meta: {"file": "/data/tomer/Sefaria-Export/txt_done/Mishnah/Seder Zeraim/Mishnah Demai/English/Open Mishnah.txt"}
text: Mishnah Demai
  משנה דמאי
  Open Mishnah
  
  
  Mishnah Demai
  
  
  
  
  
  These are those which we are lenient with <i>Demai</i> [produce from which it is uncertain if tithes were already taken]: wild figs, the fruit of the lotus, crab apples, white figs, fruit of the sycamore, stunted dates, dill, and capers; and in Judea, the sumac, Judean vinegar, and coriander. Rabbi Yehudah says, “All the wild figs are exempt except for those that bear twice a year; all the lotus fruits are exempt except for the lotus fruit from Shikmonah; all the sycamore fruits are exempt except for those that have been burst open.”
  <i>Demai</i> does not have a [penalty of a] fifth, and does not require removal, and an <i>Onen</i> [person whose close relative has died and not yet been buried] may eat it, and may enter Jerusalem and leave, and one may lose a small amount of it on the road, and it may be given to an <i>Am HaAretz</i> [one who is lax in observing tithes and purity laws], and he may eat something else instead and exchange it, silver for silver, copper for copper, silver for copper, and copper for fruit. And this is only if he returns to redeem the fruits, this is the opinion of Rabbi Meir. And the sages say, “He brings up the fruit, and they will be eaten in Jerusalem.”
  One who buys for seed or for domestic animals, flour for skins, oil for lighting, or oil for utensil grease; [these are] exempt from <i>Demai</i>. [Areas located] from K’ziv and beyond are exempt from <i>Demai</i>. The <i>Challah</i> [dough that must be set aside for the priest] of an <i>Am HaAretz</i>, and a mixture of regular produce with <i>Terumah</i> [produce consecrated for priestly consumption], and that which was bought with money of the second tithe, and the remnant of the meal offering, are exempt from <i>Demai</i>. Fragrant oil is obligated by the school of Shammai, and the school of Hillel exempts.
  <i>Demai</i> may be used to make an <i>Eruv</i> for shared courtyards and alleyways, and we bless on it [before eating], and invite on it [others to the blessings after the meal], and tithes may be separated from it while naked, and at twilight [as Shabbat comes in]. If one separated the second tithe before the first, this doesn’t matter. Oil with which a weaver anoints his fingers is obligated in <i>Demai</i>, and that which the comber puts in wool is exempt from <i>Demai</i>.
  
  
  
  And these are the things to be tithed as <i>Demai</i> [produce from which it is uncertain if tithes were already taken] in every place: the pressed figs, and the dates, and the carobs, the rice, and the cumin. Rice grown outside the land [of Israel], anyone who uses it is exempt.
  One who takes it on himself to be trustworthy must tithe that which he eats, and that which he sells, and that which he buys, and he may not stay as a guest of an <i>Am HaAretz</i> [one who is lax in observing tithes and purity laws]. Rabbi Yehudah says, “Even if he is a guest of an <i>Am HaAretz</i>, he is trustworthy.” They said to him, “[If] for his own consumption he is not trustworthy, how can he be trustworthy with that which belongs to another?”
  One who takes it upon himself to be a <i>Chaver</i> [one who scrupulously observes tithes and purity laws] may not sell to an ignorant person wet or dry [produce], nor buy from him wet [produce], nor be the guest of an <i>Am HaAretz</i> nor host him as a guest [when he is clothed] in his [own] garments. Rabbi Yehudah says, “He may not even raise small animals, nor be unrestrained regarding vows and entertainment, nor become defiled by [contact with] a corpse, and frequent the house of study.” They said to him, “These are not included in the general principle.”
  The bakers are not obligated by the Sages to separate except for the amount of <i>Terumat Ma'aser</i> [a portion of the tithes that is given to the priest] and <i>Challah</i> [dough that must be set aside for the priest]. The shopkeepers are not permitted to sell <i>Demai</i>. All that handle large measurements are permitted to sell <i>Demai</i>. These are they which are handled in large measurements: wholesalers and sellers of grains.
  Rabbi Meir says, “[In a case of] that which it is customary to measure in large amounts but was measured in small amounts, the small amounts are of secondary importance to the large amounts. [In a case of] that which it is customary to measure in small amounts, but was measured in large amounts, the large amount is of secondary importance to the small. Which is a large measurement? In dry [produce], three <i>Kavin</i> [specific unit of volume], and in wet [produce], a <i>Dinar</i> [specific unit of money].” Rabbi Yosi says, “Baskets of figs and baskets of grapes and a heap of greens, every time they are sold by approximation, they are exempt.”