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2 [1] [We are] obligated [to separate] *terumah* from food [designated] for human [consumption], that is guarded, and that grows from the earth. It is a positive commandment to separate the first portion [of such crops] for a priest, as [Deuteronomy 18:4] states: "You shall give him the first portion of your grain, your wine, and your oil." Just as grain, wine, and oil are [agricultural produce that] is food that is designated for humans, grows from the earth, and has an owner - as indicated by the term "your grain," - so, too, [we are] obligated to [separate] *terumot* and tithes from any analogous [agricultural produce]. [2] [We are] obligated [to separate] *terumah* and tithes from vetch, even though it is not [usually] food for humans, since it is eaten [by humans] in a year of famine. [We are] obligated [to separate] tithes from *siyah*, hyssop, and *koranit* that are sown for human consumption. Similar laws apply to analogous species.
If they were sown as animal fodder, even though the person changed his mind and thought to use them for human [consumption] while they were still connected to the ground, they are exempt. For the intent [of the owner] while [the produce] is growing is of no consequence.
[The following rules apply if] these herbs grow in a courtyard on their own. If the produce growing in the courtyard is guarded, [we are] obligated to [separate the tithes], for most probably it is for human consumption. If the produce within is not guarded, it is exempt. [3] Seeds of garden vegetables that are not eaten, e.g., turnip seed, raddish seed, onion seed, and the like are exempt from *terumah* and tithes, because they are not used for human consumption. [We are,] by contrast, obligated [to separate] *terumah* and tithes from caraway seed. [4] Blossoms of chilba, mustard seed, white beans, capers, and the caper bark are exempt, because they are not considered as produce.
When does the above apply? When they were sown for seed. When, however, they were sown for their produce, there is an obligation [to tithe]. Similarly, there is an obligation [to tithe] caper berries, because they are produce. [5] When coriander was sown for seed, its vegetable is exempt from *terumah* and the tithes. If it was sown as a vegetable, we must separate *terumot* and tithes from both the vegetables and the seed. Similarly, when *shevet* is sown for seed, its vegetable is exempt from *terumah* and the tithes. If it was sown as a vegetable, we must separate *terumot* and tithes from both the vegetables and the seed. The seed capsules need not be tithed. If he sowed it for the sake of the seed capsules, he must separate *terumot* and tithes from the vegetables, the seed, and the seed capsules. Similarly, when cress and wild cress were sown as a vegetable, we must separate tithes from both the seed and the vegetables.
What is meant by [the statement] we must separate tithes from both the seed and the vegetables? That if he gathered the vegetables to eat them, he must separate *terumah* and the tithes and [only] then, eat. When [he allows the plant] to dry [and produce] seeds which he gathers, he must make these separations from the seed. [6] Even though vegetables are used for human consumption, the obligation to tithe them is only Rabbinic in origin. [The rationale is that] with regard to the tithes, [Deuteronomy 14:22] speaks of "the yield of your planting." Now the term *tevuah* [translated as "yield"] refers to grain and the like. Vegetables are not included as *tevuah*.
Similarly, it appears to me that this also applies with regard to *terumah*, for with regard to *terumah*, it is stated: "your grain, your wine, and your oil." Implied is that the obligation is applied to all species resembling those. Instead, *terumah* which is separated from vegetables is a Rabbinic decree like their tithes. [7] We do not separate *terumah* and tithes from vegetables in the Diaspora, even in the places where we said that tithes should be separated, Similarly, vegetables that come from the Diaspora to *Eretz Yisrael*, even though there is earth in their roots, they are exempt and nothing was decreed concerning them.
When grain or legumes are sown for their vegetables, the person's intent is not considered of consequence because of the prevailing conception of most people. [Hence,] their vegetables are exempt and [we are] obligated [to separate] *terumah* and tithes from their kernels. [8] Even though *tiltan* is not considered as fit for human consumption when it becomes hard, since most people eat it at the beginning [of its development], [we are] obligated [to separate] *terumah* and tithes from it. [9] The following are exempt from *terumah* and tithes: *Leket, shichachah, pe'ah*, individual grapes that separate from a cluster, and underdeveloped grape clusters. This applies even if [a poor person] collects them in a grainheap. If, however, he collects them in a granary in the field, it is established that there is an obligation for tithes upon them and *terumah* and tithes must be separated from them. If, however, he collects them in a granary in a town, they are exempt, for the matter is spoken about and everyone knows that [the produce] is *leket, shichachah,* and *pe'ah*. [10] One is obligated [to separate] *terumah* and tithes from *leket, shichachah,* and *pe'ah* [left] by a gentile unless he declared them ownerless. Similarly, if grain and olives did not reach a third of their growth, they are exempt from *terumah* and the tithes.
How can one know [whether produce has reached a third of its growth]? When [the kernels] would grow if they were sown, it is known that it has reached a third of its growth. If a person transgressed and separated [*terumah*] from grain and olives before they reached a third of their growth, [the separated produce] is not *terumah*. [11] Similarly, produce that is declared ownerless is exempt from *terumah* and tithes. [This applies also to produce] declared ownerless by a gentile. Nevertheless, if one planted [crops] on a field that was declared ownerless, he is obligated [to separate] *terumah* and tithes [from the crops]. [12] When a person declares standing grain ownerless, takes possession of it, and then transgresses and separates *terumah*, the laws of *terumah* apply to the produce separated. If, however, he declared sheaves [of grain] ownerless, takes possession of them, and transgresses and separates *terumah*, the laws of *terumah* do not apply to the produce separated. Similarly, whenever a person separates [*terumah*] from produce from which *terumah* is not obligated to be separated, the laws of *terumah* do not apply to the produce separated.
Similarly, with regard to tithes, produce which the majority of people do not ordinarily sow in their gardens and fields, but instead, can be assumed to have grown ownerless are exempt from *terumah* and tithes. [This includes] garlic that makes one cry, onions of Rikpah, a pearled Cilcilian bean, Egyptian lentils, and the like. [13] [The following laws apply if] produce from which we are obligated to separate *terumah* becomes mixed with produce which is exempt, e.g., olives gathered by the poor become mixed with olives reaped [by the owner], underdeveloped grape clusters become mixed with grapes that were harvested. If the person has other produce, he separates [*terumah* from it] for the produce upon which the obligation lies according to the appropriate reckoning. If this is all the produce the person has, he should separate *terumah* and *terumat ma'aser* for the entire mixture, as if there was an obligation to separate *terumah* from the entire amount. He should separate the first and second tithes for the produce upon which the obligation lies according to the appropriate reckoning. [14] *Terumah* [must be given] to a priest whether it is in a state of ritual purity or not. Even if all the grain or the wine became impure before [*terumah*] was separated, he is obligated to separate the *terumah* that is impure and give it to a priest, as [Numbers 18:8] states: "And behold I have given you the watch over My *terumah*," i.e., whether it is pure or impure. The pure [*terumah*] may be eaten by the priests and they can benefit from the impure [*terumah*] by burning it. If it is oil, it can be kindled [as fuel for a lamp]. If it is grain or the like, it can be used as fuel for an oven. [15] Similarly, if *terumat ma'aser* became impure - or if the tithes became impure, he must separate [*terumat ma'aser*] in impurity and give it to a priest to benefit from by using it as fuel. [16] Anyone who separates the great *terumah* or *terumat ma'aser* should recite a blessing before separating it, just as one recites a blessing over the observance of all the mitzvot, as we explained in [*Hilchot] Berachot*. [17] *Terumah* - even impure *terumah* - should not be taken from *Eretz Yisrael* to the Diaspora. We should not bring *terumah* from the Diaspora to *Eretz Yisrael*. If it was brought [from the Diaspora], it should not be eaten, because it is impure because [of contact with] the earth of the nations. It should not be burnt, lest people say: "We saw *terumah* that did not become impure being burnt." It should not be returned to the Diaspora, lest people say: "*Terumah* may be taken [from *Eretz Yisrael*] to the Diaspora." Instead, we leave it until it becomes impure because of a known source of impurity or until the day before Pesach if it was leaven, and then it will be burnt.
Version: Mishneh Torah, trans. by Eliyahu Touger. Jerusalem, Moznaim Pub. c1986-c2007
Source: https://www.nli.org.il/he/books/NNL_ALEPH001020101/NLI
License: CC-BY-NC