We continue with Maseches Maaser Sheni, chapter 5, mishnah 14. This mishnah opens by returning to the verse and the declaration taught in the previous mishnah, quoting the wording of the confession over tithes in the Torah: "V'es ha'adamah asher nasata lanu" - the land that You have given us. On the basis of this verse the mishnah says: "Mikan amru" - from this verse the Sages derived the following halachos.
"Yisrael u'mamzerim misvadin":
A Yisrael - an ordinary Jew who is neither a kohen nor a Levi - and likewise a mamzer, someone born of a union forbidden by the Torah, both of them recite the confession over tithes. The reason: both are included among those destined to inherit the Land of Israel. Even the mamzer, although his father acted improperly, inherits from his father, and through that he also inherits his portion in the Land.
"Aval hagerim v'ha'avadim hameshuchrarim":
These cannot recite the confession over tithes. The law of freed slaves is the same as that of converts, and in both cases the reason is one and the same, in the words of the mishnah: "She'ein lahem chelek ba'aretz" - they have no inherited portion in the Land. They are permitted to buy a portion of land, but such a purchase is temporary, lasting only until the Yovel, and they do not hold an inheritance in the Land itself.
The dispute between Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Yosi:
Rabbi Meir: "Af lo kohanim u'leviim" - kohanim and Leviim also do not recite the confession over tithes, "shelo natlu chelek ba'aretz". They too did not receive a portion and inheritance in the Land from the Holy One, blessed is He.
Rabbi Yosi: "Yesh lanu arei migrash" - kohanim and Leviim did receive cities, and along with them the migrash: the open area in front of the cities, which the Torah commanded should belong to the cities of the Leviim. True, they had no full portion in the Land, but they did have cities, and that is enough.
What is Rabbi Meir's answer?
Those cities were not given to the kohanim and Leviim directly by the Holy One, blessed is He, in the way that the inheritances were given to the other tribes. Rather, they were given to them as a gift from the Jewish people, who were commanded to grant them. Since they were a gift from their brothers and not a direct grant from the Holy One, blessed is He, they are not included in the definition of the verse "Ha'adamah asher nasata lanu", and therefore, according to Rabbi Meir, they do not count as a portion in the Land.
In summary: in this mishnah we learned that from the verse "V'es ha'adamah asher nasata lanu" we derive that reciting the confession over tithes depends on inheriting the Land: a Yisrael and a mamzer do recite it, since a mamzer inherits from his father; converts and freed slaves do not recite it, since they have no inheritance in the Land, only a temporary acquisition until the Yovel. Rabbi Meir adds that kohanim and Leviim also do not recite it, since they took no portion in the Land, and Rabbi Yosi disagrees because of the migrash cities that were given to them - while in Rabbi Meir's view those are not enough, because they were given as a gift from their brothers and not by the Holy One, blessed is He.