The mitzva of separating terumot and ma’asrot applies only after the produce has completed its processing and become fixed for ma’asrot (see below, sections 6–7). The produce’s tithing year, however, is determined earlier, at the stage called onat ha-ma’asrot. This is when the produce has developed beyond its unripe stage and can be eaten in pressing circumstances. For grain and legumes, this is called “having reached one-third,” meaning that they have reached one-third of their ripening. For tree fruit, it is the stage of ḥanata. One sign that produce has reached onat ha-ma’asrot is that from this point onward, if the grain, legumes, or seeds of the fruit were planted, they would grow.[8]
Onat ha-ma’asrot determines the tithing year for tree fruits, grain, and legumes, but not vegetables. Produce that reached onat ha-ma’asrot before its Rosh Ha-shana belongs to the previous year. Produce that reached onat ha-ma’asrot after its Rosh Ha-shana belongs to the following year. Two fundamental laws depend on this.
First, one must separate terumot and ma’asrot from produce of the same year, as it states: “You shall surely tithe all the produce of your seed that comes forth from the field year by year” (Devarim 14:22). The Sifrei explains: “This teaches that one may not tithe from one year for another.” If one nevertheless separated from produce of one year for produce of another year, his act is void (Mishna, Terumot 1:5; MT, Laws of Terumot 5:11).
Second, onat ha-ma’asrot determines whether the produce belongs to a ma’aser sheni year or a ma’aser ani year. Ma’aser sheni is separated in years one, two, four, and five of the shemita cycle, while ma’aser ani is separated in years three and six.
For grain and legumes, Rosh Ha-shana is the first of Tishrei. Anything that reached onat ha-ma’asrot before the first of Tishrei belongs to the previous year, while anything that reached that stage afterward belongs to the following year.
Tree fruit follows a different calendar. Its Rosh Ha-shana is Tu Bi-Shvat, four and a half months after the first of Tishrei. Fruit that reaches ḥanata before Tu Bi-Shvat, such as citrus fruit, is understood to have grown from the rains of the previous year and therefore belongs to that year. Most fruit, however, reaches ḥanata after Tu Bi-Shvat and belongs to the new year, since it grew from that year’s rains.
The seventh year is an exception. For shevi’it, the year for tree fruit begins on the first of Tishrei rather than Tu Bi-Shvat. Therefore, any fruit that reaches ḥanata between the first of Tishrei and Tu Bi-Shvat of the seventh year has shevi’it status: it is hefker and exempt from terumot and ma’asrot. Fruit that reaches ḥanata during that same period in the year after shevi’it has the status of first-year produce (Pe’at ha-Shulḥan 22:14; Peninei Halakha: Shevi’it 3, note 6).
Vegetables follow a different rule because their growth cycle is different from that of grain, legumes, and tree fruit. They grow through irrigation and can therefore be grown throughout the year. In addition, vegetables in the same field do not all ripen at once. If their year were determined by the point at which each vegetable became fit to eat in pressing circumstances, one field could contain vegetables from two different years, with no clear way to distinguish them. The Sages therefore established a simpler rule: the tithing year for vegetables is determined by the time they are picked. Their Rosh Ha-shana, like that of grain and legumes, is the first of Tishrei, but their onat ha-ma’asrot is picking, not the stage of “having reached one-third.” The same rule applies to rice, millet, and sesame (Rosh Ha-shana 14a).
An etrog has a more nuanced status. Like vegetables, it grows “on all water”: when irrigated, it can continue growing beyond its natural season. Its tithing year is therefore determined by the time it is picked. At the same time, since it grows on a tree, its Rosh Ha-shana is Tu Bi-Shvat. Other citrus fruits follow the ordinary rule for trees. Since they have a fixed season of growth and harvest, their year is determined by ḥanata.[9]
[8]. The Sages expounded: “‘You shall surely tithe all the produce of your seed’ – that which is planted and grows” (Devarim 14:22; Yerushalmi, Ma’asrot 1:2). The Sages also gave indicators for various fruits, showing when their onat ha-ma’asrot occurs (Mishna, Ma’asrot 1:1–4; MT, Laws of Ma’aser 2:3–5). The basic rule for all fruits is that anything fit to be eaten in pressing circumstances has reached onat ha-ma’asrot, as explained in Peninei Halakha: Shevi’it 3, note 6. Fruit picked before it reaches onat ha-ma’asrot, even if one later manages to make it fit to eat, will never require terumot and ma’asrot.
[9]. These laws are explained in MT, Laws of Ma’aser Sheni and Neta Reva’i 1:2–10. The distinction between legumes and vegetables lies in the part that is eaten. With legumes, the edible part is the seed, so their year follows onat ha-ma’asrot. With vegetables, by contrast, the edible part is either the leaves, as with lettuce and cabbage, or a fruit whose primary edible part is not the seed, as with cucumbers and tomatoes. Therefore, their year follows picking. Tosafot maintain that a vegetable’s year is determined by the point at which it completes its growth (Rosh Ha-shana 13b, s.v. aḥar). Rambam, however, rules that vegetables follow the actual time of picking, not the time their growth is completed (MT, Laws of Ma’aser Sheni and Neta Reva’i 1:4). The halakha follows Rambam’s view (SA, YD 331:126).
There are, however, exceptions: rice, millet, and sesame. Although they are generally grouped with grain and legumes, they do not reach one-third growth uniformly. The Sages therefore established that their tithing year follows the time of picking, as with vegetables (Rosh Ha-shana 14a; MT, Laws of Ma’aser Sheni and Neta Reva’i 1:8). Rambam explains the further details there.
Other citrus fruits follow the standard rule for trees, and their year is determined by ḥanata. This is the view of Rav Kook (Shabbat Ha-aretz, Kuntres Aḥaron 18) and Minḥat Shlomo to Mishna, Shevi’it 4:9. See also Peninei Halakha: Shevi’it 3, notes 6–7.
