Demai Chapter 1, Mishnah 2. We have already learned that someone holding produce that is demai, bought from an am ha'aretz, must separate a number of tithes from it, one of them being Ma'aser Sheni. Our Mishnah lists a series of leniencies that were applied to Ma'aser Sheni separated from demai, as opposed to Ma'aser Sheni separated from certain tevel, produce that is definitely known not to have had its tithes separated.
The leniencies of Ma'aser Sheni of demai:
"Ein lo chomesh" - one who redeems ordinary Ma'aser Sheni adds a fifth, which is twenty five percent of the principal, so that together with the principal it comes to a fifth of the total sum. This addition is not required when redeeming Ma'aser Sheni of demai, and it is enough to redeem it for the value of the principal alone.
"Ve'ein lo bi'ur" - in the fourth and seventh years of the shemittah cycle there is a law of bi'ur, which obligates a person to rid himself, among other things, of all Ma'aser Sheni in his possession. Ma'aser Sheni of demai is not subject to the law of bi'ur, and there is no need to remove it.
"Vene'echal le'onen" - an onen, someone whose close relative has died and has not yet been buried, is in the state called aninus, and he may not eat Ma'aser Sheni even in Jerusalem. But Ma'aser Sheni of demai may be eaten by an onen.
"Venichnas liYerushalayim veyotzei" - Ma'aser Sheni of demai may be brought into Jerusalem, taken back out, and redeemed outside Jerusalem, even though it was already inside the city. With certain Ma'aser Sheni, once the tithe has entered Jerusalem it may not be taken out and redeemed outside, whereas with demai this is permitted.
It is worth noting that there are those who hold that this is not so even with Ma'aser Sheni of demai, and that the permission applies only to 'tevel of demai': demai from which Ma'aser Sheni has not yet been separated, which is not true tevel but tevel of demai. If it was brought into Jerusalem and taken out, then once he separates the Ma'aser Sheni from it he may redeem it outside.
"Ume'abdin es mi'uto badrachim" - small quantities of it may be lost along the way. With certain Ma'aser Sheni one must take care that all of it reaches Jerusalem, even the smallest amount; whereas with Ma'aser Sheni of demai, anything less than the size of a dried fig may be left behind without concern.
"Yinasen le'am ha'aretz veyochal kenegdo" - Ma'aser Sheni of demai may be given to an am ha'aretz to eat in Jerusalem, even though there is a concern that the am ha'aretz will not eat it in the required state of purity, since Ma'aser Sheni must be eaten in purity and may not be eaten in a state of tumah. Nevertheless they permitted giving it to him, on condition that he eat a corresponding amount: he must eat other produce in purity in Jerusalem corresponding to that fruit, as though he thereby redeemed what he gave to the am ha'aretz.
Redeeming silver with silver:
Ma'aser Sheni is redeemed onto silver coins, and those same coins cannot then be redeemed onto other silver coins. In other words, someone holding coins onto which Ma'aser Sheni produce was redeemed cannot transfer the sanctity of the Ma'aser Sheni from them to other silver coins of chullin, even if he specifically needs the coins in his hand and the chullin coins are somewhere else. The reason: this is not the way of chullin, meaning it is not the ordinary manner of redemption to redeem like for like, items of equal value.
With Ma'aser Sheni of demai, however, they were lenient in this:
"Kesef al kesef" - he may redeem silver of Ma'aser Sheni of demai onto silver of chullin.
"Nechushah al nechushah" - the law applies to copper coins redeemed onto copper coins as well.
"Kesef al nechushah" - and even redeeming silver onto copper is permitted, even though copper is of a lower grade.
"Unechushah al peiros" - someone who holds Ma'aser Sheni coins and wishes to use them, and has no other coins available but only chullin produce, may transfer the sanctity of the Ma'aser Sheni of demai that rested on the copper coin onto the produce.
"Uvilvad sheyachzor veyifdeh es hapeiros" - some do not have the word "uvilvad" in their text, but the Mishnah means to say that even after he took a copper coin of Ma'aser Sheni of demai and transferred its sanctity onto produce, he is not required to bring that produce itself up to Jerusalem. He is permitted to redeem this produce again onto other coins, and to bring the coins up to Jerusalem. This is the opinion of Rabbi Meir.
And the Sages say: "Ya'alu hapeiros veye'achlu biYerushalayim" - once he took the coins of Ma'aser Sheni of demai and transferred their sanctity onto produce, that very produce must be brought up to Jerusalem, and he cannot transfer its sanctity again onto other coins and bring the coins up in its place.
In summary: in this Mishnah we listed the leniencies applied to Ma'aser Sheni of demai as opposed to certain Ma'aser Sheni: exemption from adding a fifth at redemption, exemption from the law of bi'ur, permission for an onen to eat it, permission to bring it into Jerusalem, take it out and redeem it outside (and according to one opinion this applies only to tevel of demai), permission to lose a small amount of it along the way, and permission to give it to an am ha'aretz provided that he eats a corresponding amount. They were also lenient regarding the methods of redemption: silver onto silver, copper onto copper, silver onto copper and copper onto produce. Rabbi Meir and the Sages disagree as to whether the produce may then be redeemed again onto coins, or whether the produce itself must be brought up and eaten in Jerusalem.
In the next section we will continue studying the Mishnayos before us and the laws of demai that apply in them.