Maaser Sheni, Chapter 5, Mishnah 10. Continuing the discussion of the details of how the mitzvah of biur is fulfilled, we now turn to the confession of the tithes, the declaration itself that is recited at the time of the biur.
The Time of the Confession:
The Mishnah establishes that the confession is recited "b'Minchah" - in the afternoon hours, "b'Yom Tov acharon" - on the final day of the festival of Pesach. Although, as we learned in the previous Mishnah, the mitzvah of biur itself is fulfilled on the eve of the first day of Pesach, and at that point a person is obligated to attend to his Terumah and his tithes and to remove the Bikkurim and the Maaser Sheni from his possession, the confession is not recited immediately. The reason is this: since a portion of the produce was left over so that Maaser Sheni could be eaten in Jerusalem during the days of the festival, the confession was postponed until the very end of Yom Tov, so that the Maaser Sheni still in his possession could be eaten throughout the entire festival.
How Was the Confession Recited?
The Mishnah spells out the wording of the confession, and to each phrase in the verse it attaches the gift to which that phrase refers:
"Biarti hakodesh min habayis" - meaning, I have removed from my house the consecrated produce that was sanctified. "Zeh maaser sheni v'neta revai" - this refers to Maaser Sheni and to the fruit of the fourth year, both of which the Torah calls by the name kodesh, and are therefore included in the phrase "I have removed the consecrated produce."
"Nesativ la'Levi" - "zeh maaser Levi" - this is the first tithe, which is given to the Levi.
"V'gam nesativ" - "zo Terumah u'terumas maaser" - these are an addition to the first tithe given to the Levi. Both of these are given to the kohen, and they too are included in the declaration.
"La'ger la'yasom v'la'almanah" - "zeh maaser ani" - since all of these are counted among the poor. Included in this category as well are leket, shichechah and peah:
Leket - what falls to the ground at the time of harvesting.
Shichechah - what is forgotten in the field.
Peah - the corner of the field that is left over in the course of harvesting.
All of these are gifts to the poor, given to a poor person, and they are all included in the declaration that he gave them to the convert, the orphan and the widow. Regarding these the Mishnah adds: "af al pi she'einan me'akvin es ha'viduy" - if a person did not give leket, shichechah and peah, or if they were not relevant to him at all, this does not prevent him from reciting the confession; nevertheless, they are mentioned as an addition.
"Min habayis" - this is challah, for challah is separated inside the house and not in the field, and it is therefore called "from the house."
In the next Mishnah we will continue with the rest of the wording of the confession of the tithes.