levite” (as per Deuteronomy 26:13) beyond what I gave to the Kohen.

“I have cleared out the holy portion from the house” this refers to maaser sheni and the fruit of plants in their fourth year. “The holy portion” can refer to maaser sheni which is called “holy” in Leviticus 27:30. And since according to Bet Hillel the rules of maaser sheni also apply to fourth-year fruits, they too can be called “holy.”

מן הבית זו חלה – which was thrown from the dough in the house.

“I have given them to the Levite” this refers to the tithe of the levites. The “Levite” is a reference to first tithe, given to the Levites.

“And also I have given them” this refers to terumah and the terumah of tithe. “And also” is taken to be an additional reference, for these words are not strictly needed for the verse to work. Since terumah is not referred to explicitly in the confession, the rabbis see these additional words as a reference to terumah and to the terumah taken from tithe.

“To the stranger, to the orphans, and to the widow” this refers to the tithe of the poor, gleanings, forgotten sheaves, and the corners of the field, even though these do not prevent [one from making] the confession. “To the stranger, to the orphans, and to the widow,” refers to poor tithe, which must be removed from one’s house before the confession can be recited. In addition, the mishnah also sees here a reference to the other agricultural gifts given to the poor, even though these do not strictly need to be given before one recites the confession.

“Out of the house” this refers to hallah. Finally, the mishnah reads into the confession a reference to “hallah” the part of the dough separated and given to the priest. We will be starting tractate Hallah in just a few short days so get ready (and start baking!).

ולא מן התלוש על המחובר וכו' – that is from that which is obligatory for that which is exempt, and from that which is exempt for that which is obligatory.

Introduction This mishnah continues to expound up Deuteronomy 26.

ולא מן החדש על הישן – as it is written (Deuteronomy 14:22): “[You shall set aside] every year [a tenth part of all the yield of your sowing] that is brought from the field,” and not from this year for its neighboring year.

“According to all Your commandments which You have commanded me,” thus, if he took out maaser sheni before the first tithe he cannot make the confession. The confessor states that he has properly performed all of the mitzvot involved with separating tithes. The first issue is that he has performed the tithes in their proper order. He didn’t take out maaser sheni before he took out first tithe (see Terumot 3:6).

ולא שכחתי מלברכך ומלהזכיר שמך עליו – since we recite a blessing to separate the heave-offering/sacred donation [to the Kohen], and similarly on the First and Second Tithes and the Poor Tithe, and for the redemption of the Second Tithe, and for Hallah, on all of them we recite a blessing.

“I have not transgressed any of Your commandments” I have not set apart [tithes] from one kind for a different kind, nor from plucked [produce] for [produce still] joined [to the soil], nor from new [produce] for old [produce], nor from old [produce] for new. He now confesses that he didn’t do anything else that is prohibited when it comes to tithing. We have learned all of these issues before (see Terumot 1:5, 2:4). Basically, one has to give terumot and maasrot from like produce, and one can’t separate one type of produce in order to exempt another.

“Neither have I forgotten” I have not forgotten to bless You, nor to make mention of You name over it. When one separates terumah and tithes, one must make a blessing, “Who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to separate terumot and maasrot.” “I have not forgotten” is a reference to the fact that he didn’t forget to recite this blessing.

לא אכלתי באוני – the entire day of death is [a period of] grief according to the Torah, and even after the burial, and the night that is after the day of the death is [a period of] grief according to the Rabbis. And similarly, the day of burial which is not the day of death is [part of the period of] grief according to the Rabbis.

Introduction And more midrash….

לא לקחתי ממנו ארון ותכריכין למת – and in a similar manner, for the [still] living, it is forbidden, for it is prohibited to purchase clothing and things like it from the Second Tithe [monies] as it is taught at the conclusion of the first chapter (Mishnah 7):” [this is the general principle:] if one purchased anything other than food, drink or anointment [with money from Second Tithe], if he purchased, he must consume of an equal value.” And [the Mishnah] did not make mention here the bier and the burial shrouds other to inform us that it not matter if he anointed from it [that was to be used] for the dead person, for he cannot make confession, as it says (Deuteronomy 26:14): “[I have not eaten] of it [while in mourning],” from the body of the [Second] Tithe, but even if he purchased a bier and burial shrouds [from it] and did not give from the substance of the Tithe for the dead, he is not able to recite the confession.

“I have not eaten from it in my mourning (” thus, if he had eaten it in his mourning (, he cannot make the confession. The word for mourning used here is “oni” in the Torah, and “aninut” in the midrashic explanation. This is not the full seven day period of mourning but the day that one of a person’s close relatives die. If one of a person’s seven close relatives dies, then he/she is an onen on that day and is not allowed to eat holy things, such as terumah, maaser sheni or sacrifices. After the day is over and the body has been buried the person can eat terumah and maaser sheni, as long as he is ritually pure. If he ate of it while he was an onen, he can’t make the confession.

“Neither have I removed any of it when unclean” thus, if he had removed it in uncleanness he cannot make the confession. The removal must be done in a state of purity because if he removes it while impure, he will cause the produce to become impure. If he did the removal while impure, he can’t recite the confession.

“And I have not given any of it to the dead” I have not used any of it for a coffin or shrouds for the dead, and I have not given any of it to other mourners. The Torah cryptically (pun intended) states, “I have not given any of it to the dead.” Tigay (JPS Commentary on Deuteronomy, p. 244) explains that this originally meant “to feed their spirits…The ancients believed that the living can assist the spirits of the dead in Sheol by providing them with food and drink.” The rabbis do not seem familiar with this concept and therefore they interpret it to mean that one cannot use maaser sheni money to aid the dead in practical ways, either by using the money to buy a coffin or shrouds, or by giving the money to other mourners (onenim) so that they could use the money for their dead.

“I have listened to the voice of the Lord my God” I have brought it to the chosen house. “The Chosen House” refers to all of Jerusalem and not just the Temple. The confessor states that he has brought the maaser sheni to the city of Jerusalem so that he could eat it there.

“I have done just as you commanded me I have rejoiced and made others rejoice. Deuteronomy 14:26-27 stipulates that when a person comes to Jerusalem he should rejoice and cause others to rejoice. The midrash in our mishnah reads this mitzvah into the confession.

“Look down from Your holy abode, from heaven” We have done what You decreed upon us, You too do what You have promised us.
“Look down from Your holy abode, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel” with sons and daughters.
“And the land which You have given us” with dew and rain and with offspring of cattle.
“As You swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey” that You may give a good taste to the produce.
You guessed it more midrash!
The confession has now turned from what the confessor, and by extension all of Israel, claims to have done, to the blessings that the confessor is asking. The confession might be understood as a petition to fulfill a contract we have fulfilled our side of the bargain, Israel is saying, now we ask of You, God, to fulfill yours.
The midrashim themselves should be self-understood, so I have not commented below.

מכאן אמרו – since it is written (Deuteronomy 26:15): “[and bless Your people Israel] and the soil You have given us.”

Introduction This mishnah contains an additional midrash on the verse, “And the land which You have given us” which was cited in yesterday’s mishnah.

ויש להם ערי מגרש – and they [i.e., Kohanim and Levites} are able to confess on the tithes that they bring from the fields of their cities. And the Halakha follows the opinion of Rabbi Yosi.

From here they said that Israelites and mamzerim may make the confession, but not converts, nor freed slaves, since they have no inheritance in the land. Since the verse states, “and the Land which You have given us” only those people who received land in the original conquest of Israel can recite the confession. This would exclude converts and freed slaves who did not receive any inheritance in the land of Israel because they were not part of the original 12 tribes. However, it would include Israelites and even mamzerim, for although they were born from an illicit union, they can still trace their lineage to the original twelve tribes.

Rabbi Meir says: neither do priests and Levites since they did not take a share of the land. Rabbi Meir notes that priests and Levites also did not receive a share of the land, and therefore they too cannot make the confession. The land was divided up to the 12 tribes and Levi is not considered one of the tribes (Joseph’s tribe is divided into Menashe and Ephraim).

Rabbi Yose says: they have the Levitical cities. Although the Levites did not receive a full geographical region, they did receive the Levitical cities (see Numbers 35:1-8). According to Rabbi Yose, this is sufficient for them to be able to recite the tithes confession.

יוחנן כ"ג – who served in the High Priesthood after Shimon HaTzaddik/the Righteous ( see Mishnah Avot, Chapter 1, Mishnah 2 – who was one of the last of the Men of the Great Assembly).

Introduction This mishnah contains some historical information concerning changes in practice initiated by Yohanan the high priest, who lived some time during the late Second Temple period. The first of these changes deals with the tithe confession, and hence this mishnah is brought here.

העביר הודיות המעשר – Since Ezra fined the Levites in that he would not give to them the [First] Tithe, for when he went up [to the Land of Israel] from the Diaspora and the sons of Levi did not go up with him, he commanded that they should give the [First] Tithe to the Kohanim, but Yohanan the Kohen Gadol/High Priest abolished the Confession (see Deuteronomy 26:13-15), since he was unable to say [the words] (Deuteronomy 26:13): “[I have cleared out the consecrated portion from the house;] and I have given it to the Levite, [the stranger, the father, and the widow, just as You commanded me...].

Yohanan the high priest stopped [the recitation] of the confession of the tithes. Yohanan ended the recitation of the tithes confession. There are two explanations as to why he put an end to this practice. The first is that in his day people stopped separating tithes and they only separated terumah. Therefore, they couldn’t make the tithes declaration. The second explanation is that at this point in history they were giving the tithes to the priests, and therefore they could no longer say, “And I have given of it to the Levite.”

בטל את המעוררים – for the Levites would recite on each day on the platform/Dukhan (Psalms 44:24): “Rouse Yourself; why do You sleep, O LORD? [Awaken, do not reject us forever!].” He said (to them): Is there sleep before God? Therefore, he stood and abolished them.

He also abolished the “wakers” and the “strikers.” Psalm 44:24 reads, “Rouse yourself; why do you sleep O Lord?” The Levites would recite this Psalm when reciting the Psalm over the daily sacrifice (today we recite these as “songs of the day”). These Levites were called the “Wakers.” Yohanan abolished this practice because it gave the impression that God could sleep, or that God was asleep and not listening to their petitions. “The strikers” refers to the priests who would strike a calf about to be sacrificed in order to stun it and make it easier to sacrifice. Yohanan abolished this practice lest the blow make the animal into a “terefah” an animal with a mortal wound. Such an animal cannot be eaten. Indeed, this issue is still at hand today and is the problem that ritual slaughterers have with administering a blow to the animal before its throat is cut.

את הנוקפים – for they would wound the sacrificial calf between its horns in order that blood would fall into its eyes in order that he would not see and it would be easy to invert it and slaughter it. He stood and abolished it (i.e., this practice), for it appeared as a like having a blemish (making it unfit for the altar, for priestly service, etc.) and they established for them rings in the ground to draw the neck of the animal into it (by the use of a rope passing through it, drawing the animal’s head down- See Mishnah Middot, Chapter 3, Mishnah 5). [The word] "נוקפים" – striking – and an example of this: A person does not strike his finger from below (Talmud Hullin 7b).

Until his days the hammer used to beat in Jerusalem. Before Yohanan’s time in Jerusalem you could hear the hammer strike during hol hamoed, the intermediate days of the festival. People were working on things that needed to be done during the festival, and this type of work is permitted on hol hamoed. However, Yohanan was strict and forbade this hammer striking because it gave the impression that work could proceed as usual on hol hamoed. Hearing the hammer might lead others to perform truly prohibited work, so Yohanan abolished the practice.

היה פטיש מכה בירושלים – those who engrave copper and iron would strike it with a hammer to do work that cannot be postponed without irretrievable loss which is permissible during the [Intermediate Days] of the Festival [of Passover and Sukkot]. And he stood and abolished them because the thing grows too loud and there is a despising of the Festival.

And in his days one did not have to ask about demai. Before Yohanan’s time when people bought produce, they had to ask the seller if he had separated the tithes. If he had not, they wouldn’t buy from him because it would cost them to separate all of the tithes. Yohanan decreed that people could buy produce from anyone and they could treat it as demai. This would mean the following: they wouldn’t have to separate terumah, because they could assume that the seller had already taken out terumah. They would have to separate the tithes, but they could eat the tithes themselves since anyone can eat tithes. Since the Levite can’t prove that these tithes were necessary (they may have already been tithed), the owner gets to keep them. They would take out terumah from the tithe and give it to the kohen, and they would have to take out second tithe. But the second tithe they can keep as long as they eat it in Jerusalem. So the only thing that they would have to give away would be the terumat maaser, which is only a tiny percentage of the overall purchase. In this way, Yohanan created a way for people to buy produce from anyone. Congratulations! We have finished Maaser Sheni! It is a tradition at this point to thank God for helping us finish learning the tractate and to commit ourselves to going back and relearning it, so that we may not forget it and so that its lessons will stay with us for all of our lives. Maaser Sheni was brought to Jerusalem and eaten there. The purpose of this law was to bring people to Jerusalem and to make them bring their produce with them or at least buy food and have a celebratory feast there. Most people would fulfill this on one of the three festivals. Thus, Jerusalem would be full of people, eating good food together and celebrating the Jewish calendar. Today, I think we can fulfill the spirit of this law by visiting Jerusalem and celebrating there with other Jews. We can even return to the colorful markets and buy an array of produce, fish and meat that taste as good as anything that I’ve ever had (although I admit that my culinary experience is somewhat lacking). Jerusalem is like glue that bonds the Jewish people to one another, and it works best when people actually come to Jerusalem. As many of you know, I work in Jerusalem, although I don’t actually live there. Driving to Jerusalem every day can easily become a routine, one that I don’t appreciate enough. So personally, this tractate serves to remind me that I don’t work just in Jerusalem, I work in the Holy City of Jerusalem, where all Jews used to bring their maaser sheni and rejoice together. Tomorrow we begin Tractate Hallah.

ובימיו אין אדם צריך לשאול על הדמאי – for he said to the people of his generation: just as the Great Priest’s Due (2% that went to a Kohen) has the punishment of the death penalty [for non-compliance with this regulation], so too the Terumat Ma’aser/the ten percent that the Levite gave to the Kohen and eatables forbidden pending the separation of sacred gifts carry the death penalty [for non-compliance]. And he ordained that they should take out from that which was doubtfully-tithed only the tithe of the tithe that the Levite owes to the Kohen and Second Tithe, and they should not remove from it First Tithe or the Poor Tithe (in years three and six), for they can say to the Levite or to the poor that he brought proof that it is eatables forbidden pending the separation of sacred gifts and they should take [them]. And from this ordinance onward, he whomever purchases produce from the market would not ask if they were properly prepared or not, but he can immediate separate from them the Priest’s Due, the tithe of the tithe that the Levite gives to the Kohen and Second Tithe and eat the remainder. For all who purchase produce from an ignoramus are considered doubtfully tithed.