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text: English Explanation of Mishnah Maasrot
  ביאור אנגלי על משנה מעשרות
  merged
  
  This file contains merged sections from the following text versions:
  -Mishnah Yomit by Dr. Joshua Kulp
  -
  
  English Explanation of Mishnah Maasrot
  
  Introduction
  
  First tithe, the first tenth of one’s produce, are given to the Levites. The only verses in the Torah which deal with this tithe is Numbers 18:21-24:
  21 And to the Levites I hereby give all the tithes in Israel as their share in return for the services that they perform, the services of the Tent of Meeting.  22 Henceforth, Israelites shall not trespass on the Tent of Meeting, and thus incur guilt and die: 23 Only Levites shall perform the services of the Tent of Meeting; others would incur guilt. It is the law for all time throughout the ages. But they shall have no territorial share among the Israelites; 24 For it is the tithes set aside by the Israelites as a gift to the LORD that I give to the Levites as their share. Therefore I have said concerning them: They shall have no territorial share among the Israelites.
  The topic that is discussed throughout most of the tractate is when does produce become liable for tithes? To put this question another way—up until what point can one eat produce without tithing it? There are several potential occurrences that make produce liable for tithing, such as making it into a pile, taking it into one’s courtyard or house or cooking it. Before any of these actions happen, one can eat produce in a non-fixed meal, as a snack, but not as part of a more formal meal. For instance, if one is in the field, one can pick grapes directly off of the vine without tithing them. However, once one brings them into one’s house in order to drink the wine with a meal, he cannot drink it until it has been tithed. 
  The word “maasrot” literally means “tithes,” but it often refers to terumah as well as tithes. The reason is that tithes are terumah would have been typically separated from produce at the same time. So many of these mishnayot deal both with terumah and tithes.
  The mishnayot throughout the tractate assume that tithes are given to the Levite. However, there is ample evidence that in the Second Temple period, tithes were frequently given to priests, either along with Levites, or instead of Levites. Since this issue is not really relevant to our tractate, I am not going to delve further into it. 
  We should also note that unlike terumah, which is strictly prohibited to non-priests, anybody can eat tithes. They are not called “holy” by the Torah. Therefore, there is no discussion about tithes that get mixed up with hullin, a discussion which took up a large portion of Terumot. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Mishnah 1
  
  Introduction
  Our mishnah teaches two general principles with regard to what foods cannot be eaten before they are tithed.
  They said a general principle concerning tithes: whatever is food, and is looked after, and grows from the land, is liable for tithes.  This is the same principle we saw with regard to peah in Peah 1:4. Only plants that are food for humans, and are worthy of storing (looking after) and grow from the land (according to the rabbis this excludes mushrooms) are liable for tithes. Foods that don’t fit all three of these categories need not be tithed before they are eaten.
  And they have further stated another general principle [concerning tithes]: whatever is considered food both at the beginning and at the conclusion [of its growth] even though he holds on to it in order to increase the quantity of food, is liable [to tithe] whether [it is harvested] in its earlier or later stages.  If there is a plant that is generally eaten in its early stage of ripening and in a later stage, it must be tithed no matter when it was harvested. Even though he might generally leave it in the ground in order to give it time to grow bigger, since it is also eaten at the earlier stage, it must be tithed when it is picked earlier. We shall see examples of this below in mishnah four.
  But whatever is not considered food in the earlier stages [of its growth] but only in its later stages, is not liable [to tithe] until it can be considered food.  However, if the produce is not considered edible at its earlier stage of growth, if it is nevertheless harvested at this earlier stage, it can be eaten without being tithed. An example might be a banana. A banana harvested at an earlier stage is not considered food and therefore one who does eat such a banana need not tithe it. It would only need to be tithed if harvested when ripe.
  
  Mishnah 2
  
  When do fruits become liable for tithes?Figs from the time they begin to ripe.Grapes and wild grapes in the early stages of ripening.Sumac and mulberries after they become red; [similarly] all red fruits, after they become red.Pomegranates, when the insides become soft.Dates when they begin to swell.Peaches when [red] veins begin to show.Walnuts when the nuts are separate from the shell.Rabbi Judah says: walnuts and almonds, after their inner skins have been formed.This mishnah lists various fruits of the tree and teaches when each of them becomes liable for tithes. The general principle seems to be that they are liable at the earliest point at which they are edible.Since the words are self-explanatory I do not offer any explanation below.
  
  Mishnah 3
  
  Carobs [are liable to] tithes after they form dark spots; similarly all black fruits after they form dark spots.Pears and crustumenian pears, quinces, and medlars [are liable to tithes] after their surface begins to grow smooth; similarly all white fruits, after their surface begins to grow smooth.Fenugreek [is liable to tithe] when the seeds [can be planted and] will grow.Grain and olives after they are one-third ripe.This mishnah continues to teach when various types of produce become liable for tithes. Again, since it is self-explanatory, there are no comments below.
  
  Mishnah 4
  
  Introduction
  Our mishnah begins to discuss when vegetables and other fruits that are eaten in early stages of ripening begin to become liable for tithes.
  With regard to when vegetables [are liable to tithes]:Cucumbers, gourds, water-melons, cucumber-melons, apples and etrogs are liable [for tithes], whether gathered in the earlier or later stages of ripening.  All of these vegetables/fruits are eaten at both an early stage in their ripening and a later stage. Hence, even if they are harvested at their earlier stage, they are still liable for tithes.
  Rabbi Shimon exempts the etrog in the earlier stages.  Rabbi Shimon holds that etrogs are only eaten at their later stage of ripening and therefore if they are picked at an earlier stage, they are exempt from tithes.
  The condition in which bitter almonds are liable [to tithes] is exempt in the case of sweet almonds, and the condition in which sweet almonds are liable [to tithe] is exempt in the case of bitter almonds.  Bitter almonds are eaten in the early stage of their ripening and sweet almonds are eaten in the later stage of their ripening. Therefore, the opposite rules apply to them. If bitter almonds are harvested at the later stage, they are exempt, because this is not when they are typically eaten, and if sweet almonds are harvested in their early stage, they are exempt because that is not when they are typically eaten.
  
  Mishnah 5
  
  What is considered a “threshing floor” for tithes [i.e. when does produce become liable for tithes]?Cucumbers and gourds [are liable for tithes] once he removes their fuzz. And if he doesn’t remove it, once he makes a pile.Melons once he removes the fuzz with hot water. And if they he does not remove the fuzz, once he stores them in the muktzeh.Vegetables which are tied in bundles, from the time he ties them up in bundles. If he does not tie them up in bundles, until he fills the vessel with them. And if he does not fill the vessel, after he has gathered all that he wishes to gather.[Produce which is packed in] a basket [is liable for tithes] after he has covered it. If he is not going to cover it, until he fills the vessel with them. And if he does not fill the vessel, after he has gathered all that he wishes to gather.When does this apply? When one brings [the produce] to the market. But when he brings it to his own house, he may make a chance meal of it, until he reaches his house.This mishnah begins dealing with the issue of when produce become liable for tithes (see introduction). The mishnah calls this a “threshing floor” because at the threshing floor grain becomes liable for tithes. By extension, all produce is liable for tithes once its processing has been completed. After this point it is prohibited to eat even a chance meal from this produce without tithing it. Before this point one can eat a “chance meal” without tithing, but not a “fixed meal,” one which is more formal.Sections one and two:  The processing of cucumbers, gourds and melons is completed once the owner removes the “fuzz”, some very fine hair, that is on them. After that point, they are liable for tithes. If he doesn’t intend to remove the fuzz, then the processing is complete once he has made them into a pile, or once he has stored them in the “muktzeh” a storage area behind the house.Sections three and four: Vegetables which are usually tied up in bundles in order to be brought to market, are liable for tithes as soon as they are tied up in bundles. Similarly, produce which is usually stored in baskets is liable to be tithed once it is put in a basket. In both cases, these are the final stages in their preparation. If he doesn’t intend to do this stage, either tying up in bundles or covering them in a basket, then they are liable for tithes once he has filled up a vessel with them, a vessel which he will use to bring the vegetables to the market. Finally, if he isn’t going to even put them in a vessel at all, then they are liable for tithes as soon as he has gathered a sufficient amount that it is worth it for him to bring the produce to the market. Note that if the last normal stage is not going to happen, then the previous stage becomes the completing stage.Section five: The rules in the above sections apply only when he is going to take the produce to the market. In such a situation, this processing is relevant. However, if he is intending to take the produce home, then the produce is not liable for tithes until he brings it into his house. He may make a “chance meal” from the produce until he brings it home.
  
  Mishnah 6
  
  Dried pomegranate seeds, raisins and carobs, [are liable for tithes] after he has made a pile.  These dried fruits are liable for tithes once he has made them into a pile in order to bring them to market. [As an aside, I am eating a delicious pomegranate, fresh not dried, while I write this yummy and healthy! It doesn’t get any better than this.]
  Onions, once he removes the onion seeds. If he does not remove the onion seeds, after he makes a pile.  Albeck explains that the mishnah refers to removing the “mothers of the onion,” the parts of the onion used to grow new onions. Other interpreters make a slight modification in the spelling of the Hebrew, and interpret the mishnah to read “once he has peeled” the onion, which would refer to the very outer skin. The default point for onions and for other types of produce is “when he has made a pile” which is the first point when it comes to the dried fruits in the previous section.
  Grain, once he smoothes out the pile. If he does not smooth the pile, after he makes a pile.  Grain is liable for tithes once he smoothes out the pile, but if he doesn’t smooth out the pile, then it is liable from the time he makes a pile.
  Pulse, after he has sifted it. If he does not sift, after he smoothes out a pile.  Pulse, or legumes, is liable for tithes once it has been sifted in order to remove the “shmutz,” the dirt and pebbles. But if he does not intend to remove the shmutz, then pulse too is liable for tithes once he has smoothed out a pile.
  Even after he has smoothed out the pile, he may [without tithing] take from the broken ears, from the sides of the piles, and from that which is mixed in with the chaff, and eat.  This section refers to the grain mentioned in section three. Although grain is liable for tithes once he has smoothed out a pile, he may nevertheless continue to “nibble” from certain parts of the grain, such as ears of grain that have not been successfully threshed, without tithing them. He can also eat ears of grain that are on the sides of the pile and not in the pile itself, and he can eat ears of grain that are still mixed in with straw. In other words, he can’t eat from the ears of grain that have been successfully processed and placed in the pile, but he can continue to eat, without tithing, from ears of grain that were not successfully processed.
  
  Mishnah 7
  
  Introduction
  This mishnah deals with when wine and oil become liable for tithes.
  Wine [is liable for tithes] after it has been skimmed [in the lower part of the winepress]. Even though it has been skimmed, he may take from the upper winepress, or from the duct, and drink [without taking out tithe].  The wine that is found in the lower part of the winepress must be tithed once the stuff (skins and seeds) has been skimmed off the top. However, even after the wine in the lower part of the winepress has been skimmed, he can still drink from the wine remaining in the upper parts of the winepress because its processing has not yet been completed.
  Oil [is liable for tithes] after it has gone down into the trough. But even after it has gone down into the trough he may still take oil from the pressing bale, or from the press beam, or from the boards between the press [without tithing,]  Oil is liable for tithes once it has drained down into the trough, the lowest part of the olive press.
  And he may put such oil on a cake, or large plate.  Similar to the case of wine, although some of the oil has drained off into the trough, he may still take oil from other parts of the olive press and use it without tithing.
  But he should not put the oil in a dish or stewpot, while they are boiling.  There are certain rules as to how he can use oil that didn’t need to be tithed. He can use this oil to put on cakes and he can put it directly on a plate and eat it without tithing it.
  Rabbi Judah says: he may put it into anything except that which contains vinegar or brine.  However, he cannot put it into a boiling dish because anything cooked cannot be eaten without being first tithed. Cooking, which by definition is a more formal way of eating, makes things liable for tithes, and therefore he can’t put the oil into a boiling dish. It seems like the mishnah would allow him to put the oil into a dish that has already been cooked because in such a case the oil itself is not being cooked, rather it is just being consumed with cooked food.
  Rabbi Judah holds that regular cooking, at least of oil, does not make the oil liable with tithes, and therefore he can put the oil into a boiling dish. The only thing he cannot put the oil in is a boiling dish that includes vinegar or brine, because by their sharpness these will hurry the cooking process.
  
  Mishnah 8
  
  Introduction
  The final mishnah of our chapter deals with figs.
  A cake of pressed figs [is liable for tithes] from the moment it has been smoothed out [with fruit juice].  The final step in processing a cake of pressed figs was to smooth it out using fruit juice. Once this step has occurred, one cannot eat the figs without tithing them.
  They may smooth them out with [the juice of] untithed figs or grapes. Rabbi Judah forbids this.  As an aside, the mishnah now discusses several halakhot connected to the smoothing out of fig cakes. First of all, there is the issue of whether the fruit juice itself must come from tithed produce. According to the first opinion, it need not because the juice that comes out from the grapes or figs is not treated like the grapes or figs itself.  Since the untithed figs or grapes do not directly come into contact with the fig cake, using juice from them before they are tithed is not a problem. Rabbi Judah disagrees and holds that that the juice that flows from the grapes or figs is treated like the grapes or figs themselves and therefore it must be tithed.
  If one smoothed with grapes, it is not susceptible to uncleanness. Rabbi Judah says it is susceptible.  A correlated dispute is with regard to whether juice from grapes or figs causes other produce to be susceptible to uncleanness. According to the first opinion, there are only seven liquids that cause other produce to be susceptible to uncleanness (dew, water, wine, oil, blood, milk, and bee honey) and juice is not among them (see Terumot 11:2). Rabbi Judah adds fruit juice to this list.
  Dried figs [are liable to tithe] after they have been pressed [into a jar]. And [figs] stored in a bin [are liable to tithe] after they have been pressed.  Dried figs are liable once they have been pressed into a jar and if they are going to be pressed into a storage bin, then once they have been pressed there into the bin.
  If one was pressing [the figs] into a jar, or pressing them in a storage bin, and the jar was broken or the storage bin opened, he may not make a chance meal of them. Rabbi Yose permits this.  The issue at stake here is whether something that has already become liable for tithes can go back to a state where one can eat from it without tithing. Once the figs were pressed into the jar or storage bin they became liable for tithes. When the jar or bin breaks, he is going to have to put them in another jar or bin they are now in a state of uncompleted processing. According to the first opinion in the mishnah, once they have become liable for tithes, one cannot go back to eating them without tithing them, no matter what happens. Rabbi Yose holds that they do revert to their previous status because at this point, their processing is no longer completed.
  
  
  
  
  
  Mishnah 1
  
  Introduction
  This mishnah deals with someone who gets produce from someone else while walking on the street. There are two questions here: 1) can he eat them without tithing? 2) What if they were already tithed?
  If one was passing through the street, and said “Take for yourself from my figs,” one may eat them and be exempt from tithes. Therefore if they brought them into their houses, they must separate [tithes and terumah] as if they were certainly untithed.  The mishnah deals with a person who is bringing figs into his home and offers some to someone else. One can assume that they have not been tithed because usually produce that one is not bringing to market is not tithed until one brings it home. Had the figs already been tithed, he would have told the person he was giving them to that he could eat them at home. The receiver can eat the figs without tithing them before he brings them home, but once he brings them into his house he must tithe them before he can eat them. The tithes that he separates have to be considered “certain tithes” because we can be quite certain that they were not yet tithed.
  [If he said], “Take and bring it into your houses,” they may not make a chance meal of them. Therefore if they brought them into their houses, they need tithe them only as demai.  In this case, the person told him that he can eat the figs in their own home. This is taken as a hint at two possible things. First of all, he may be saying that the figs have already been in his home, which would make them liable for tithes, but they have not yet been tithed. Therefore, it is forbidden to make a chance meal of them before he tithes them. The other possibility is that he is telling him that he can eat them even in his own home because they have already been tithed. Therefore, when he brings them into his home he must tithe them as if they are “demai” doubtfully tithed produce. In sum, the mishnah is concerned for two opposite problems while in the street he can’t eat them lest they already were brought into the original person’s house and they were not tithed; once he brings them home, he must be concerned lest they already were tithed and therefore, the tithes that he takes out have the status of demai and not certain tithes.
  
  Mishnah 2
  
  Introduction
  Our mishnah continues to deal with people who receive figs from passersby (I’d like to receive figs from passersby, but I guess people aren’t as nice as they used to be) and with the question of whether they can eat the figs before they tithe them.
  If they were sitting at the gate or a shop, and one said [to them], “Take for yourselves figs,” they may eat and be exempt from tithes, but the owner of the gate, or the owner of the shop, is liable [to give tithe].  Except for the owners, the people sitting at the gate or inside the shop can eat the figs without tithing them because the gate and the shop don’t belong to them. When we learned that once food is brought into one’s home it cannot be eaten before it is tithed, that meant one’s own home. Since these people didn’t own the gate or the shop, the figs are not liable for tithes for them. However, the owners of the gate and the shop have had the tithes brought into their homes (or at least a building owned by them), and therefore they can’t eat until they tithe.
  Rabbi Judah exempts him unless he turns his face or changes the place where he was sitting [and selling].  Rabbi Judah holds that a gate and a shop do not make food liable for tithes because it wasn’t considered decent to eat in such places. People would be embarrassed to eat there because people generally didn’t eat in public places. So if he nevertheless eats in one of those places, he need not tithe before he eats. However, if he turns around so that they don’t see him eating, or he moves to another place within the gate or shop where he won’t be embarrassed to eat, then he must tithe before he eats the figs.
  
  Mishnah 3
  
  Introduction
  In yesterday’s mishnah we learned that bring one’s produce into another person’s home doesn’t make the produce liable for tithes.  Only bringing it into one’s own home makes it liable for tithes.
  In today’s mishnah we learn about people traveling on the road and staying at other people’s homes and when their food becomes liable for tithes.
  One who brings produce from the Galilee to Judea, or if he goes up to Jerusalem, he may eat of them until he arrives at the place to which he intends to go, and the same is true when he returns.  When one is traveling on the road for business, or making a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and he enters an inn to spend the night while on the way, he can continue to eat the harvested produce without tithing it until he gets to the place, meaning the home that he intended to go to. This is true even if that house is not actually his home. However, bringing the produce into someone else’s home while still on the way does not make it liable for tithes.
  Rabbi Meir says: [he may eat] until he reaches the place where he intends to rest [on Shabbat].  Rabbi Meir says that once he gets to the place where he wants to spend Shabbat he can no longer eat his produce without tithing it, even if he gets to that place at some earlier time during the week. The beginning of Shabbat always means that produce must be tithed before it is eaten, but Rabbi Meir adds that just merely being at the place where one will spend Shabbat already makes the produce liable for tithes even if it is not yet Shabbat.
  But peddlers who travel from town to town may eat until they reach the place where they intend to stay over night.  Peddlers are constantly on the move, going from one place to another, and they don’t really have one place to which they are going. Therefore, the arrival at any place where they intend to spend the night makes their produce liable for tithes.
  Rabbi Judah says: the first house [he reaches] is his house.  Rabbi Judah is even stricter and rules that even if he doesn’t intend to spend the night in a certain place, just entering any house makes his produce liable for tithes. A peddler’s home is whatever place he ends up in, and not just one that he plans on going to beforehand.
  
  Mishnah 4
  
  Introduction
  Our mishnah deals with a person who separated terumah from his produce before he finished its processing and before he separated the tithes.
  Produce from which he separated terumah before its work was finished: Rabbi Eliezer says: it is forbidden to make a chance meal of it, But the sages permit it except when it is a basket of figs.  According to Rabbi Eliezer, once one has separated terumah from produce it can no longer be eaten in a chance fashion until tithes have also been separated. To put it another way, taking out terumah makes the produce liable for tithes. The rabbis generally disagree and hold that separating terumah does not make produce liable for tithes. One can continue to eat chance meals from the produce.  The one exception is a basket of figs. Albeck tentatively explains that it was common to give figs to several people (as we saw above in mishnayot 1-2) and if he took out terumah then he has shown that his intention is to give away the figs while they are in the basket and therefore this is considered the final step in their processing. Furthermore, once he has separated the terumah he won’t put more hullin figs into the basket and therefore, their processing is complete. Therefore, he can no longer eat in a “chance” fashion from these figs.
  A basket of figs from which one separated terumah: Rabbi Shimon permits it. But the sages forbid it.  Rabbi Shimon does not distinguish between figs and other types of produce even though he separated terumah from the basket, it is still not liable for tithes and he can continue to eat in a chance fashion.
  
  Mishnah 5
  
  Introduction
  In our mishnah we learn that produce that has been sold and bought cannot be eaten, even in a chance fashion, until it has been tithed.
  One who says to his friend: “Here is this issar, give me five figs for it”, he may not eat of [them] until he has tithed them, the words of Rabbi Meir.  According to Rabbi Meir, once the figs have been bought, they must be tithed before he can eat from them.
  Rabbi Judah says: if he ate them one by one, he is exempt, but if he gathered them [to eat them] together, he is liable [to tithe.]  According to Rabbi Judah, if the seller gives the buyer one fig at a time, he can eat them without tithing them. However, if the seller gathers several together and sells them to him at one time, then he can’t eat them at all until he has tithed them. According to Rabbi Judah, this is the type of sale that makes produce liable for tithes.
  Rabbi Judah said: it happened in a rose-garden in Jerusalem that there were figs being sold three or four for an issar, and neither terumah nor tithe was ever given from it.  Rabbi Judah relates a story about a rose-garden in Jerusalem in which figs grew and people bought them at the price of three or four for an issar (a coin worth 1/24 of a dinar) and they never had to tithe them, because they ate them one at a time. Evidently, these rose-garden figs were quite delicious. I’ll keep my eye out for them here in the Holy City!
  
  Mishnah 6
  
  Introduction
  This mishnah teaches ways in which a person can buy produce and yet continue to eat it without tithing.
  One who says to his friend: “Here is an issar for ten figs which I choose for myself,” he may choose them and eat [one at a time without tithing]. [If he said] “For a cluster of grapes which I choose for myself,” he may pick grapes from the cluster and eat. [If he said], “For a pomegranate which I choose for myself,” he may take apart [the pomegranate] and eat [it one piece at a time]. [If he said] “For a watermelon, which I choose for myself,” he may slice and eat [it one piece at a time].  In all of the cases in this mishnah, the person gives the person money on condition that he chooses which particular piece of fruit he is buying. The fruit is still attached to the ground. The purchase is only completed once he picks the fruit. Therefore, he can eat them without tithing, but only one at a time, as was Rabbi Judah’s opinion in yesterday’s mishnah. The same is true for the grapes, pomegranate and watermelon mentioned in the remainder of this section. Since he doesn’t determine which piece of fruit he is buying until he picks it, this is considered a case of buying produce that is already detached from the ground.
  But if he said “For these twenty figs,” or “For these two clusters,” or “For these two water-melons,” he may eat them in his usual way and be exempt [from tithe], because he bought them while they were still attached to the ground.  In this case he specifies which of the fruit he wants to eat. In this way, he succeeds in acquiring the fruit while it is still attached to the ground. Buying fruit while it is still attached to the ground does not make it liable for tithes, and therefore, he can eat from it in a chance fashion before it is tithed.
  
  Mishnah 7
  
  Introduction
  According to the rabbinic interpretation of Deuteronomy 23:25-26, the Torah allows a worker in a field to eat from the owner’s produce while he is working in the field (see also Bava Metzia 7:2). The produce that he eats is not considered a wage and hence it can be eaten without having been tithed. Our mishnah deals with several ramifications of this law.
  One who has hired a worker to help him harvest figs, and he [the worker] said to him “On condition that I may eat the figs,” he may eat them and he is exempt [from tithing].  As I explained in the introduction, the worker is allowed to eat while harvesting the grapes, even if he doesn’t stipulate that he may do so. Therefore, the fact that he says, “On condition that I may eat the figs” does not make the figs part of the contract and thereby like wages; rather he is allowed to eat the figs because of the Torah’s laws. Since the figs are not considered part of his wages, he may eat them without tithing.
  [If he said,] “On condition that I and my son may eat,” or “that my son may eat of them in lieu of my receiving a wage,” he may eat and he is exempt [from tithing], but his son may eat but he is liable [for tithes].  The Torah does not mandate that a worker’s son can eat of the produce while his father is working in the field. Therefore, if the worker makes this stipulation the figs that his son eats are considered wages and must be tithed before the son eats them.
  [If he said,] “On condition that I may eat of them during the time of the fig harvest, and after the fig harvest,” during the time of the fig harvest he may eat and he is exempt [from tithing], but if he eats after the fig harvest he is liable, since he does not eat of them in the manner mandated by the Torah.  The Torah mandates that he is allowed to eat while he is harvesting but not after the harvest has been completed. Thus, while still harvesting he can eat the figs without tithing them. However, if he eats figs after the harvest has been completed, these are considered to be wages and he must tithe them before he eats.
  This is the general rule: one who eats in a manner mandated by the Torah is exempt [from tithes], and one who does not eat in the manner mandated by the Torah is liable.  The general rule here is the basis of all the previous section. It is interesting to note that what the Torah mandates that the employer give his employee is not considered a wage, but a right.
  
  Mishnah 8
  
  Introduction
  This mishnah continues to deal with when a worker working in field must tithe his produce. Some of the concepts of this mishnah were already taught in Bava Metzia 7:4.
  If a man is working [as a hired worker] among cooking figs, he may not eat of white figs, and if among white figs, he may not eat of cooking figs, but he may restrain himself until he reaches the place where there are the better figs, and then he may eat.  While working in the field, a worker may only eat from the type of produce that he is working with. Thus, if he is working with one type of figs, he cannot eat from another type. However, he can wait until he begins to work with the better type of figs and then he may eat from them.
  If a man exchanges with his friend either [figs] for eating for [figs] for eating, or [figs] to be dried for figs [to be dried], of figs [for eating] for figs [to be dried], then he is liable to give tithes.  According to the opinion in this section, when one exchanges any type of figs, figs that are going to be eaten fresh (what the mishnah calls “for eating) or figs that are going to dried, the exchange is treated like a purchase and neither party can eat of the figs before they are tithed.
  Rabbi Judah says: one who exchanges [figs] for [other figs for eating] is liable, but [if for figs] for drying he is exempt.  Rabbi Judah says that if he exchanges his figs for other figs that are going to be dried out, then he can eat the figs he gets without first tithing them, because their work has not yet been completed. Rabbi Judah holds that purchasing makes produce liable for tithes only if its work has been completed. If he exchanges the figs for figs that he intends to eat fresh, then their work has been completed, and he cannot eat of them until they are tithed.
  
  
  
  
  
  Mishnah 1
  
  Introduction
  This mishnah continues to deal with when workers can eat their employer’s produce without first tithing it.
  One who was taking figs through his courtyard to be dried, his children and the other members of his household  may eat [of them] and they are exempt [from tithes].  Once the processing of fruit has been completed and one brings the produce into one’s courtyard, one can no longer eat the produce without first tithing it. In the case in this section, the processing of the figs was not yet complete because he was on his way to dry them. Therefore, he and the rest of the members of his family can continue to eat the figs before they are dried without having to first tithe them.
  The workers [who work] with him may eat and be exempt so long as he is not obliged to provide for them. If however, he is obligated to provide for them they may not eat.  The workers here are those who work for the owner of the figs, but don’t work with the figs. The Torah does not mandate that they be allowed to eat the figs, because the Torah mandates only that a worker can eat from the type of produce with which he is working, as we learned in yesterday’s mishnah. Since these worker’s don’t eat because of the Torah’s mandate, they can eat the figs only if they are receiving them as a gift from the owner, and not as part of their wages. If he has no obligation to feed them, meaning this was not part of their contract, then he has given them the figs as a gift, and they are exempt from tithes. If, however, he was obligated to feed them, then the figs are treated as if they are wages. As we learned in the previous chapter, when produce is involved in a financial transaction it becomes obligated for tithes. Therefore, these workers must tithe before they can eat the figs.
  
  Mishnah 2
  
  Introduction
  Our mishnah continues to deal with the issue of when workers may eat of their employer’s produce without tithing.
  One who brought his workers into the field, when he is not obligated to provide for them, they may eat and be exempt from tithes.  These workers were brought out to the field but not to work with the figs, so again, the Torah does not mandate that they be allowed to eat the figs. If the employer is not obligated to feed them, then the figs that they eat are a present and since they are still out in the field, the workers may eat them without tithing them.
  If, however, he is obligated to provide for them they may eat of the figs one at a time, but not from the basket, nor from the large basket, nor from the storage yard.  If he is giving the workers figs as part of his obligation to feed them, then they in principle must tithe the figs before eating. However, since these figs have not yet been put into a basket, the workers may eat from them one at a time, because their processing has not yet been completed. Once they have been put into any storage place, be it a type of basket or be it a storage yard, they can no longer be eaten until they have been tithed.
  
  Mishnah 3
  
  Introduction
  According to the rabbis’ interpretation of the Torah, a worker may eat from his employer’s produce only if he is working at the end of the processing of the produce. If he is tending to the field, he may not pluck produce that is still attached to the ground and eat it. If the owner allows him to do so, this produce is considered wages, and cannot be eaten without first being tithed.
  Our mishnah deals with a person who is working in a field but not at the time when the produce’s processing is being completed.
  One who hired a worker to work with olives and he said to him, “On condition that I may eat the olives,” he may eat of them one at a time and be exempt [from tithes]. If, however, he gathered several together he is liable [for tithes].  Since this worker was working with the olives at a time when their processing was not completed, the olives that he does receive are part of his wages and hence cannot be eaten without being tithed. As we saw in yesterday’s mishnah, he can eat one olive at a time, but if he gathers them together, he cannot eat them without first tithing them.
  [If he had been hired] to weed out onions, and he said to him, “On condition that I may eat the vegetables,” he may pluck leaf by leaf, and eat [without tithing]. If, however, he gathered several together, he is liable [for tithes].  The section teaches basically the same rule with regard to a person hired to work weeding onions. He can pluck the leaves up one at a time and eat them, but he cannot gather them together and eat them without first tithing.
  
  Mishnah 4
  
  Introduction
  Most of this mishnah deals with fruit that one finds can one eat it without tithing?
  If one found cut figs on the road, or even beside a field [where cut figs] have been spread [to dry], and similarly, if a fig tree overhangs the road, and he found figs beneath it, they are allowed [with regard to the laws] of robbery, and they are exempt from tithe.  The person who finds these cut figs may keep them, even if it is quite clear from which field they came. Taking them is not considered stealing because it is common for the field owner to make them ownerless, probably because he doesn’t consider it worth his while to pick up the figs that fell by the side of the road. The figs are also exempt from tithes because ownerless produce is always exempt from tithes (see chapter one, mishnah one).
  But if they were olives and carobs, they are liable.  Olives and carobs are assumed to be of greater value than figs. The owner does not make them ownerless, and therefore, the rules are opposite of those in section one which discussed figs. One who finds olives and carobs near their likely sources may not take them and if he does, he cannot eat them before they are tithed because they are not ownerless.
  If one found dried figs, then if the majority of people had already trodden [their figs], he must tithe [them], but if not he is exempt.  Figs are liable for tithes once they have been pressed into a jar (see 1:8). The figs that he finds have been dried, but he doesn’t know if they have already been pressed into a jar. In this case the status of the figs is determined by what the majority of people in that area have done. If most people have already pressed their figs, then he must assume that these figs were already pressed and he cannot eat them without first tithing. If most people have not pressed their figs, then he may eat them without tithing.
  If one found slices of fig-cake he is liable [to tithe] since it is obvious they come from something whose processing had been fully completed.  If he finds pieces of fig cakes, then he can be certain that they were already pressed into a jar and he cannot eat them without tithing.
  With carobs, if they had not yet been on the top of the roof, he may take some down for his animals and be exempt [from tithe] since he returns that which is left over.  The final step in the processing of carobs, the step that makes them fit for human consumption, is to bring them up to one’s roof to dry them out. Before he has brought them to the roof he can feed them to his cattle without tithing. We don’t say that by feeding them to his cattle he has shown that their processing is complete and therefore he must tithe them. The reason we don’t make such an assumption is that sometimes a person may begin feeding them to his cattle and then bring them back up to his roof to dry them out, so that people could eat them.
  
  Mishnah 5
  
  Introduction
  Bringing produce into a house causes it to become liable for tithes. Under certain circumstances, bringing the produce into a courtyard can also make it liable for tithes. In our mishnah five (!) tannaim debate what type of courtyard makes produce liable for tithes. The general principle is clear: if the courtyard is protected it makes the food liable for tithes because it is like a house.
  Which courtyard is it which makes [the produce] liable to tithe?Rabbi Ishmael says: the Tyrian yard for the vessels are protected therein.  Both talmudim explain that a guard sits outside of the Tyrian courtyard and protects it. Since this courtyard is protected, food brought into it is liable for tithes the courtyard is like a house.
  Rabbi Akiva says: any courtyard which one person may open and another may shut is exempt.  If two people share a courtyard, and when one person opens up the courtyard, the other is the one who closes it, then this courtyard is not well protected. Since it is not well-protected, produce that is brought into it is not liable for tithes.
  Rabbi Nehemiah says: any courtyard in which a man is not ashamed to eat is liable.  In mishnaic times it was considered impolite or uncultured to eat in public. If the courtyard into which the produce was brought was closed off enough so that a person would eat in it, then the produce is liable for tithes. But if a person wouldn’t eat there, then the produce is not liable.
  Rabbi Yose says: any courtyard into which a person may enter and no one says to him, “what are you looking for” is exempt.  If no one says anything to a stranger who enters into a courtyard, then it is not protected and produced brought into it is not liable for tithes.
  Rabbi Judah says: if there are two courtyards one within the other, the inner one makes liable and the outer one is exempt.  In the case of two courtyards, the inner one, the one closer to the house, makes the produce liable to be tithed because it is relatively well-guarded and those from the outer courtyard cannot enter into the inner courtyard. In contrast, the outer courtyard, through which the people who live in the inner courtyard can walk, is less-guarded and food brought into it is not liable for tithes.
  
  Mishnah 6
  
  Introduction
  Our mishnah deals with other architectural structures and with whether they, like some courtyards, cause produce to become liable for tithes.
  Roofs do not render [produce] liable, even though they belong to a courtyard which renders it liable.  Bringing produce onto a roof does not make it liable for tithes, even if the roof is adjacent to a courtyard that does make the produce liable. While the courtyard does offer protection to the produce, the roof does not and therefore the produce is not liable.
  A gate house, portico, or balcony, are like the courtyard [to which it belongs]; if [the courtyard] makes the [produce] liable [for tithes] so do they, and if it does not, they do not.  The three structures mentioned here take on the status of the courtyard to which they are attached. The “gate house” is a little house in which a guard would sit to watch over the courtyard. The “portico” is a roofed colonnade, but without closed walls. The “balcony” juts out from the second story of the house. If the courtyard offers protection to the produce, then these structures do as well and the produce brought into them will be liable for tithes.
  
  Mishnah 7
  
  Introduction
  This mishnah deals with huts or “sukkah” like structures and whether they render produce liable for tithes. Part of the issue here is how similar these structures are to houses, which do render produce liable for tithes.
  Cone-shaped huts, watchtowers, and sheds in the field do not render [produce] liable.  A cone-shaped hut does not have a roof and the rabbis defined houses as structures with roofs. Hence, it does not render the produce liable for tithes. While people spend time in watchtowers, they do not live in them, and therefore they are not considered houses. Neither do people live in sheds in a field they too do not render produce liable for tithes.
  A sukkah-hut like those used in Ginnosar, even though it contains millstones and poultry, does not render [produce] liable.  Sukkah-like huts all have roofs and therefore, they might render produce liable for tithes. In Ginnosar, which is on the shores of the Galilee, people would dwell in these huts most of the year in order to guard the produce in the field. They would even bring millstones in order to grind wheat and poultry in order to have eggs and perhaps some meat. Nevertheless, since they do not live in these huts all year round, they do not cause produce to become liable for tithes.
  As for the potter’s sukkah-hut, the inner part renders [produce] liable and the outer part does not.  The potter’s sukkah is divided into two parts the inner part, which the potter and his family use for living quarters, and the outer part, where they do their work. The outer part does not count as a house and therefore, it does not make produce liable for tithes, whereas the inner part does.
  Rabbi Yose says: anything which is not both a sunny season and rainy season dwelling does not render [produce] liable [to tithes].  Rabbi Yose clarifies that in order for a structure to count as a house it must be a structure in which people would live in both the summer and winter months. Otherwise, the produce that is brought into it does not need to be tithed. I should note that it doesn’t seem that Rabbi Yose is saying that the person must actually live there all year round. Vacation homes, if built like normal homes, would make produce liable for tithes. What he is saying is that if the house is built only to be used in one season, then it is not truly a “house” and it does not make liable for tithes.
  A sukkah used on the Festival [of Sukkot]: Rabbi Judah says: this renders [produce] liable [for tithes] But the sages exempt.  The final section in our mishnah is concerned with the sukkah used during the holiday of Sukkot. According to Rabbi Judah, since during Sukkot the sukkah is perceived, at least by him, as a “permanent dwelling place” it does render produce liable for tithes. Although one lives there only during Sukkot, for that week it is like one’s permanent home and just as one’s home renders liable for tithes, so too does the Sukkah. The rabbis disagree and hold that it is not truly a permanent home, since one lives there for only one week.
  
  Mishnah 8
  
  Introduction
  This mishnah deals with the interesting situation of a tree that is growing in one’s courtyard can one eat from the fruit without tithing? In other words, does this count as “produce brought into the courtyard” which usually means that it can’t be eaten without tithing?
  A fig tree which stands in a courtyard: one may eat the figs from it one at a time and be exempt [from tithes], but if he gathered some together he is liable.  Since this tree is in the courtyard, the figs must be tithed before they are eaten. However, he can still eat one at a time without tithing as was the rule regarding produce that was purchased (see 3:3).
  Rabbi Shimon says: if he has [one in his right hand and one in his left hand and one in his mouth, he is exempt.  Rabbi Shimon adds that it doesn’t count as “gathering together” if all he has is one in each hand and one in his mouth. The status of “gathered” figs means that he has more than one in at least one of his hands.
  If he ascended to the top [of it], he may fill his bosom and eat.  If he climbs up to the top of the tree to gather the figs, he can put a bunch in his shirt and eat them while he is up in the tree. However, if he brings them down he can no longer eat them until they have been tithed.
  
  Mishnah 9
  
  Introduction
  Our mishnah continues to deal with plants growing inside a courtyard.
  A vine which was planted in a courtyard: one may take a whole cluster [and eat it without tithing]. Similarly with a pomegranate, or a melon, the words of Rabbi Tarfon.  According to Rabbi Tarfon, one can eat the whole unit of fruit without tithing in the cases of a grape vine, pomegranate or melon growing in the courtyard. The cluster of grapes is treated as one integral unit, and therefore he can eat the whole thing.
  Rabbi Akiva says: he can pick single berries from the cluster, or split the pomegranate into slices, or cut slices of melon [and eat without tithing].  Rabbi Akiva rules more strictly and says that one can only eat pieces of these fruits without tithing. If he wants to eat the whole cluster of grapes, the whole pomegranate or the whole melon, he must first tithe it because it is already in the courtyard.
  Coriander which was sown in a courtyard: one may pluck leaf by leaf and eat [without tithing], but if he ate them together he is liable [for tithes].  As was the case with the figs in yesterday’s mishnah, if he gathers several leaves together he must tithe before he eats, but if he plucks and eats them one at a time, he can eat without tithing.
  Savory and hyssop, and thyme which are in the courtyard, if they are kept watch over, they are liable for tithe.  If a person has grown these plants to be spices for human consumption, and he is watching over them, then the fact that they are in the courtyard makes them immediately liable for tithing. He can’t eat them at all until they are tithed.
  
  Mishnah 10
  
  Introduction
  This mishnah deals with the situation in which the trunk of a tree is found in one type of domain but its branches hang over into another.
  A fig tree which stands in a courtyard, and hangs over into a garden: one may eat in his customary fashion and be exempt [from tithes].  When it comes to tithes, what matters is where the branches are, because that is where the fruit is. So if it stands in the courtyard, but the fruit is on branches hanging over into the garden, then he may eat from the tree without tithing.
  If it stands in the garden and hangs over into the courtyard, one may eat [the figs] one at a time and be exempt, but if he gathers them together, he is liable [for tithes].  The opposite is also true if the tree is in the garden but the branches hang over into the courtyard, then he can only eat one fig at a time. Since the branches are in the courtyard, the fruit is liable for tithes.
  If it stands in the land [of Israel] and hangs over [into the territory] outside the land, or if it stands outside the land, and hangs over into the land, [in all these cases the law is] decided according to the position of the root.  Only fruit that is grown on a tree entirely within the land of Israel is liable for tithes. The location of the tree is determined by its trunk. In this case it matters not where the fruit is, but rather, where the tree, i.e. the trunk, is.
  And as regards houses in walled cities, everything is decided according to the position of the root.  According to Leviticus 25:29-31, houses that are sold within a walled city can be redeemed by the seller for one year. If they are not redeemed within the year then permanent title belongs to the purchaser. According to the rabbis, the same rule applies to trees sold within a walled city. In this case the tree’s location within or outside the walled city is determined by its roots. Again, what is determinant is the location of the tree and not the fruit, as was the case with tithes in sections one and two, and therefore, its location follows its root.
  But as regards cities of refuge, everything is decided [also] according to the location of the branches.  Accidental murderers are supposed to flee to one of the cities of refuge. Once there the blood avenger can no longer kill them, and if he does so he is liable for murder. In this case, the location of the tree follows that of the branches. If the blood avenger kills him under the branches which are inside the borders of the refuge city, the blood avenger is guilty of murder, but if the branches are outside the city, he is exempt.
  And in what concerns Jerusalem, everything is decided by the location of the branches.  Second tithe is to be brought to Jerusalem, but if one wants, it is permitted to exchange it for money outside of Jerusalem and then bring the money to Jerusalem and use it to buy food there. It is impossible, however, to redeem food that is already in Jerusalem. In this case the status of the tree is determined by the branches, which is where the fruit is located. If the branches are located within Jerusalem, then the produce cannot be redeemed and it must be eaten in the city. If the trunk is within the walls of the city but the branches are outside, then it is permitted to redeem the produce and use the money to buy food.
  
  
  
  
  
  Mishnah 1
  
  Introduction
  This mishnah deals with various steps that make, or in some cases do not make, produce liable for tithes.
  If he pickled, stewed, or salted [produce], he is liable [to give tithes].  Cooking food always makes it liable for tithes. Our mishnah teaches that the same holds true for other ways of processing the produce, including pickling, stewing and even salting. Since these all serve to make raw food more edible, the person can now no longer eat from the produce without first tithing.
  If he stored [produce] in the ground [in order to warm it up] he is exempt.  Sometimes people would store produce in the ground to warm it up a bit. The mishnah determines that this is not considered “cooking” and therefore he may continue to eat this food without first tithing it.
  If he dipped it [while yet] in the field, he is exempt.  It was normal to eat food by dipping it, much in the way we might dip vegetables in an onion dip. Such eating is not necessarily part of a formal meal and therefore he may continue to eat the produce without tithing it.
  If he split olives so that the bitter taste may come out of them, he is exempt.  Splitting olives in order to take out some of the bitter taste does not count as processing the olives so he may continue to eat them without tithing.
  If he squeezed olives against his skin, he is exempt.  Similarly, if he squeezes the olives against his skin to get out some oil which he wants to rub on his dry skin, this is not considered processing the olive in order to eat it and he can eat the olives without tithing.
  If he squeezed them and put [the oil] into his hand, he is liable.  However, if he squeezes the olive in order to get oil out of it and put it in his hand so that he can eat the oil, he must tithe before he eats this oil. The key here is that he did something to the olive so that he could eat it, and he didn’t just take out the bitter taste or to put some oil on his skin, as was true in the previous sections.
  One who makes a viscous liquid [from grapes or olives] in order to put it in a dish is exempt.  When he makes this liquid (not yet considered wine or oil) and puts it in the dish which already has food in it, the liquid will disappear in the dish. Although he has put the liquid in food, it can still be eaten without tithing it.
  But if to put it in an [empty] pot, he is liable for it is like a small vat.  However, if he puts it in an empty pot, it is as if he put it in a vat to store it, thereby completing its processing. He now can no longer use the liquid without first tithing it.
  
  Mishnah 2
  
  Introduction
  The entrance of Shabbat makes produce liable for tithes. Since Shabbat is important, any eating done on Shabbat is also significant and cannot be considered “chance eating” which is exempt from tithes.
  Our mishnah contains several issues related to this general rule.
  Children who have hidden figs [in the field] for Shabbat and they forgot to tithe them,   they must not be eaten after Shabbat until they have been tithed.  The children hid the figs with the intention of eating them on Shabbat. The mishnah teaches that the figs that they set aside in order to eat on Shabbat have now become liable for tithes and cannot be eaten, even after Shabbat, without first being tithed. The important principle here is that intending to eat something on Shabbat makes it liable for tithes even if the person who had the intention was only a child. [I find this mishnah kind of cute, kids hiding figs to eat on Shabbat reminds me of hiding candy from the kids so that they won’t eat it on Shabbat].
  In the case of a basket of fruits for Shabbat: Bet Shammai exempt it from tithes; But Bet Hillel makes it liable.  This basket was set aside so that the fruit would be eaten on Shabbat. Bet Shammai holds that setting the basket aside in order for it to be eaten on Shabbat does not make the fruit liable for tithes. As long as the fruit has not yet been brought into a place that makes it liable for tithes, one can continue to eat from it without tithing. Bet Hillel accords greater power to his intent and makes him liable for tithes as soon as he sets it aside for Shabbat.
  Rabbi Judah says: even one who has gathered a basket of fruit to send as a present to his friend, must not eat of them, until they have been tithed.  Rabbi Judah says that gathering fruit together into a basket in order to send it to a friend makes it liable for tithes, even if the basket was not meant for Shabbat. The idea is that making the food into a gift gives it importance, just as Shabbat does. Therefore, he cannot eat until he tithes.
  
  Mishnah 3
  
  Introduction
  Our mishnah deals with olives that were put into a vat in order to soften and prepare them for the pressing process.
  One who took olives from a vat may dip them one at a time in salt, and eat them.  Salting the olives one at a time and eating them without tithing is okay because this individual salting does not make them liable for tithes.
  But if he salted them, and put them in front of him, he is liable [for tithes].  However, if he salts several olives which he took from the vat, then he can’t eat them without tithing. In other words, salting them together makes them liable for tithes.
  Rabbi Eliezer said: from a pure vat he is liable but from an impure [vat] he is exempt because can put back the leftovers.  According to Rabbi Eliezer if the vat was pure he cannot eat the olives without tithing them. The reason for this is that these olives have become susceptible to impurities because they came into contact with the olive oil inside the vat. If the purity of the olives in the vat has been preserved then he won’t want to put the olives back because the olives that he touched may have become impure. Since he won’t want to put them back, that which he takes out is be liable for tithes. If, in contrast, the vat was not pure, then he can put the olives back. The olives that he took out are not considered to be gathered together and they can be eaten without tithing.
  
  Mishnah 4
  
  Introduction
  Our mishnah deals with a person who wants to drink wine that he drew straight from the winepress.
  One may drink [wine] out of the winepress, whether [it is mixed] with hot or cold water, and be exempt [from tithes], the words of Rabbi Meir.  In mishnaic times it was customary to mix wine with water before it was drunk. Rabbi Meir rules that mixing wine drawn straight from the winepress with water does not make it liable for tithes, whether it was mixed with hot or cold water.
  Rabbi Eliezer bar Zadok says he is liable.  Rabbi Eliezer bar Zadok holds that mixing wine does make it liable for tithes, even in a case where the wine was drawn straight from the winepress.
  But the sages say: with hot water he is liable [to tithe] but with cold water, he is exempt.  When he mixes the wine with warm water, he won’t pour any left over wine back into the press because that might cause the cool wine in the press to be spoiled. Since he won’t pour any back the sages consider its processing to have been completed and therefore, the wine is liable for tithes. If it was mixed with cold water he might put the left over wine back and hence he can drink it without tithing.
  
  Mishnah 5
  
  One who husks barley may husk one at a time and eat [without tithing], but if he husked and put them into his hand, he is liable [to tithe].  Husking barley and eating the ears one at a time is considered “chance” eating and therefore one can do so without tithing. However, as soon as he husks the barley and puts several in his hand at the same time, their processing is considered to be completed and he can’t eat any of them without first tithing.
  One who rubs [ears of] wheat may blow out [the chaff of the wheat] from hand to hand and eat, but if he blows and puts the grain in his lap he is liable.  Rubbing ears of wheat is a means to remove the chaff from each ear of wheat. If one does so one ear of wheat at a time, he can eat the individual grains without tithing. However, as soon as he starts to accumulate the wheat in his lap, he is liable for tithes.
  Coriander which was sown for the sake of the seed, the plant is exempt [from tithes]. If he sowed it for the sake of the plant then both the seed and the plant must be tithed.  The mishnah now begins to discuss various types of plants whose seeds and plant parts are eaten. The part that needs to be tithed is the part that one intends on eating. If coriander (cilantro) was sown in order to eat the seeds then he needs to tithe only the seeds. He can eat the plant parts without tithing because when he sowed the plant, his intention was to throw these parts away. However, if he sows it in order to use the plant parts, then both these parts and the seeds must be tithed before they can be eaten. The assumption seems to be that in all cases one will make use of the coriander seeds because they are the more valuable part. When someone plants coriander in order to use the plant parts, he is really going to use the seeds as well.
  Rabbi Eliezer said: as for dill, tithe must be given from the seed and the plant, and the pods.  According to Rabbi Eliezer, one needs to tithe all of the parts of a dill plant, because his intention will be to eat them all.
  But the sages say: only in the case of cress and eruca are both the seeds and plant tithed.  The sages disagree with Rabbi Eliezer and with the rule at the end of section three. According to the sages one must tithe the seed and the plant parts of only two species of plant: cress and eruca. When it comes to other plants, either the seed or the plant part must be tithed, but not both.
  
  Mishnah 6
  
  Rabban Gamaliel says: shoots of fenugreek, of mustard, and of white beans are liable [to tithe].Rabbi Eliezer says: as for the caper bush, tithes must be given from the shoots, the berries and the blossoms.Rabbi Akiba says: only the berries are tithed since they [alone] count as fruit.In today’s mishnah Rabban Gamaliel, Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Akiba debate which parts of various plants must be tithed. Again, the general principle is that whatever part one is going to preserve in order to eat is the part that is liable for tithes.Section one: According to Rabban Gamaliel one will eat the shoots of these various plants; therefore they are liable for tithes.Section two: Rabbi Eliezer holds that three parts of a caper bush must be tithed, because they all are eaten. Rabbi Akiva says that only the capers must be tithed because they are the most valuable part of the bush, the part that is primarily eaten.
  
  
  
  
  
  Mishnah 1
  
  One who uproots saplings from of his own [property] and plants them [elsewhere] within his own [property] is exempt [from tithes].  The person in our section is uprooting saplings in order to plant them in another place on his own property. The mishnah teaches that even if there are fruits on these plants and even if he gathers the plants temporarily in to his courtyard [the place where produce generally becomes liable for tithes], they are still exempt from tithes because his intent was not to harvest the fruit but rather to replant the saplings.
  If he bought [saplings] attached to the ground, he is exempt.  We have previously learned that when one buys produce, one cannot eat it until it is tithed. Being involved in a financial transaction causes produce to become liable for tithes. However, this is only true when produce is bought. If saplings are bought when they are still attached to the ground, their produce is not liable for tithes. If they had been bought detached from the ground, then one can not eat the produce until it is tithed.
  If he gathered them in order to send them to his fellow, he is exempt.  In mishnah 4:2 Rabbi Judah held that if one gathers fruit to send to his friend, the fruit must be tithed before it can be eaten. In our mishnah, we learn that this is only when he gathered produce to send to his friend. When he gathers the saplings and sends them to his friend he is still exempt.
  Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah said: if similar ones were being sold in the market, behold they are liable [for tithes].  Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah says that if the fruit that is hanging on these saplings is similar to fruit being sold in the market, meaning this fruit has ripened enough so that it could be sold in the market, then one cannot eat from it until it has been tithed.
  
  Mishnah 2
  
  One who uproots turnips and radishes from within his own [property] and plants [them elsewhere] within his own [property] for the purpose of seed, he is liable to tithe, since this is [equivalent to] their threshing floor.  In this case the person must tithe the turnips and radishes before he replants them because as soon as he uprooted them their processing has been completed. The seeds that will subsequently come from the turnips and radishes will be exempt from tithes (we will learn this in mishnah eight). Therefore, before they are replanted they must first be tithed at this early stage.
  If onions take root in an upper story they become clean from any impurity.  Onions that took root in debris/dirt found in an upper story of a building are treated as if they had been planted in the ground. What this means is that if they had previously been made ritually impure, they now revert to a state of purity, as do all plants when they are planted into the ground. The Tosefta notes that these onions are not liable for tithes because only plants that grow in the field are liable for tithes.
  If some debris fell upon them and they are uncovered, they are regarded as though they were planted in the field.  Albeck explains that this section is not a continuation of the previous section. If the onions were in the field and some debris fell on them and their leaves were exposed, they are treated as if they were planted in the field and they, unlike the onions referred to in section two, are liable for tithes.
  
  Mishnah 3
  
  Introduction
  The first three mishnayot of chapter one taught that fruit is not liable for tithes until it has reached a certain stage of ripening. Our mishnah teaches that after it has reached that stage one may no longer sell it to a person who is suspected of not tithing.
  One may not sell produce after the season for tithing has arrived to one who is not trusted concerning tithes.  Once produce has ripened enough such that it is liable for tithes, one shouldn’t sell it to an “am haaretz” who is not trusted to tithe the food before he eats it, or gives it to others.
  Nor in the sabbatical year [may one sell sabbatical year produce] to one suspected of [transgressing] the sabbatical year.  Similarly, while it is permissible to sell produce that grows during the sabbatical year, one shouldn’t sell it to a person who is not trusted to observe the laws of the sabbatical year that apply to that fruit. The most important of these laws is that once that particular fruit can no longer be found in the field, the fruit must also be removed from one’s storehouses. The seller must be concerned lest the person to whom he sells the produce will hold it in his home beyond this date.
  If only [some] produce ripened, he takes the ripe ones and may sell the remainder.  If some of the fruit has ripened and become liable for tithes, but some of it is still unripe, he can take for himself the ripe fruit and he can sell the unripe fruit to anyone, even one who is not trusted to tithe. The ripe fruit can only be sold to someone who is trusted to tithe.
  
  Mishnah 4
  
  Introduction
  Our mishnah continues to deal with selling produce to a person not trusted to tithe.
  One may not sell his straw, nor his olive peat, or his grape pulp to one who is not to be trusted in [with respect to] tithes, for him to extract the juice from them.  Although straw, olive peat and grape pulp are not truly edible and therefore are not liable for tithes, one shouldn’t sell them to someone who is not trusted to tithe, if the purchaser is intending to squeeze the juice out of the olive peat or grape pulp, or to search for the left-over grains within the straw. These products would be liable for tithes, and since he doesn’t tithe, one cannot sell to him.
  If he did extract the juice he is liable for tithes, but is exempt from terumah, because when one separates terumah he has in mind the fragments which [is] by the sides, and that which is inside the straw.  If, nevertheless, he did sell these to someone else, the purchaser must take out the tithes. However, he need not take out terumah because when the original seller takes out terumah for the main-product he will intend to separate terumah on behalf of these by-products as well. For instance, one who takes out terumah from grain, intends to exempt the grain that is found in the broken stalks that weren’t threshed properly, as well as the grains that are left among the straw. Since the original owner separates tithes for this grain, the purchaser need not do so. The same is true for olives and grapes. However, the purchaser still needs to separate tithes because the original owner separates tithes based on measurements, and these by-products are not part of that measure.
  
  Mishnah 5
  
  Introduction
  In rabbinic language “Syria” refers to the land that borders Israel to the north and east but is not considered fully part of Israel.  The rules of tithing and terumah do apply to produce grown by a Jew in Syria but one who purchases produce in Syria can assume that it grew on gentile land and is therefore exempt from the laws of tithing and terumah.  Our mishnah deals with a person who is buying land in Syria from a Gentile, and the land has produce growing on it that is in various stages of growth.
  One who buys a field of vegetables in Syria: If before the season for tithing arrived, then he is liable to tithe. If after the season for tithing he is exempt, and he may go on gathering in his usual manner.   Rabbi Judah says: he may even hire workers and gather.  If he buys a field from a Gentile before the season for tithing the vegetables in the field has arrived, then he is liable to tithe because the vegetables became liable for tithes under his (Jewish) ownership. However, if he buys the field after the season for tithing has already arrived, he need not tithe the vegetables. Furthermore, even if the vegetables continue to grow after this time, he may still collect them and eat without tithing. In contrast, in the land of Israel when one buys a field from a non-Jew he always must tithe the produce, no matter when he buys it.
  Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel says: When does this apply? If he has bought the land. But if, he has not bought the land, even before the season for tithing arrived he is exempt.  Rabbi Judah adds that he may even hire workers to help him collect the added growth from the produce, even though this will cause more people to know that he is not tithing this field.
  Rabbi [Judah Hanasi] says: he must also tithe according to calculation.  Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel says that he is liable to tithe the produce in this field only if he bought the land. If he didn’t buy the land, but was only renting the land, then the produce is always exempt from tithes.
  Rabbi holds that when he is exempt from tithing, he is still liable to tithe on the percentage of growth that the vegetable experienced after he bought it. Thus if he buys the field after the season for tithing has arrived, he is exempt from tithing on the growth that occurred before this season, but he is liable to tithe for the percentage of growth that took place after he bought the field.
  
  Mishnah 6
  
  Introduction
  “Temed” is a drink made from the grape-skins that have already been pressed to make wine. They would pour water over the grape-skins and they would give some taste to the water. Our mishnah deals with giving tithe from “temed.” These grape-skins would not have been tithed for because the tithe was taken from the wine, after the grape-skins had already been cast aside.
  One who makes grape-skin wine, and he put water on by measure, and he finds [afterwards] the same quantity, he is exempt from tithe.  If after he pours the water onto the grape-skins and then filters them out he finds that the volume of the temed is the same as the volume of the water he added, then the grape-skins have added color and taste but no volume. Therefore, according to the first opinion he is exempt from tithing the temed.
  Rabbi Judah makes him liable.  Rabbi Judah holds that the added taste does make him liable to give tithes from the temed.
  If he found more than the measure, he must give [tithe] for it from another place, in proportion.  If he finds that the grape-pulp did lead to increased volume, then he must give tithes. The mishnah recommends that he give tithes from other untithed produce. When he does so, he gives it according to the proportion of the increase that the grape-pulp caused in the water. For instance, if he found a one liter increase, he must separate tithes for one liter of grapes. He would end up giving 100 ml of tithe from other wine. However, if he gives from the temed itself, he must separate for all of the temed in order to tithe for all of the wine in the temed. Thus if there was 10 liters of water which increased to 11 liters, he would have to give 1.1 liters of the temed as tithe, in order to account for 10 per cent of the wine in the temed.
  
  Mishnah 7
  
  Introduction
  Our mishnah deals with grain found in anthills, and whether or not such grain must be tithed.
  Anthills which have remained the whole night near a pile of grain which was liable to tithe,   [the grain found in them] is liable, since it is obvious that they [the ants] have been dragging away the whole night from something [of which the work] had been completed. When grain is found in these anthills next to a pile of grain, and they had been that way all night, we can assume that the grain comes from the adjacent pile and that it must be tithed.
  
  Mishnah 8
  
  Garlic from Balbeck, onions from Rikpa, Cicilician beans and Egyptians lentils, and Rabbi Meir says qirqas, and Rabbi Yose says qotnym are exempt from tithes and may be brought from any man in the seventh year.  The produce mentioned in this section can be assumed to come from outside of the land of Israel. Such produce is exempt from tithes. It also may be bought from anyone during the seventh year, even from a person who is generally suspected of selling seventh year produce (see Sheviit 9:1). The identity of the plants mentioned by Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Yose is unknown.
  The seeds of upper arum pods, the seeds of leeks, the seeds of onions, the seeds of turnips and radishes, and other seeds of garden produce which are not eaten, are exempt from tithes, and may be bought from any man in the seventh year; and even though the plants from they grew were terumah, they may still be eaten [by non-priests].  The seeds mentioned here are not eaten and therefore one need not separate tithes from them. Also, one can buy them from a person who is suspected of selling seventh year produce because the sanctity with which one must treat seventh year produce does not apply to these seeds, since they are not generally eaten. The mishnah notes that this is true even if these seeds grew from terumah plants. Although the “father” of the seeds is terumah, the seeds themselves are not even subject to tithes. This would be all the more true if the parent plants were not grown from terumah seeds. Congratulations!  We have finished Maasrot! 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. Tomorrow we begin Tractate Maaser Sheni.