Maasros, Chapter 5, Mishnah 8 - the final mishnah in Maseches Maasros. There is a touch of sadness in that, but as the wise saying goes: don't be sad that it's over, be glad that it happened. So let's enjoy the final mishnah before us.
The mishnah deals with special categories of produce that are exempt from maasros, and the reason for the exemption differs between the two lists it presents. The first list includes species that people don't normally cultivate: they grow wild, and nobody takes the trouble to raise them or guard them. It follows that someone who buys these foods may assume they are not obligated in maaser, since they don't come from a guarded, cultivated field. And as we remember from the first chapter, only food that is cultivated and guarded - kept for private use - is subject to the obligation of maasros.
The first list - species that people don't normally cultivate:
"Shum ba'al bechi" - garlic that makes the eyes tear because it is so exceptionally sharp. The Bartenura brings a second explanation, according to which "ba'al bechi" is the name of a particular region (in what is today Lebanon) from which this garlic comes.
"U'vatzal shel Richpa" - onions that come from a place called Richpa, or onions that cause the eyes to water.
"U'grisin ha'Kilkin" - beans that come from a place called Cilicia. We know these beans from Maseches Nega'im, since their shape is close to a square, and for that reason they serve as the official measure for the size of a "gris" - for example, for the minimum size of a nega.
"Va'adashim ha'Mitzriyos" - lentils that come from Egypt.
Two more items are added to this list, according to the opinions of individual Tannaim:
Rabbi Meir adds: "af ha'karkas" - a type of cabbage. But the Gemara explains that people do sometimes cultivate it.
Rabbi Yosi adds: "af ha'kotnim" - a type of lentil, which in his view people don't cultivate. Here too the Gemara says that in practice people do grow them from time to time, and therefore they don't belong on the list.
All of these are exempt from maasros for the reason explained: they are not guarded and people don't normally cultivate them. It's worth emphasizing that if it were known for certain that a person had cultivated these species, they would be subject to the obligations of maaser; it is only when the buyer knows nothing about them that he may assume they were not cultivated.
"V'nilkachin mikol adam ba'shevi'is":
In the shemittah year a person is wary of buying produce from someone who does not observe shemittah properly, because if a person restricts access to his fields, the produce that grows in them becomes forbidden, and the buyer ends up eating forbidden food. But with these species one can safely assume that nobody cultivates them, and if a person is selling them, he must have come across them growing wild. That is why the mishnah says "v'nilkachin mikol adam ba'shevi'is" - they may be bought from anyone in the shemittah year.
Two additional points are worth noting: in the seventh year one does not conduct ordinary commerce with shevi'is produce, and therefore the Gemara in Sukkah says that one may buy from such a person only enough for three meals. In addition, the money used to buy them also takes on the sanctity of shevi'is.
The second list - seeds that are not fit for eating:
The items on the second list are also exempt from the obligations of maasros, but the reason for the exemption is different: they are not fit for eating at all. The lof is a member of the allium family, which includes onions, garlic, chives, shallots, leeks and scallions. And these are the seeds listed in the mishnah:
"Zera luf ha'elyon" - the seeds of the luf. Some explain that this refers to a species of luf called "elyon," and others explain that these are the upper seeds of the luf plant.
"Zera krishin" - the seeds that come from leeks.
"Zera betzalim" - the seeds that come from onions.
"Zera lefes u'tznonos" - the seeds that come from turnips and from radishes.
"U'she'ar zir'onei ginah" - all other garden seeds, in the plain sense of the words.
As we recall from Maseches Kilayim, garden seeds are, according to the Rambam, all those types of seeds that are harvested in order to plant new crops, but which are not themselves fit to be eaten - in contrast to legumes, where the seeds of the plant are harvested in order to eat them directly, such as peas, rice and the like.
Since all of these seeds fall under the category of "she'einan ne'echalin" - that they are not eaten - they are "peturin min hama'asros" - completely exempt from tithes. The Mishnah adds: "v'nilkachin mikol adam bashevi'is" - they may be purchased from any person during the Shemittah year. Nobody cultivates onion seeds and the like under ordinary circumstances, and nobody restricts access to them, so it is permitted to buy them from anyone. But here, unlike the first list, they do not carry the sanctity of Shevi'is - since they are not considered food - and therefore even the money used to purchase them does not become sanctified with the sanctity of Shevi'is.
"V'af al pi she'avihen Terumah":
The end of the Mishnah can be a little confusing, since the letter shin at the beginning of a word usually means "because" or "and as a result," whereas here it functions as a connecting vav: the Mishnah is adding another point worth noting. That is, even in a case where the onions from which the onion seeds came, or the leeks from which the leek seeds came, were Terumah.
The usual rule, as we recall from Maseches Terumos, is that "the growths of Terumah are Terumah" - if one plants Terumah in violation of the prohibition, whatever grows from the ground also takes on the status of Terumah. But this rule does not apply to seeds that are not fit to be eaten, and therefore the Mishnah says "harei eilu ye'achlu" - these may be eaten, even by someone who is not a kohen.
It emerges that the point of this list is that these are inedible foods, and for that reason they are exempt from tithes and carry no restrictions during the Shemittah year. And if circumstances nevertheless reach the point where a person does eat these seeds, he is permitted to eat them: they carry no sanctity of Shevi'is, and they also carry no sanctity of Terumah, since the rule that "the growths of Terumah are Terumah" does not apply to things that are inedible, such as a garden seed that cannot be eaten.
In summary: this Mishnah listed two categories of foods that are exempt from tithes. The first - species that are not normally cultivated and stored, and which are therefore exempt and may be purchased from any person during Shevi'is, even though they do carry the sanctity of Shevi'is. The second - seeds that are not fit to be eaten, which are exempt from tithes, may be purchased from any person during Shevi'is without any sanctity of Shevi'is, and are also not forbidden under the rule that "the growths of Terumah are Terumah."
And with this we have reached the conclusion of Maseches Ma'asros, Baruch Hashem. And with Hashem's help we will begin the next tractate, Maseches Ma'aser Sheni.