The Jewish people are commanded to separate terumot and ma’asrot from grain and fruit they grow in Eretz Yisrael. This mitzva has four components: two forms of teruma and two forms of ma’aser. For this reason, it is called terumot and ma’asrot.
The terumot are sacred and designated for kohanim, who must eat them in a state of purity. Ma’aser rishon is given to the levi’im. Since it has no sanctity, it may be eaten without restriction. The second ma’aser depends on the year of the shemita cycle. In the first, second, fourth, and fifth years, it is called ma’aser sheni and is brought to Jerusalem to be eaten there in purity. In the third and sixth years, this same ma’aser is instead given to the poor and is therefore called ma’aser ani. Since it has no sanctity, it may be eaten without restriction.
Since the destruction of the Temple, we can no longer fulfill the mitzva of terumot and ma’asrot as it was meant to be fulfilled. First, kohanim cannot eat teruma, as it may only be eaten in a state of ritual purity. Today, everyone, including kohanim, is presumed to have the impurity imparted by a corpse. This impurity is contracted by touching a corpse, being under the same roof as one, or touching a metal utensil that became impure through contact with a corpse. It can be removed only through the prescribed sprinkling of water mixed with the ashes of the red heifer. Since the destruction of the Temple and the exile, that purification process is no longer available to us.
Second, the produce separated as ma’aser sheni must be eaten in a state of purity in Jerusalem, near the altar. Apart from our inability to become pure, the Temple and altar no longer stand, so it is impossible to eat ma’aser sheni as the Torah commands. Ma’aser rishon, which is designated for the levi’im, presents a separate difficulty. When the Temple stood, kohanim and levi’im served there, so their lineage had to be verified. Once that service ceased after the destruction, the practical need for such verification ceased as well. Consequently, some uncertainty remains about who truly has levi status. Nevertheless, in practice, one must still fulfill this mitzva and give it to levi’im who are engaged in Torah, as explained below, 9:8.
The only ma’aser that can be fulfilled today le-khatḥila and without any halakhic uncertainty is ma’aser ani, which must be separated in the third and sixth years of the shemita cycle. The obligation today is limited in another respect as well: since most of the Jewish people live in the Diaspora, most authorities maintain that the mitzva today is rabbinic, as explained below, 12:11.
In practice, although the original purpose of terumot and ma’asrot is only faintly expressed today, the obligation remains. By observing this mitzva, we remember the great vision embedded within it, and the foods we eat become sanctified through their connection to sacred values. As long as terumot and ma’asrot have not been separated, the produce is forbidden to eat. The Sages call such produce tevel, a term meaning tov-lo – “not good” – because it is not yet fit to be eaten. It may not be used for planting either (MT, Laws of Ma’aser 6:3).
In this chapter, we will explain the principles behind the mitzva as it is meant to be fulfilled in an ideal national setting. In the following chapters, we will explain the halakhic principles and practical methods through which it is fulfilled today.
