Bartenura on Mishnah Maaser Sheni

Sefaria · Mishnah > Rishonim on Mishnah > Bartenura > Seder Zeraim · 268 sections

1.1.1
מעשר שני אין מוכרין אותו – even carrying it to Jerusalem since it is holy. And the anonymous Mishnah is according to Rabbi Meir who said that the Second Tithe money belongs to On High [i.e., God].
1.1.2
אין מחליפין אותו – He should not say to him [his fellow]: Here is wine and give me oil; [or here is] oil and give me wine.
1.1.3
ואין שוקלין כנגדו – A Selah’s-worth of unconsecrated food in exchange for a Selah’s worth of Second Tithe, because of the despising of the commandment [involved].
1.1.4
ולא יאמר אדם לחבירו בירושלים – Above we are speaking about outside of Jerusalem, but here it comes to teach us that even in Jerusalem when we purchase with its value food or drink, one is not permitted to exchange them.
1.1.5
וכן שאשר כל הפירות – Even their fruits of [Second] tithe themselves, for it is not other than a Rabbinic ordinance.
1.1.6
אבל נותנים זה לזה מתנת חנם – such as when one invites him to eat with him at his table, which are the words of all [opinions] , but to give him an actual gift is prohibited, according to the one who says that a gift is like a sale.
1.2.1
אין מוכרין אותו – for we derive [through an analogy made – actually היקש – from two verses in close proximity one to the other] גאולה גאולה – derived from חרמים /property set apart for the priest’s or Temple use. It is stated concerning tithes (Leviticus 27:33): “it cannot be redeemed/לא יגאל ,” and it is stated concerning property set apart for the priest’s or Temple use (Leviticus 27:28): “[But of all that anyone owns, be it man or beast or land of his holding, nothing that he has proscribed for the LORD may be sold or proscribed; "לא ימכר ולא יגאל"[every proscribed thing is totally consecrated to the LORD].” Just as there (in the section concerning tithes) it states that the sale is with him, so too here in the case of proscribed property, the sale is with him.
1.2.2
תמים חי – And the same law applies regarding that which is slaughtered, as it says, “nothing…may be…proscribed” and is not sold (see Leviticus 27:28 above), whether living nor slaughtered nor unblemished nor blemished, but an unblemished animal, its fat and its blood are offered on the altar and its meat is eaten by its owners in Jerusalem. But a blemished animal – its owners eat it in every place [other than Jerusalem]. And since the Mishnah needed to teach at the end regarding a first-born animal that we sell it unblemished [and] alive, the Mishnah also teaches at the beginning of an unblemished living [animal] that is alive.
1.2.3
ואין מקדשין בו את האשה – for it is like a sale
1.2.4
הבכור מוכרים אותו תמים חי – because concerning a first-born, it is written (Numbers 18:17): “[But the firstlings of cattle, sheep, or goats] may not be redeemed; [they are consecrated. You shall dash their blood against the altar, and turn their fat into smoke as a gift for a pleasing owner to the LORD],” but they can be sold.
1.2.5
ומקדשין בו את האשה – since it is the money of the Kohen, and it is permissible to sell it.
1.2.6
אסימון – a coin that lacks a shape/form on it, and we do not redeem Second Tithe with it, as it is written (Deuteronomy 14:25): “[you may convert it into money.] Wrap up the money (in your hand) [and take it with you to the place that the LORD your God has chosen],” money that has upon it a shape/form.
1.2.7
ולא על המטבע שאינו יוצא – as it is written (Deuteronomy 14:26): “and spend the money on anything you want [ - cattle, sheep, wine, or any other intoxicant, or anything you may desire…,” except for money that is not current use, for he is not able to purchase with it anything that he wants.
1.2.8
ולא על המעות שאינן ברשותו – such as the case where his purse fell into the Great Sea (i.e., Mediterranean Sea), he is not able to redeem [his] Second Tithe with the monies that are within it, for he must hire someone who sails over the sea to remove it.
1.3.1
הלוקח בהמה לזבחי שלמים – from the monies of the Second Tithe, for this is the main object of the commandment of the monies of Second Tithe – to purchase from them peace-offerings, as we derive by a Gezerah Shavah/an analogy between two laws established on the basis of verbal incongruities in the text, as we derive from [the usage of[ שם שם from Mount Ebal (see: Deuteronomy 27:4-5 and Joshua 8: 30,32: “[Upon crossing the Jordan, you shall set up these stones, about which I charge you this day, on Mount Ebal, and coat them with plaster]. There/שם, [too, you shall built an altar to the LORD your God…..]” and “[At that time Joshua built an altar to the LORD, the God of Israel, on Mount Ebal….and] there/שם, [on the stones, he inscribed a copy of the Teaching that Moses had written for the Israelites].”
1.3.2
וחיה – which is not worthy for offering, and was purchased from the monies of the Second Tithe to eat desired meat, that is to say, non-sacred [meat].
1.3.3
יצא העור לחולין – and you do not have to eat its monetary value in Jerusalem.
1.3.4
יצא הקנקן לחולין – and it is not necessary to sell it and to eat its monetary worth in the holiness of the [Second] Tithe in Jerusalem. And these words [apply regarding] when the seller and buyer are common people and they don’t desire anything other than meat to eat and wine to drink , but if one of them was an artisan who prepares hides, or [someone] who crafts earthenware [vessels] that now surely thinks of (literally, “puts his eye upon”) on hides or jars, he is like one who buys this for himself and the other who buys for himself – and they don’t fulfill [the Mitzvah in a state of being] non-sacred.
1.3.5
התמד – the refuse of grapes when he placed water upon them
1.3.6
אינו נקח בכסף מעשר – for they are considered like water and we require fruit, from fruit or what is grown in the ground.
1.3.7
נקח בכסף מעשר – for since it has soured, it is considered food, and we put upon it three and we find [that it becomes] four.
1.4.1
הלוקח חיה לזבח שלמים – for a sacrifice cannot come from a wild-beast, as it is written (Leviticus 1:2): “[Speak to the Israelite people, and say to them: When any of you presents an offering of cattle to the LORD, he shall choose his offering] from the herd or from the flock.”
1.4.2
ובהמה לבשר תאוה – But the Sages decreed that they should not purchase cattle from the monies of the Second Tithe, but [only] peace-offerings, because originally, it was permissible to purchase cattle for meat that you may desire; but since everyone would purchase cattle for meat that you may desire, and they exclude it from being on the altar, they retracted and said that [cattle] should not be purchased.
1.4.3
אין העור יוצא לחולין – that is to say that it is not in this category that the hide should go to non-sacred purposes, but rather, he did not purchase for [Second] Tithe neither wild-beast nor cattle, for it became like someone who purchases a bull for ploughing with the monies of [Second] Tithe, for he did not purchase [Second] Tithe.
1.4.4
לא יצא הקנקן לחולין – since they had the custom of selling the wine without the jar.
1.4.5
לא יצאו דמי הכלי לחולין – because it was the practice to sell it without the jar.
1.5.1
הלוקח מים ומלח – water and salt are not purchased with the monies of Second Tithe, as it is written (Deuteronomy 14:26): “And spend the money on anything you want”– a generalization – “cattle, sheep, wine, or other intoxicant,” – a specification – “anything that you may desire” – another generalization; “if a general rule is followed by a specification and this again by a generalization, you must be guided by the specification.” Just as the specification is explained as something that is food or grows in the ground, but cattle and sheep grow from the plants which are things that grow in the ground, and from something that is detached, and something that is preserved until one leads them to Jerusalem – even all things that are food and grow in the ground and are detached, and something that is preserved, which excludes water and salt, even though they are food, but are not [something] grown in the ground, and excludes produce that are attached to the ground that are not detached, which excludes produce that has become rotten before it arrives in Jerusalem, which is not something preserved. For all of these are not purchased with the monies of [Second] Tithe.
1.5.2
לא קנה מעשר – and the holiness of [Second] Tithe does not take effect on something that is purchased, and were not fulfilled through the use of [Second Tithe] monies for non-sacred [foods].
1.5.3
הלוקח פירות שוגג – for he did not know that from [Second] Tithe monies he was purchasing them.
1.5.4
יחזרו דמים למקומן – the seller takes his produce/fruits and returns the monies, because it is like a fraudulent purchase, and if the purchaser had known that they are [Second] Tithe monies, he would not have purchased with them this produce/fruits, because of the painstaking preparations on the way, and because he erred inadvertently, the purchase is nullified.
1.5.6
יעלו ויאכלו במקום – (Deuteronomy 14:24): “in the place where He will choose [to establish His name],” that is to say, Jerusalem.
1.5.7
ואם אין מקדש ירקבו – for the thing purchased with the monies of [Second] Tithe are not redeemed purely in a place distant [from Jerusalem], as it is taught in the Mishnah further on in Chapter three.
1.6.1
תקבר ע"י עורה – with its hide, because its hide is also prohibited.
1.7.1
אין לוקחין עבדים וקרקעות – because they are not food, and the All-Merciful said: (Deuteronomy 14:26): “…cattle, sheep…[or anything you may desire]. And you shall feast there…”
1.7.2
יאכל כנגדן – corresponding to the Second Tithe monies that he expended on these things, he should spend from his own [funds] and purchase something that he eats and consume it in the holiness of [Second] Tithe in Jerusalem. And here we are speaking about when the seller fled and because of this, , [the Mishnah] did not teach that he should return the monies to their place. Alternatively, our Mishnah is speaking of someone who did this on purpose/willfully, but if he had done so inadvertently, he should return the monies to their place.
1.7.3
קיני זבים וקיני זבות – two doves or two pigeons that the men and/or women afflicted with a flux/gonorrhea are obligated to bring, and we establish/hold that anything that is obligatory should not come from other than the non-sacred, for a person does not repay his liability with Second Tithe monies.
2.1.1
מעשר שני לאכילה ולשתיה – As it is written (Deuteronomy 14:26): “[And spend the money on anything you want] – cattle, sheep, wine, or other intoxicant,[or anything else you may desire]. And you shall feast there…” And drinking is included with eating and anointing is like drinking, as it is written (Psalms 109:18): “[May he be clothed in a curse like a garment,] may it enter his body like water, his bones like oil.”
2.1.2
לאכול דבר שדרכו לאכול – for if he purchase bread with the monies of [Second] Tithe and it grew moldy, wine and it became sour, a [cooked] dish and it began to smell badly, we do not require him to eat something that he ordinarily would not eat in order not to waste monies of the Second Tithe. Alternatively, if he requested to eat a species of living, moist beets or a cup of living wheat, we do not listen to him, since it is not our manner to eat them as such.
2.1.3
אין מפטמין את השמן – to put within it roots and the heads of spices, because they absorb the oil and go to ruin as the roots are not eaten.
2.1.4
אין לוקחין בדמי מעשר שני שמן מפוטם – because since we require something that is of equal value for every person, and this is not other than for the delicately reared and those who are indulged.
2.1.5
אבל מפטם הוא את היין – to make it wine mixed with honey and things similar to them.
2.1.6
נפל – honey or spices [fell] into the wine of Second Tithe when it is outside of Jerusalem, improving them (i.e., they grew in value), they divide the improvement according to its sum; for example, if the wine is worth two Sela, and the honey and/or spices are worth a Sela, and they increased in value, and stood at four Sela, he redeems the wine for two Selaim and two-thirds of a Sela.
2.1.7
קפלוטות – leek-green stuff; PURSH in the foreign tongue.
2.1.8
השבח לשני – and he redeems the bread at its equivalent value, and we do not divide the increase [in value] to the non-sacred trees, but rather, all of the improvement goes to the Second Tithe since the improvement in trees is not that well recognized in sustenance.
2.1.9
כל ששבחו ניכר – that the improvement in the non-sacred [produce] is recognized in Second Tithe when they added the non-sacred [produce] on the [Second] Tithe by measure and/or by weight, but if they did not add other than in taste, even though its value raised in price on account of the taste, this improvement is not recognized.
2.2.1
ר:ש אומר: אין סכין – He thinks that oil of Second Tithe is not given for anointing but only for eating alone.
2.2.2
אם הקל בתרומה – as you admit that it is permitted for anointing, as it is taught in the eighth chapter of [Mishnah – Tractate] Shevi’it (see Mishnah 2), and similarly with Terumah and similarly with Second Tithe, and we do not disregard Terumah/heave-offering.
2.2.3
שהקל בכרשינין ובתלתן – of Terumah/heave-offering more than with Second Tithe, as we require to say further on, therefore, it is a law also that we will be lenient with anointing concerning Terumah, but the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Shimon.
2.3.1
תאכל צמחונים – when they are moist vegetables and he should not leave them alone until they grow and they will not be appropriate for eating, but Terumah can be eaten whether as buds (directly from the capsules before they are dry) or as dry.
2.3.2
ב"ש אומרים: כל מעשיה בטהרה – even though fenugreek is not a complete food, and Terumah does not apply to it other than for the fact that it is eaten by some people, therefore, it is eaten in defilement; nevertheless, according to the School of Shammai, it is necessary that all of its preparations must be done in cleanness/purity, and with washing of the hands according to the law of all the rest of Terumah foods, for whomever comes in contact with them must first wash their hands. And the reason is in order that they would know that they are Terumah and that they should not be fed to foreigners (i.e., non-Kohanim).
2.3.3
חוץ מחפיפתה – hat without washing of the hands, one can comb the head with it, for it was their practice to comb their heads with fenugree.
2.3.4
כל מעשיה בטומאה חוץ משרייתה – [steeping it] in water, that it is necessary to steep/soak them in ritual purity, for if he steeps them without the washing of the hands, their steeping makes them fit to receive impurity. And he defiles them immediately in his hands, and they forbade this alone because of the recognition in order that they would know that it is Terumah/Priest’s Due.
2.4.1
כרשיני – In the Arabic language, KARS’NA, and they are not food for humans other than in an emergency in the years of famine.
2.4.2
ונכנסים לירושלים ויוצאים – Even though that with the rest of produce, we hold that Second Tithe that goes into Jerusalem, one is not able to take it out from there, concerning vetches/horse-beans, they were lenient.
2.4.3
יתחלקו לעיסות – and they are not like the rest of [Second] Tithe that was became impure that we redeem them and even in Jerusalem, but vetches/horse-beans, since they are not human food, we don’t redeem them, as Rabbi Tarfon holds, we don’t redeem the sanctified things to feed them to dogs. Therefore, we divide them among pure lumps of dough of Second Tithe and we place in each lump of dough from these vetches/horse beans that were defiled a little bit by a little bit less than the size of an egg, for he who eats [a quantity] less than the size of an egg is not defiled from others nor does he defile others and as such he eats them.
2.4.4
וחכ"א יפדו – like the rest of Second Tithe [they should be redeemed] and the Halakha is according to the Sages.
2.4.5
שורין – [soak them] in water and rub them into the meat in ritual purity, with the washing of the hands, since [one’s mere] hands are second-degree of Levitical uncleanness which invalidate the Priest’s due.
2.4.6
ומאכילין – to cattle
2.4.7
יאכלו צריד – (See also, Mishnah Eduyot, Chapter 1, Mishnah 8) [The word צריד ] is the language of “dry matter,” such as the dry-matter of meal offerings (Tractate Pesahim 20a), which is the place of the meal-offering where the oil did not reach it; that is to say, it should be eaten dry, so that liquid should not be upon them at the time of eating, in order that they would be not recognized as susceptible to receive defilement.
2.4.8
כל מעשיהם בטומאה – and even soaking. But the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Akiba.
2.5.1
מה שליקט ליקט למעשר – All of whatever he harvests, all of it goes to [Second] Tithe until he completes [what he needs] for the [Second] Tithe monies, and he gives it and states: “If all of what I have harvested are monies for [Second] Tithe,” that is good, and if not, those of [Second] Tithe that are left over shall be redeemed with those.
2.5.2
ואם בלל וחפן – if he did not harvest those one by one from here and from there, but rather, they were mixed up and combined and he took from them a handful’s worth.
2.5.3
לפי חשבון – that if for this one – there is a Maneh (i.e., one-hundred) and for the other one, two hundred, he gives to this one of the Maneh a third and to that one of two-hundred two-thirds.
2.6.1
שנתערבו – and he wishes to remove that which is non-sacred produce outside of Jerusalem.
2.6.2
מביא בסלע מעות – of copper which have on them a form/shape, that are worth a silver Sela.
2.6.3
ובורר את היפה שבהן – that are on the two Selas, and he redeems these monies with it (i.e., the better of the two) and redeems these coins for it, and the second Sela and the rest of the monies are non-sacred.
2.6.4
מדוחק – when he is pressed and he cannot do it in another way.
2.6.5
ולא שיתקיים כן – and the copper monies should remain as [Second] Tithe, but he goes back and redeems them for silver. And if a difficulty arises and for what does he bring monies for a Sela, he should take one of the Selas that were combined and say: If this is of [Second] Tithe, it is well, and if not, the second which is of [Second] Tithe will be redeemed for it. And if one of them is permitted for him to purchase and to make a condition, we are suspicious that perhaps he will come to take one of them without a condition made on it.
2.7.1
לא יעשה אדם סלעיו דינרי זהב – Silver Selahs that he has from Second Tithe monies, he should not make into golden denars, lest he delay their being brought up [to Jerusalem] until he can exchange his Selahs and will be interrupted from going up [to Jerusalem] for the Festival. But the School of Hillel holds that we do not make this decree.
2.8.1
הפורט סלע ממעות מעשר שני – He who has copper coins of Second Tithe and comes to change the money into a silver Sela to bring up to Jerusalem because of the burden of the way.
2.8.2
ב"ש אומרים בכל הסלע מעות – if he comes to change them (i.e., the monies), he can change all of them and give them for the entire Sela.
2.8.3
וב"ה אומרים – he cannot change other than half of them, for the coins are spent in Jerusalem and when he comes there, for he will need coins immediately to buy the needs of the meal, and if everyone runs to the money-changer to change [monies], the coins will go up in value and will be found that the Second Tithe [monies] are lost. Therefore, they should carry coins with them to spend on a part [of his needs] and when they run out, he should change from the silver that is in his hand, little by little.
2.8.4
שקל – which is one-half of a Sela.
2.8.5
אין מחללין כסף ופירות על כסף – Whomever has one-half of a silver denar of [Second] Tithe and produce of {Second] Tithe worth one-half denar, he should not combine them together to redeem them on the denar.
2.8.6
וחכמים מתירין – for in that manner, via a combination of produce, since he only has one-half of a silver denar. But, to redeem a silver dinar and produce which are worth a dinar on half-a sela which is two denarim, the Sages agree that we don’t redeem them. And the Halakha is according to the Sages.
2.9.1
הפורט סלע של מעשר שני בירושלים – he would exchange the Sela that is in his hand and takes coins to spend them for the needs of the [Second] Tithe meal.
2.9.2
ב"ש אומרים – if he comes to exchange all the Selas that are in his hand for monies, he should exchange [them].
2.9.3
ובית הלל אומרים – he should not exchange other than half, lest he not stay in the city until he spends all of them. And he should deposit them in the city until another Festival, for the coins become moldy/decay, and he returns and exchanges them for Selas, it will be found that the money-changer earns double and the Second Tithe [monies] lose [value].
2.9.4
ודנין לפני חכמים – Shimon ben Azzai and Shimon ben Zoma and Hanan the Egyptian.
2.9.5
בשלשה דינרין כסף ובדינר מעות – The Sela is [worth] four denars, and when he comes to exchange the Selah, he will not receive anything other than one denar in coins and three denarim will be silver.
2.9.6
רביעית כסף ברביעית מעות – The fourth denar of silver, he shall not take other than one-quarter copper coins, and three-quarters silver, so that is found that he takes only one out of a sixteenth of a Sela. -
2.9.7
ארבעה אספרי כסף – A denar is equal to five Aspers, and this coin is [found] in Greece and until today, we call it Aspero. It is found that the Sela is worth 20 Aspers, and when he redeems the denar, he redeems it for four silver aspers and one of copper. It is found that he takes one copper out of twenty for a Seal alone.
2.9.8
יניחנה בחנות ויאכל כנגדה – he should redeem at all on the coins, let he forget and make them non-sacred. But he leaves the Sela with the store-keeper and consume its value until it is completely used up. But the Halakha is not according to any [of the opinions mentioned] but the School of Hillel alone.
2.10.1
מקצת בניו טמאין ומקצתן טהורים – and he (i.e., the father) wishes that they should drink from one pitcher, and those who are ritually impure are prohibited [to consume] wine bought with the monies of [Second] Tithe.
2.10.2
מניח את הסלע ואומר – What those who are ritually pure will drink from the wine, when they drink, this Sela should be given in exchange from now. It is found, that what the ritually pure drank was [Second] Tithe, and what the ritually impure drank was non-sacred; but non-sacred and Second Tithe do not combine with each other, and the wine is not sacred with the sacredness of [Second] Tithe, but when they will drink it, the wine that they drank alone will retroactively return to be [Second Tithe].
3.1.1
לא יאמר. לחלק – that you should take a portion of them, because it is placed upon him to bring his [Second] Tithe to Jerusalem, and it is found that he pays his debt from Second Tithe.
3.1.2
העלם שנאכלם ונתה – for it appears that he is inviting him to eat with him, and this is permitted.
3.1.3
אבל נותנים לזה לזה מתנת חנם – it is explained above at the beginning of the first chapter (Mishnah 1).
3.2.1
מפני שהוא ממעט באכילתו – for heave-offering is forbidden to one who has bathed but must wait until sunset to be perfectly clean and to foreigners (i.e., non-Kohanim).
3.2.2
ורבי שמעון מתיר – who holds that it is permitted to bring holy things to the house of defilement/blemish.
3.2.3
מה אם היקל בזבחי שלמים – that one purchases peace offerings with the monies of Second Tithe, and even though he lessens his eating [of them] for they are able to become rejected in consequence of an improper intention on the part of the officiating priest and the remnant [which are portions of sacrifices left over beyond the legal time and bound to be burnt] which become impure, shall we not be lenient concerning the heave-offering to purchase it with the monies of Second Tithe which do not have the laws of improper intentions on the part of the officiating priest and the remnants of sacrificial portions left over beyond the legal time nor the law of impurity, for not all the things that make that which is holy impure make the heave-offering impure. And the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Shimon.
3.3.1
מי שהיה לו מעות – of Second Tithe, and he must with them unconsecrated things that are not for eating, drinking or anointing.
3.3.2
ולחבירו פירות – of unconsecrated produce and he wants to do a favor for him, that he should redeem the monies of Second Tithe for his produce.
3.3.3
אוכל פירותיו בטהרה – for the sanctity of [Second] Tithe takes effect on the produce and he must eat them in purity.
3.3.4
ולא יאמר כן לעם הארץ – who is suspected of eating produce of [Second] Tithe in defilement.
3.3.5
אלא בדמאי – such as if those monies of Second Tithe were of דמאי/suspicion as to the tithes therefrom being taken properly, or whether it is permissible to say this even to an עם הארץ/ignoramus/illiterate, lest the monies were not [Second] Tithe.
3.4.1
ומעות במדינה – and the Monies of Second Tithe outside of Jerusalem [in the country] and he requires them, and it tells us that there is no need that the produce and monies should be in one place. And in addition, our Mishnah teaches us that even though the produce of Second Tithe cannot be redeemed in Jerusalem, the monies of Second Tithe can be redeemed in Jerusalem.
3.5.1
מעות – of Second Tithe
3.5.2
נכנסות לירושלים ויוצאות – for the sacred precincts [of Jerusalem] retain the monies in the same manner that they retain the produce.
3.5.3
אף הפירות נכנסים ויוצאים – and specifically to take them out to grind them and to back them and afterward to return them to Jerusalem, Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel permits this, because more [produce] they would take them out to grind and to bake outside of Jerusalem, than from what is in Jerusalem itself. And the first Tanna also prohibited this. But the Halakha is not according to Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel.

Bartenura on Mishnah, trans. by Rabbi Robert Alpert, 2020. Via Sefaria (sefaria.org), Sefaria-Export. Version source: http://sefaria.org/ Licence: CC-BY. Source.