Mishnah 9 in chapter 3 of Maseches Maasros. Continuing from the previous mishnah, we deal with additional plants that grow in a courtyard and with the obligation of maaser when eating a casual snack. In effect, the mishnah returns to the question of what constitutes 'joining' - when do pieces of fruit become a new collection that combines into a single unit.
In chapter 2, mishnah 6, we learned that when a fruit has many parts, each unit stands as a separate unit, and consequently two units already count as a joining. Therefore a cluster of grapes counts as a joining the moment it is picked, since every grape in it is like a separate grape, and one who wishes to eat from them as a casual snack must eat them grape by grape. The same applies to a pomegranate: one must pluck each seed from it while it is still attached to the tree, so that no joining is created.
The View of Rabbi Tarfon:
Our mishnah disagrees with this, and according to the talmudic note here the author of this view is Rabbi Tarfon. In his opinion there is no joining in a single cluster of grapes or in a single pomegranate. Even if a vine is planted in a courtyard of the type that obligates maaser, a person may nevertheless take an entire cluster and eat it as a casual snack without tithing, and this is not called a joining. So too with a pomegranate: there is no need to pluck individual seeds from it while it is still attached to the tree, since a whole pomegranate does not constitute a joining. And so too with a watermelon: the whole fruit is a single unit, and one is not a joining. These are the words of Rabbi Tarfon, who disagrees with the view presented in chapter 2.
The Rishonim disagree about the scope of his dispute: does Rabbi Tarfon agree with the mishnah there regarding a sale, that individual pomegranate seeds combine once there are two of them, and he was only lenient in a courtyard as compared with a sale; or perhaps he disagrees with the entire concept of joining, both in courtyards and in sales, and for some reason his view was recorded only here. In any case, the halachah does not follow Rabbi Tarfon, but rather the mishnah in chapter 2, mishnah 6, and Rabbi Akiva here.
The View of Rabbi Akiva:
Rabbi Akiva says: "megarger b'salim" - one who wishes to eat from the cluster of grapes in such a courtyard must pluck individual grapes one by one, for otherwise the obligation of maaser takes effect. So too with a pomegranate: one must pick off individual seeds one by one from the tree. And with a watermelon: one must cut it into bite-sized slices while it is still attached to the ground. But if he picked a whole watermelon and took it, this is a number of units joined together, and since it is in a courtyard of this type, it becomes obligated in maaser. And the halachah follows Rabbi Akiva.
Coriander:
The kusbar is the coriander plant, and this plant is quite interesting. It is usually planted not for its leaves but for its seeds - coriander seeds used as a spice, well known to South Africans who put them on dried meat (biltong), and familiar also to those who study the verses in which the appearance of the manna is described. Since the standard way of planting it is for the seeds, the leaves are exempt from maaser.
But if he planted the coriander for the greens, for those green leaves, and planted it in a courtyard - "mekartem aleh aleh v'ochel": he must pinch off the leaves one by one and eat them, and in this way he is exempt from maaser. "v'im tzeiref - chayav": if he took two leaves at once, he must tithe the coriander leaves before eating them.
Savory, Hyssop and Thyme:
The final part of the mishnah deals with spices that for the most part grow wild. What grows wild is ownerless, and is exempt from maasros under ordinary circumstances; and even when these species are deliberately cultivated, they are generally intended as animal fodder, and animal fodder is likewise exempt from maasros. But when they grow in his courtyard and he guards them, meaning they are not ownerless, and he intends to eat them as human food, the obligation of maaser applies as usual.
"HaSiah" - ArtScroll translates this as savory (garden savory).
"Ha'ezov" - hyssop, known throughout Israel by its Arabic name za'atar: the very same dried, ground spice that is sprinkled on pizza and pita. Hyssop was used to apply the blood to the doorposts in Egypt, and it is also used in the purification process with the mei chatas of the parah adumah.
"HaKornis" - a long, green stalk. ArtScroll translated this as oregano, based on the Aruch.
"Im hayu nishmarim - chayavin" - once these species are guarded in a garden and the owner intends to eat them as human food, the obligation of maaser takes effect just as with any other food, and applies to these foods as well in those cases.
In summary: in this mishnah we learned the dispute between Rabbi Tarfon and Rabbi Akiva regarding the definition of combining food in a courtyard: according to Rabbi Tarfon a whole cluster of grapes, a whole pomegranate or a whole melon do not combine, while according to Rabbi Akiva one must pluck the grapes one by one, break off the pomegranate seeds one by one, and cut the melon, all while they are still attached, and the halachah follows him. We also clarified the law of coriander - that when it was planted for its seed its leaves are exempt, and when it was planted for its greens one trims leaf by leaf, but if he combined them he is obligated; and the law of savory, hyssop and oregano, that if they were guarded and he intends to eat them as human food - they are obligated in maaser.