Maasros, Chapter 2, Mishnah 8. In the previous mishnayos we established that a worker is entitled by Torah law to eat from the untithed produce he is working with, and while he eats from it he is exempt from any obligation of maaser and need not separate tithes. Our mishnah expands on this and adds certain limitations.
"Hayah oseh b'lavsim":
The mishnah deals with a worker hired to work in a fig orchard in which two types of figs grow: lavsim - figs of inferior quality, and benos sheva - figs of superior quality. The mishnah says: "Hayah oseh b'lavsim - lo yochal b'venos sheva" - if he was working with the inferior figs, he may not eat from the superior ones. A worker occupied with the lesser figs may not take for himself from the finer figs.
The principle is straightforward: one who works on a particular tree may eat only from that tree, and even only from the very branch he is working on. Even though this is one orchard in which two types of figs grow, the worker may not eat from a branch of a different type that he is not working on at the moment.
The source of the law in the verse:
The Bartenura brings the source of this law from the verse: "Ki savo b'cherem re'echa v'achalta anavim k'nafshecha sav'echa" - one who enters his fellow's vineyard to work in it may eat of the grapes as he wishes, until he is satisfied. Now, the word "grapes" seems superfluous, for what grows in a vineyard other than grapes? Rather, the extra word teaches that he may eat only from the produce he is directly working with, and not from other types of produce.
This is what the mishnah states in both directions:
"Hayah oseh b'lavsim - lo yochal b'venos sheva" - one occupied with the inferior figs may not take for himself from the superior figs.
"B'venos sheva - lo yochal b'lavsim" - one occupied with the superior figs may not take even from the inferior figs.
"Aval monea es atzmo":
What the worker may do is restrain his appetite and refrain from eating the inferior figs while he is picking them, "ad shemagia limkom hayafos v'ochel" - until he reaches the place of the fine figs, and then he eats. When he arrives at picking the superior figs, he may eat from them to his full satisfaction. For the verse set no limit on the amount he may eat, but rather "k'nafshecha sav'echa" - as he wishes, until he is completely satisfied. Therefore, if he wants to eat a great deal of the finer figs, he is permitted to do so, and even then he need not separate maaser.
Exchanging fruit - a barter is like a sale:
The second half of the mishnah deals with an entirely new subject: exchanging produce. The underlying rule is that a barter is treated like a sale - one who exchanges his apples for his fellow's oranges is considered as having sold the oranges in return for the apples and the apples in return for the oranges.
As we saw in Mishnah 5, Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Yehudah disagree about this: according to Rabbi Meir, even if the produce has not reached the completion of its processing, any sale in itself creates the obligation to separate tithes; Rabbi Yehudah, however, holds that produce whose processing was not completed at the time of the sale - the sale does not create an obligation to tithe. That same dispute returns here, in the law of an exchange.
According to the first Tanna, who rules like Rabbi Meir, the purpose of the exchange makes no difference, and in every case the recipient must tithe the produce before eating it:
Both sides exchange figs for immediate eating - here the produce has already reached the completion of its processing, since, as we established in the previous chapter, figs are normally eaten fresh, and once they have been picked and gathered they are ready to be eaten.
Both sides exchange figs in order to spread them on the roof, dry them and turn them into dried figs - here they have not yet reached the completion of their processing, since their preparation has not been finished.
One takes the figs for immediate eating, and the other takes them to dry them for a later time.
In all of these cases the recipient must tithe the figs before he eats them, even though their processing has not been completed, because according to Rabbi Meir one who sells produce becomes obligated to separate tithes, and an exchange has the status of a sale.
Rabbi Yehudah disagrees and holds that the sale itself does not create an obligation to separate tithes; the obligation applies only once the processing of the produce has been completed. Therefore, one who exchanges figs in order to eat them immediately must tithe them right away; but if both sides take the figs in order to dry them for a later time, their processing has not been completed, and they are exempt from tithes until their preparation and drying are finished, and only then does the obligation to separate take effect. Until that time he could have eaten them.
The halachah is ruled like Rabbi Yehudah, that a sale on its own does not create an obligation to separate tithes.
In summary: In this Mishnah we learned two matters. The first is the scope of the worker's right to eat: he eats specifically from the produce he is working with, as derived from the extra word "anavim" (grapes) in the verse, and he may not take from another type, neither from the better nor from the inferior; but he may hold himself back and save his appetite until he reaches the place of the fine fruit and eat his fill from them. The second is the law of an exchange, which has the status of a sale: according to Rabbi Meir he must tithe in any case, whether or not the processing of the produce has been completed, while according to Rabbi Yehudah, in accordance with whom the halachah is ruled, there is an obligation only with produce whose processing has been completed.