Teruma gedola should be separated from produce that is mukaf – meaning that all the produce must be present in one place, treated as a single batch. The idea is that the teruma should be taken from the body of produce whose status it is meant to correct, not from produce located elsewhere. If one did separate teruma gedola from produce that was not mukaf, the separation is valid (MT, Laws of Terumot 3:17, 20). Since terumat ma’aser is also called teruma, the Sages were careful to separate terumat ma’aser from mukaf as well.[4]
What counts as mukaf depends on where the produce is located. If the produce is in an open field, it should be brought close together (SA YD 325:2). If it is in one room, the walls of the room join it together, even when some of the produce is on one side of the room and some on the other. The same is true when the produce is in open containers; as long as the containers are in one room, the room joins them together (SA YD 331:26).
When produce is about to be packed into closed boxes, bottles, or sacks, terumot and ma’asrot should ideally be separated beforehand. Since, according to some, permanent packaging separates foods from one another, they are no longer considered mukaf. In pressing circumstances, however, the packages may be brought close together, and one may separate even for the produce inside them.
With wine, however, the individual bottles or barrels play a more significant role. Since wine continues to age and improve in the sealed container, and opening it can harm its quality, each sealed barrel or bottle is viewed as its own separate unit. The wine inside one container is therefore not considered mukaf with the wine inside another. For this reason, one should separate the required amounts from the wine before sealing it in barrels or bottles, or else separate from each barrel or bottle after opening it (MT, Laws of Terumot 3:18; SA YD 331:26).
When another mitzva is at stake, one may separate even from produce that is not mukaf. For example, if one knows that tevel produce will be brought to him on Shabbat or Yom Tov, he may, before Shabbat or Yom Tov, separate terumot and ma’asrot from produce in his possession for the produce that will be brought later (Yevamot 93a). Similarly, if one mistakenly gave his friend tevel produce and cannot inform him that it must be tithed, he should separate from produce in his own possession to save his friend from eating tevel (Eruvin 32a).[5]
[4]. The requirement of mukaf applies most directly to teruma gedola. The Mishna teaches that teruma gedola must be taken from produce that is mukaf (Ḥalla 1:9). By contrast, the Mishna teaches that terumat ma’aser does not require mukaf (Bikurim 2:5). This latter ruling is derived from the verse, “from all your tithes that you receive” (Bamidbar 18:28), which the Yerushalmi understands to mean that terumat ma’aser may be separated even when “one portion is in Judea and one is in the Galilee” (Yerushalmi, Terumot 2:1).
Many authorities maintain that the requirement to separate teruma gedola from mukaf is Torah law, based on the word “from it” in the verses dealing with teruma (Bamidbar 18:27–32; Tosafot; Rabbeinu Tam; Rash; Rid; Tosafot Rosh; Rashba; Ran; Vilna Gaon). Others maintain that the requirement is rabbinic. Since teruma gedola was traditionally separated by estimate – one-fortieth, one-fiftieth, or one-sixtieth, according to the measures established by the Sages (see above, 7:2) – the Sages required the produce to be together so that the owner could view it as a whole and estimate the proper amount accurately (Radvaz; Shakh YD 331:49–50; apparently Ra’avad as well).
In practice, however, the separation is valid even if the produce was not mukaf. Even according to those who view mukaf as a Torah requirement, it is comparable to the requirement to separate from the best produce: one should ideally do so, but if one separated from inferior produce, the separation is still effective. R. Shaul Yisraeli adds that today there may be no obligation to separate from mukaf at all. Even if mukaf was originally required by Torah law, its purpose was to allow the owner to estimate the amount of teruma properly. Today, when we separate only a minimal amount for teruma gedola, that concern no longer applies (Ha-Torah Ve-ha-Aretz 3, p. 134).
At the same time, the law of mukaf may express a deeper idea: teruma should emerge from the produce as a whole. In this way, the sanctity expressed through the teruma leaves its imprint on all the produce from which it was taken.
The Gemara in Gittin 30b explains that the ḥaverim, Torah scholars meticulous in mitzva observance, were careful to separate terumat ma’aser from mukaf as well, because it too is called teruma. Still, there is a difference between the two. For teruma gedola, mukaf is a formal requirement. For terumat ma’aser, it is a meticulous practice of the ḥaverim. Therefore, one need not observe all the technical requirements of mukaf for terumat ma’aser; it is enough for the relevant produce to be visible together (MT, Laws of Terumot 3:20; Rash; Ramban; Rashba). According to Tosafot (Gittin 30b, s.v. ve-khi), the Torah requires mukaf for teruma gedola, and the Sages extended the requirement to terumat ma’aser. As for ma’aser rishon, ma’aser sheni, and ma’aser ani, Rambam and Shulḥan Arukh rule that they do not require mukaf (MT, Laws of Ma’aser 1:6; SA YD 331:71).
[5]. The Yerushalmi permits separating teruma for oil stored in sealed jugs, but not for wine stored in sealed jugs (Yerushalmi, Ma’aser Sheni 3:6; MT, Laws of Terumot 3:18; SA YD 331:26). Rash Sirilio explains that wine is different because people are careful to keep it sealed to preserve its quality; opening the container would diminish the wine. Radvaz explains the distinction differently: oil is generally sealed for a short time, while wine is commonly sealed for long-term storage.
This disagreement affects modern packaging as well. According to Radvaz’s reasoning, one should be stringent with produce stored in cans or large sacks, since these too are kept closed for extended storage and should not be treated as mukaf with other produce (Ḥut Shani; Mishpetei Eretz 12:9–10). R. Mordechai Eliyahu ruled similarly. In pressing circumstances, however, one may rely on Rash Sirilio’s explanation, according to which the stringency applies specifically to wine, whose quality depends on remaining sealed. One may then separate teruma even for produce inside sealed cans or bags. This leniency is further supported by R. Yisraeli’s view that today the requirement of mukaf no longer applies in the same way. When there is concern that people may eat tevel, one may rely on this leniency even for wine in bottles that are not mukaf.
I wrote above that produce, or open containers of produce, need not actually touch one another in order to be considered mukaf. This is the view of the overwhelming majority of poskim: MT, Laws of Terumot 3:18; Rash; Rosh; Rashba; Tur; SA YD 331:26; AHS, Zera’im 62:10. Rabbeinu Tam, however, maintains that when produce is in an open area without surrounding walls, the items must touch one another. Vilna Gaon similarly writes that open containers must touch one another (YD 325:8). Mishpetei Eretz 12:8 is stringent in accordance with this minority view.
