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3 [1] When produce has reached the "phase of tithing," it was detached [from the earth], but the work preparing it was not completed, e.g., grain that he harvested and threshed, but [the reaper] did not winnow it or straighten the grain pile, he may partake of it as a snack [without tithing] until those tasks are completed. Once those tasks are completed, it is forbidden to partake of it as a snack [without tithing]. [2] When does the above apply? When one is completing the work [necessary to prepare] the produce to be sold in the market place. If, however, his intent was to bring it to his home, he may partake of it as a snack [even] after the work involving it is completed until a situation occurs which obligates the separation of tithes. [3] Six situations obligate the separation of tithes from produce: [bringing it into] a courtyard, a transaction, [subjecting it to] fire, salting it, separating *terumah*, and [the commencement of] the Sabbath. These situations require the separation of tithes only when the work necessary to prepare the produce has been completed. [4] What is implied? One may eat a snack from produce which he intends to bring home [without tithing], even though the work necessary to prepare it has been completed until he enters his home. Once he enters his home, the obligation to separate tithes takes effect and he is forbidden to partake of it until he tithes it.
Similarly, if he sold it, cooked it by fire, pickled it in salt, separated *terumah* from it, or the Sabbath commenced, he may not partake of it until he separates the tithes even though it has not reached the house.
If he brought the produce into his home before he completed the work associated with it, he may continue to snack from it. If he began to complete the work associated with its completion, he is obligated to tithe the entire amount.
What is implied? A person brought zucchini and squash home before he rubbed them [to remove the hairs on their surface]. Once he begins rubbing one of them, he is obligated to tithe all of them. Similar laws apply in all analogous situations.
Similarly, when one separates *terumah* from produce for which all the tasks necessary to prepare it have not been completed, it is permitted to snack from them with the exception of a basket of figs. If one separates *terumah* from them before the work associated with preparing them is finished, the obligation to tithe takes effect. [5] [The following laws apply if] fig-branches to which figs were still attached or date fronds to which dates were still attached were brought home. If children or workers brought them [to a person's home], the obligation to tithe does not yet take effect. If the owner of the home brought them, he is obligated to tithe them.
If he brought in stalks of grain to make dough, the obligation to tithe does not take effect. If he intended to eat them as kernels, it does take effect. When does the above apply? With regard to grain. With regard to legumes, the obligation to tithe does not take effect [in that instance]. [6] It is permitted to be crafty and bring [grain that has been harvested] into one's home while it still has its outer shell so that one's livestock can partake of it and thus it is exempt from tithes. One may then winnow a small portion of it after it has been brought into one's home. He is thus exempt from [the obligation to separate] *terumah* and tithes forever, since he has not begun to complete [the tasks necessary to prepare] the entire [harvest]. [7] When a person completes the task necessary to process a colleague's produce without his knowledge or he brings the produce to one of the six situations that establish an obligation to tithe without [the owner's] knowledge, [this produce] incurs the obligation to be tithed. [8] What is meant by completing the work associated with produce? For zucchini, squash, and watermelon, it is when one rubs them with his hands and removes the golden hairs upon them. If he does not rub them, it is when he makes a pile. For a watermelon, it is when he arranges them in a designated place, one watermelon next to another. If one rubs the fruit one by one, when he completed [rubbing] all that he needed, that [specific produce] is considered as if the tasks necessary to prepare it were completed. We may separate *terumah* from zucchini and squash even though the hairs have not been removed from it. [9] For vegetables that are [sold while] bound together, it is when they are bound together. If the vegetables are not bound together, it is when the container is full. If he does not fill the container, he may snack from the produce until he gathers all that he needs. [10] For a basket [of produce], it is when the produce will be covered by leaves, straw, and the like. If he does not cover it, it is when the container is full. If he does not fill the container, it is when he gathers all that he needs. [11] [When a person is gathering produce] in a large container, but he desires to fill only a portion of it, once he fills that portion, [the produce] must be tithed. If he intends to fill the entire container, [the produce is] not required to be tithed until he fills the entire container. If he has two containers and desires to fill both of them, [the produce is] not required to be tithed until he fills both of them. [12] When a person made a large weave of vegetables in the field, the obligation to tithe takes effect even though he intended to [undo the larger weave and] make a smaller weave for the marketplace.
Dried pomegranate seeds, raisins, and carobs, [become obligated to be tithed] when a person sets up a pile on top of his roof. Onions [become obligated] when one removes the leaves and shells that he would generally discard. If he does not remove them, [there is no obligation to tithe the onions], until one stores them in a pile. [13] Grain [becomes obligated] when one is *mimareach* it. What is meant by *mimareach*? When one straightens the surface of the grainheap with a pitchfork at the conclusion of the entire process, as one would do when he concludes all his work. If a person is not *mimareach*, [the obligation takes effect], when he makes a pile.
Legumes [become obligated] when one sifts them and takes them from under the sifter and partakes of them. If he does not sift them, [the obligation takes effect when] he is *mimareach*.
Even though he is *mimareach*, it is permitted to take from the scattered stalks, those on the side, and the kernels that are in the straw, and partake of them. [14] Wine [becomes obligated] when it is stored in a barrel and the peels and seeds are removed from the top of the barrel. When, however, it is in the vat and one takes out some to put it in a barrel, one may drink from it casually. Similarly, he may collect [wine] from the upper vat, from a conduit, or from any place and drink it [without tithing]. [15] Oil [becomes obligated] when it descends to the vat. Even though it has descended, one may take from the rope basket, the stone [used to grind the olives], the boards or stones of the olive press. One may place [untithed] oil into cooked food in a small dish or a large pot even though [the food] is hot, because it will not cook in a secondary vessel. If [the food] was very hot, so much so that one's hand would burn, he should not put [untithed oil] into it, because it will be cooked. [16] A cake of dried figs [becomes obligated] when it is smoothed. Dried figs [become obligated] when they become crushed [into the container in which they will be stored]. If they were placed in a storage container, [they become obligated] when one smoothes out the surface of the storage container by hand. If one was crushing dried figs into a jug or into a cake at the opening of a storage container and the jug becomes broken or the storage container is opened, he should not partake of [the figs] until they are tithed. [17] When figs and grapes have been set aside [to dry], it is permitted to snack from them in the place where they were set aside. If, however, he took some from the place where they were set aside, he should not snack from them, because the tasks involved [in their preparation] have been completed, even though they have not dried out totally. [18] Carobs [become obligated] when he collects them on top of the roof to dry. He may take some down [from the roof] for fodder for his livestock. He is exempt [from tithing], because he will put back what is left over. He is thus using it as fodder as a temporary measure. [19] When a person separated the first tithe while the produce was still in stalks, it is forbidden to partake of it until *terumat ma'aser* is separated from it. If he partook of it, he is given stripes for rebellious conduct.
What is meant by partaking of food as a snack? If a person was peeling barley kernels and eating them, he may peel them one by one. If he peeled several and held them in his hand, he is required to tithe them. If he was crushing the shells of wheat kernels, he may sift the chaff from hand to hand and partake of them. If he sifted them into his bosom, he is required to tithe them. Needless to say, if he sifted them with a utensil, [he is required to tithe them], for this is not a temporary measure.
Similarly, one may take wine and put it into a cold cooked dish in a bowl and partake of it. One may not, by contrast, put it into a pot even if it was cold, because it is considered like a small cistern. Similarly, one may squeeze olives onto his skin [without tithing], but not into his hand. Similar laws apply in all analogous situations. [20] Just as it is permitted to partake of produce as a snack when the work [involved in its preparation] has not been completed, so too, it is permitted to feed such produce to animals, livestock, and fowl as one desires. Similarly, one may declare as much of this produce ownerless as he desires.
If he completed those tasks, even when the obligation to tithe was not established, he may not declare the produce ownerless, nor may he feed it to livestock, animals, and fowl in a significant manner until he tithes it. It is permitted to feed an animal *tevel* in an insignificant manner, even in one's home. One can feed [an animal] rolls of *chilba* until one bundles them as packages. [21] When a person discovers fruits on the road - even if he finds them next to an orchard of that fruit - they are exempt from the tithes. When one found dried figs, if most people already crushed their dried figs [into larger masses], he is obligated to tithe [what he found], for we assume that it came from produce for which the work involved in its preparation was completed. Similarly, if he found broken pieces of cakes of dried figs, it should be considered as if they came from produce for which the work involved in its preparation was completed. [22] When a person finds sheaves of wheat in a private domain, he is obligated to tithe them. [If he finds them] in the public domain, they are exempt. Larger sheaves are required to be tithed wherever they are found.
If one finds [bundles of] grain that have been straightened, one may separate them as *terumah* and tithes for other produce. One need not be concerned [that the owners separated tithes for this produce already].
[If one finds a] basket [of fruit] that is covered, he is required to tithe it. If he finds a basket [of fruit] in a place where most people take it to the marketplace, he is forbidden to snack from it and he should make the appropriate separations as if it were *demai.* [In a place where] most people bring it home, he may snack from it and he must certainly make the appropriate separations. If half [bring home] and half [bring to the marketplace], it is considered as *demai*. If he brings it home, he must certainly make the appropriate separations.
When does the above apply? With regard to a type of produce that does not have a specific phase at which the tasks associated with its preparation are completed. If, however, the produce does have a phase when the tasks associated with its preparation are completed, even though he must certainly separate tithes, he does not have to separate *terumah*. For we can assume that *terumah* was separated when those tasks were completed. [23] When there are ant holes that existed overnight next to a pile of grain that is required to be tithed, the kernels found there are required to be tithed. For it is obvious that the ants have been taking from produce that was completely prepared throughout the night. [24] When a person finds olives under an olive tree or carobs under a carob tree, he is required to tithe them, for we assume that they fell from this tree. If he found figs under a fig tree, there is a doubt whether they fell from this tree or from figs that are already tithed, because their appearance changes and they become soiled with the dust. [25] When a person consecrates produce that has been detached and redeems it before the tasks associated with its preparation are completed, one is obligated to tithe it. If [these tasks] were completed while [the crops ] were in the domain of the Temple treasury and then he redeemed them, they are exempt from tithes. When a person consecrated standing grain for meal offerings, it is exempt from the tithes.
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