Terumos, Chapter 9, Mishnah 3. This is the third of the three mishnayos dealing with the same complex balance regarding one who plants Terumah. On a Torah level, when a person plants Terumah, whatever grows from the ground is full-fledged tevel, while on a rabbinic level we treat it as Terumah, for the reasons explained earlier and which we will expand upon in the next mishnah. It follows that we must contend simultaneously with the stringencies of Terumah and the stringencies of ordinary produce.
The obligation of tithes and ma'aser ani:
The mishnah states: "V'chayav alav ma'aser" - this produce must be properly tithed, even though Terumah is generally exempt from any further separation. The reason: on a Torah level it is ordinary produce and full-fledged tevel, and it requires tithes. And one particular tithe raises a special difficulty here - ma'aser ani, the tithe of the poor.
Why does the mishnah not discuss the Terumah itself? Either because it is included in the term "tithes," which covers all of the separations, or because the discussion focuses on those separations designated for someone who is not a kohen, whereas the kohen receives his portion in any case.
To clarify the matter, let us review the order of the separations within the seven year shemittah cycle:
In the seventh year there are no tithes at all.
The six years contain two smaller cycles of three years each. In the first years of each - the first and second years, and likewise the fourth and fifth - one separates ma'aser sheni, and the owner brings it up to Jerusalem and eats it there himself.
In the third and sixth years, ma'aser ani takes the place of ma'aser sheni, and it is given to the poor of one's community.
Here a dilemma arises: on the one hand, we treat this produce within the framework of Terumah and its sanctity, which means that poor people who are not kohanim may not eat it. On the other hand, we want the poor to benefit from it, since on a Torah level it is supposed to reach their hands, and we must not undermine the Torah's fundamental concern for the poor.
Therefore the mishnah says that it is given as ma'aser ani, and it adds: "V'gabbaei Yisrael v'gabbaei haKohanim notlin" - both a Yisrael and a kohen, if they are poor, may take this gift. However, the collectors for the Yisraelim, who cannot eat it, "mochrin es shelahem l'Kohanim bidmei Terumah u'dmeihen shelahem" - they sell their portion to kohanim at the price of Terumah, and the proceeds are theirs. Just as we saw in the previous mishnah, that the gifts of the poor are given to one who is not a kohen and are sold to a kohen at the going price of Terumah, so too here: the poor person who is not a kohen receives the ma'aser ani, sells it to kohanim at Terumah prices, and the proceeds of the sale belong to him without any restriction.
Threshing Terumah grain:
The second part of the mishnah addresses a new topic: threshing. What is threshing? Taking the wheat, which is still in its husk, and separating it from the stalks. The grain is spread out on the floor of the threshing floor, and the usual method is by means of a kind of sled with small sharp stones embedded in its underside. A person sits on the sled to weigh it down, oxen pull it in a circle over the stalks and ears lying on the floor, and this action separates the edible wheat kernels from the stalks and from the ears in which they are lodged. This is the dash, threshing in the language of the Mishnah, an expression that appears in many places.
The problem is twofold: he may not allow the oxen to eat from this produce, since it is considered Terumah, and if he is not a kohen, it certainly may not be fed to his animals under any circumstances. On the other hand, the option of muzzling the oxen while they thresh is also ruled out, since the Torah forbids muzzling an ox while it threshes, and this is a Torah prohibition. How, then, does one deal with a situation in which one cannot muzzle and cannot refrain from muzzling?
The mishnah offers two solutions:
"HaChovet meshubach" - one who beats out the wheat by hand in order to thresh it, without using an animal at all, is praiseworthy and deserving of commendation, for in this way he completely sidesteps the problem of the animals.
"V'hadash keitzad ya'aseh? Toleh pipus b'tzavarei behemah v'nosen l'sochan me'oso hamin" - one who comes to thresh in the usual manner with oxen hangs baskets on the necks of the animals and places in them the same species that they are threshing. If he is threshing wheat, he places wheat in the baskets; and if he is threshing barley, he places barley in them.
In this way, "nimtza lo zomem es habehemah v'lo ma'achil es haTerumah" - on the one hand he is not muzzling the oxen, since they are eating freely; and on the other hand he is not feeding them from the Terumah lying on the floor, which is Terumah of rabbinic status. In this manner the threshing is done properly.