Terumos, chapter ten, mishnah five. This mishnah deals with tiltan, the plant known in the Jewish world as chilbah (fenugreek). Yemenite Jews use it, and it is also found in some Middle Eastern kitchens and in Indian cooking, while in Ashkenazi cooking it is hardly used at all.
The seeds of the tiltan are fit for human consumption, whereas the stalks on which the seeds grow are not fit for people but only for animals. The mishnah's starting point, however, is that even though people do not normally eat the stalks, their taste is identical to the taste of the seeds.
This raises the question the mishnah discusses: if forbidden tiltan fell into permitted food and imparted its taste to it, do the restrictions of the forbidden item now apply to the permitted food, since the taste of the tiltan is discernible in it? After all, part of the taste comes from the seeds, which are food, and part of it may come from the stalks, which are not food. The answer depends on whether the stalks too carry the prohibition, or whether only the seeds carry it. There are categories of prohibition in which only the edible portion becomes forbidden, and there are categories in which even the stalk itself carries the forbidden status.
Five categories of prohibition are discussed in the mishnah:
Terumah and maaser sheni - only the seeds, which are the part fit for human consumption, carry the restrictions, and therefore we take into account only the volume of the seeds that fell into the mixture.
Sheviis, kilei hakerem and hekdesh - the stalks too carry the prohibition, and therefore they are included in the calculation of volume when determining whether taste was imparted.
It emerges that according to this mishnah, Terumah tiltan whose stalks and seeds fell together into wine and were afterwards removed from it - even though a taste of tiltan is discernible in the wine, it is still permitted to a non-kohen, since it is possible that the taste comes not from the seeds but from the stalks.
The words of the mishnah:
"Tiltan shenafal l'toch habor shel yayin" - the tiltan fell into the pit in which the wine was fermenting. Incidentally, the word tiltan in modern Hebrew is used for clover, and both meanings derive from the root t-l-t, which in Aramaic means three (and so too in Arabic to this day, "talata"), since the Hebrew shin interchanges with a tav in Aramaic. This is the plant with three leaves. In our mishnah tiltan refers to chilbah.
Terumah and maaser sheni:
In these two categories the seeds are forbidden and restricted, while the stalks are not. Therefore we learn that if there is "bazera k'dei liten taam" - one must estimate whether the volume of the seeds alone is enough to impart taste to the wine even had the stalks not fallen in - the prohibition applies. "Aval lo ba'etz" - the stalks are not taken into account. And if the taste would not be there without the stalks, it makes no difference that the wine tastes of tiltan.
Let us clarify the status of these two:
Terumah - it is forbidden to non-kohanim, and therefore if enough seeds fell in to impart taste, the wine becomes forbidden to non-kohanim. And how much wine is required against the seeds? Although we are accustomed to a ratio of one hundred against Terumah, that is not the case here: the ratio of one hundred was stated regarding a mixture of a substance with the same kind of substance, such as Terumah grape juice that fell into ordinary grape juice. Here, however, we are dealing with Terumah chilbah that fell into wine, which is one kind mixed with a different kind, and in such a case sixty against it is enough.
Maaser sheni - it is eaten only in Jerusalem, and the restriction under discussion here is the ability to drink this wine outside Jerusalem. If the wine is sixty times the volume of the chilbah seeds, it may be drunk outside Jerusalem even after the seeds have been removed; and if not, the restrictions of maaser sheni apply to it and it may be drunk only in Jerusalem.
Why does the Mishnah not mention Maaser Rishon and Maaser Ani?
Usually Terumah, Maaser Rishon, Maaser Sheni and Maaser Ani are listed together as a single group. But only Terumah and Maaser Sheni carry restrictions and fall into the category of a prohibition: Terumah may be eaten by kohanim alone, and Maaser Sheni only in Jerusalem. Maaser Rishon and Maaser Ani, by contrast, are not restricted foods, and anyone may eat them. True, they belong to the Levi or to the poor person, but there is nothing preventing someone who is not a Levi from eating Maaser Rishon.
To illustrate: a kohen neighbor who invites you for a meal may not serve you Terumah, which is forbidden to you as a non-kohen, even though he himself eats it. A Levi neighbor, however, may serve you a meal of Maaser Rishon, since you are permitted to eat it - it simply belongs to the Levi, and he is entitled to give it to you. For this reason only Terumah and Maaser Sheni are listed, while Maaser Rishon and Maaser Ani are not a prohibition.
Sheviis, kilei hakerem and hekdesh:
The second part of the Mishnah: "bi'sheviis, be'kilei hakerem u've'hekdesh" - produce of the Sabbatical year, grain that grew in a vineyard, and foods consecrated to the Beis HaMikdash. In these three cases even the stalks carry the status of the prohibition, and therefore we learn "im yeish ba'zera u've'eitz kedei liten taam" - one calculates the volume of the seeds and the stalks together in order to determine whether there is enough to impart taste to the wine.
Sheviis: produce of the Shemittah year. Ordinarily wood does not carry the sanctity of Sheviis, because it is destined to be burned; but these stalks are not destined for burning, rather for adding taste, and this imparting of taste is a favorable one - they enhance the wine with the flavor of fenugreek. For this reason they are considered like the food itself, and they too carry the sanctity of Sheviis.
Kilei hakerem: grain or vegetables sown in a vineyard or within its working area. That food becomes forbidden, and the verse states "pen tikdash" - and the Sages expounded "tukad esh," that it must be burned in fire. The prohibition is a prohibition of benefit, and it includes everything that grows in the vineyard: not only the edible portion, but the stalks and the wood as well, the entire plant.
Hekdesh: anything a person consecrates to the Beis HaMikdash. If someone consecrates his fenugreek plant, the entire plant becomes hekdesh, the stalks and the seeds alike.
The measures of nullification:
It is worth noting that the ratios here are different: for Sheviis and kilei hakerem the required measure is two hundred times, meaning that two hundred times as much is needed against the Sheviis produce or against the kilei hakerem produce for them to be nullified in the mixture. But when the forbidden substance itself has been removed and only the question of taste remains - such as when the pieces of fenugreek have been taken out of the wine - everything depends on whether the taste is present. In all of these cases, if the taste is present, the restrictions of the forbidden component apply to the mixture; and if the taste is not present in the wine, no restriction applies to it.
In summary: our Mishnah taught that forbidden fenugreek that fell into wine is judged according to the type of prohibition: with Terumah and Maaser Sheni one calculates the volume of the seeds alone, since the stalks are not included in the prohibition; whereas with Sheviis, kilei hakerem and hekdesh the stalks are also added to the calculation, since they too carry the prohibition. And the determining factor in every case is the same: if taste was imparted, the restrictions apply, and if not, the mixture is permitted.