💾 Archived View for scholasticdiversity.us.to › scriptures › jewish › t › Mishneh%20Torah%2C%20Tithe… captured on 2024-05-10 at 13:14:20. Gemini links have been rewritten to link to archived content
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
5 [1] When a person purchases detached produce to partake of it, he is obligated to tithe it according to Rabbinic decree as we explained.
When is the obligation [to tithe] established? When [the purchaser] pays [for the produce], even if he has not drawn it [into his domain]. If [a potential purchaser] was selecting and setting aside, selecting and setting aside, even if he did so the entire day and even if he made up his mind to purchase the produce, he is not obligated to tithe it. If he is a God-fearing person, from the time he made up his mind, he should tithe it. Afterwards, if he desires to return it to the seller, he may return it. [2] When a person purchases produce that is attached to the ground or purchases detached produce to send to a colleague, [an obligation to tithe] is not established and he may snack from them. [3] When a person tells a colleague: "Here is an *isar* and give me five figs for it," he may eat them one by one and he is exempt [from the obligation to tithe]. If [the seller] gathers them together, he is obligated to tithe them.
[If he says:] "Here is an *isar* for 20 figs that I will select," he may select them one by one and eat them. "...For a cluster of grapes that I will select," he may pick them individually from the tree and partake of them. "...For a pomegranate that I will select," he may remove the seeds while on the tree and partake of them. "...For a watermelon that I will select," he may bend it over to the ground and partake of it.
If he cut off the figs and gathered them together or cut off the cluster of grapes or the watermelon, he is obligated to tithe, because he purchased the produce in its detached state. If, however, he told him: "Here is an *isar* for these 20 figs," "...for these two clusters of grapes," "...for these two pomegranates," or "...for these two watermelons," he may harvest the produce in an ordinary manner and snack on it," for the obligation to tithe was not established, for he purchased the produce while it was attached. [4] When a person exchanges [produce] with a colleague and each have the intent of eating, an obligation has been established to tithe both lots of produce, for they have been purchased while detached. [If they are exchanged while attached, with] each one having to reap the other's crops, an obligation has not been established for either of them, for a sale does not establish an obligation [to tithe] unless the work associated with its preparation is completed as we explained.
If one purchased produce to eat in an exchange and the other purchased produce to reap in the same exchange, the one who purchased produce to eat is obligated to tithe, while the obligation to tithe has not been established for the one who purchased produce to reap. [5] When a person tells a colleague: "Go out and gather 20 figs of mine for yourself and I will fill my gut with your produce," both are exempt. This is not considered as an exchange that is comparable to a sale. If he gathers [the produce] together and partakes of it, he is liable. [6] [Giving produce as] a present does not establish an obligation to tithe as a sale does. When a common person is passing through the marketplace and saying: "Take figs," one may partake of them and one is exempt [from the obligation to tithe], for a present does not establish such an obligation.
[Different rules apply when the recipients] brings the produce home. If the majority of the people [who harvest] bring their produce home [before taking it to the marketplace], one must certainly separate the tithes. If most of the people take the produce directly to the market place, he should only make the separations as one does for *demai*, for perhaps he tithed it and then brought it to the marketplace.
If [the common person] said: "Take them and bring them to your homes," when one takes them home, he must tithe them as one tithes *demai*. If [the common person] gave him a large amount of produce - even if he told him: "Take it and eat it," - it is as if he told him, "Take it and bring it home." He may not partake of it until he makes the separations as one does for *demai*. Similarly, if he gave him produce that is not usually eaten uncooked or the recipient was a person of stature who would not ordinarily eat in the marketplace, he should make the separations as one does for *demai*. [7] If there were two [prospective recipients] and [the common person] said to one: "Take it and partake of it [here in the marketplace]," and he told the other: "Take it and bring it home," the first may partake of it and be exempt [from the obligation to tithe], while the second is obligated if he eats. [8] Similarly, if there were people sitting at the gate [of a courtyard] or in a store and [the common person] told them: "Take [this produce] and partake of it," they may partake of it and are exempt [from the obligation to tithe]. The owner of the gate or the owner of the store may not partake of it until he makes the separations as one does for *demai*. For it is as if [the common person] told these people: "Take it and bring it home," for [these places] are considered like their homes. As we already explained, having produce pass through a house that is not one's own does not establish [an obligation to tithe]. [9] [The following rules apply when one] hires workers to perform work with him concerning produce, whether produce that has been detached or that which is attached. Since [the workers] have the right to partake of the produce with which they are working according to Scriptural Law, they may partake of it and are exempt from tithing.
[Different rules apply if the employer] agreed to a condition that allowed them to partake of produce to which the Torah did not entitle them, e.g., the worker stipulated that his son could partake of the produce with him, his son could partake of the produce as payment of his wages, or that he would be able to [continue] partaking of the produce which was harvested after the work [involved in its preparation] was completed, he is forbidden to partake of the produce until he tithes it. [The rationale is that] since he is partaking of the produce because of the condition, he is like a purchaser. [10] If [an employer] hired [a worker] to hoe around olive trees and the worker stipulated that he could partake of the olives, he may eat them one by one from the tree and he is exempt [from the obligation to tithe]. If he gathers them together, he is obligated. [11] If one hired [a worker] to hoe around onions and he stipulated that he could partake of the green onions, he can cut off leaf by leaf and partake of them [without tithing], if he gathered them together, he is obligated.
If a worker stipulated that he could eat a *litra* of olives, he may eat them one by one [without having to tithe them]. If he gathered them together, he is obligated to tithe. [The rationale is that] since he is eating a fixed measure, he is considered as a purchaser and [in such an instance,] if the produce is gathered together, his obligation to tithe is established. If he did not make a stipulation and instead, was eating as authorized by Torah Law, he may gather together and eat as much as he desires, provided he does not dip them in salt. If he dips them in salt, he is permitted [to eat them] one by one [without tithing]. [To eat them] two by two is forbidden, for the obligation to tithe is established by dipping them in salt. [12] When a worker was performing work with lower quality figs, he should not partake of higher quality figs. If he was performing work with higher quality figs, he should not partake of lower quality figs unless he tithes them. He is permitted, however, to refrain from eating until he reaches the higher quality figs. [13] When a person takes workers out to his field to perform work for him there, if he is not required to provide them with food, they may partake of the produce of the field [when granted permission by the owner], and they are exempt from the tithes, provided the tasks associated with [the preparation of the produce] are not completed. If, however, he is required to provide them with food, they should not eat [of the produce of the field] even though they have not completed their tasks. [The rationale is that] we do not pay a debt from *tevel*. [Even in such a situation, the workers] should partake of the figs one by one. They may not, however, [partake of those] in a basket or in a container or those set aside. [14] When one cooks produce, boils it, or pickles it, one establishes an obligation to tithe. If, however, one smokes produce until it is prepared [to be eaten], there is a doubt [whether there is an obligation to tithe]. [15] When a person buries his produce in the ground, in straw, or in fertilizer before preparing them to be eaten, the obligation to tithe them is not established. [16] When a person places wine into a cooked dish that is hot or he places oil in a pot or a baking dish when they are boiling, he establishes an obligation to tithe. If he mixes wine with hot water, he establishes an obligation to tithe. Needless to say, that if he cooks wine, even in the wine press, it is forbidden to drink from it unless he tithes it. [17] When garlic, cress, or mustard seed were crushed in the field and mixed with oil, an obligation to tithe was established. Similarly, if one squeezes a cluster [of grapes] into a cup, an obligation to tithe was established. [If he squeezes it] into a pot, an obligation was not established. [18] When a person salts produce in the field, an obligation to tithe is established. If, however, he dips olives into salt one by one and eats them, he is exempt. A person who opens olives so their fluid will flow out, is exempt. A person who removes olives from the storage vat, may dip them in salt one by one and eat them. If, however, he salted [several] and served them, he is obligated [to tithe]. Similar laws apply in all analogous situations. [19] [Even though] a person separates *terumah* from his produce in a manner that requires him to make a second separation, the obligation to tithe is established. He should not [even] snack from it until he separates *terumah* a second time and tithes. [20] When the work associated with the preparation of produce has been completed and nightfall arrives on Friday, the obligation to tithe takes effect. One may not partake of them even after the Sabbath until they are tithed. [21] When children hid figs for the Sabbath and forgot to tithe them, one should not partake of them Saturday night until they are tithed. [22] If there was a fig tree that was designated for one to partake of its produce on the Sabbath and one gathered a basket [of these figs], one may not partake of them until he tithes them. [This stringency was established,] because these figs are designated for the Sabbath and the Sabbath establishes an obligation to tithe. [23] If a person was eating a cluster of grapes and nightfall arrived on Friday, he should not finish eating them on the Sabbath unless he tithes them. If he sets them aside until after the Sabbath, he may finish them.
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