The Torah commands that terumot and ma’asrot be separated in their proper order (MT, Laws of Terumot 3:23).
First, one must separate teruma gedola for the kohen. As God says to Aharon the kohen: “All the best of the oil, and all the best of the wine and grain, their first portion, which they give to the Lord, I have given to you” (Bamidbar 18:12). By Torah law, teruma gedola has no fixed measure. Each person may give as his heart desires. Even if he separates one kernel of wheat from an entire granary, he has fulfilled the mitzva. The Sages, however, established three measures: an ordinary person gives one-fiftieth of the produce (2%); one with a “poor eye,” who is sparing with his property, gives one-sixtieth (1.67%); and one with a “generous eye” gives one-fortieth (2.5%).
The mitzva is to separate teruma gedola by estimate, so that the generosity of one’s heart finds expression. Therefore, even after the Sages established a measure, they instructed that it be separated by estimate, without weighing, measuring, or counting the produce (Yerushalmi, Terumot 1:4, based on Bamidbar 18:27).
Second, one separates ma’aser rishon. After teruma gedola has been separated, a tenth of the remaining produce is given to a levi, as it says: “To the descendants of Levi, I hereby give every tithe in Israel as an inheritance, in exchange for their service, the service that they perform in the Tent of Meeting” (Bamidbar 18:21).
Third, one separates terumat ma’aser. From the ma’aser he receives, the levi must separate a tenth – a tithe from the tithe – and give it to the kohen. As it says: “Speak to the Levites and say to them: When you take from the Children of Israel the tithe that I have given you from them as your inheritance, you shall separate from it the Lord’s teruma, a tithe from the tithe… the Lord’s teruma, for Aharon the kohen” (ibid. 18:26–28). After terumat ma’aser is separated, about nine percent of the original produce remains with the levi. The kohen receives about three percent through the two terumot.
Fourth, after ma’aser rishon has been separated, another tithe is taken from the remaining produce. In the first, second, fourth, and fifth years of the shemita cycle, it is called ma’aser sheni. It remains in the owner’s possession, but he must bring it to Jerusalem and eat it there in purity. In the third and sixth years, this tithe is called ma’aser ani and is given to the poor.
When the Jewish people are established as they should be – with their feet planted firmly in Eretz Yisrael and their head reaching toward heaven – their strength depends in large measure on the mitzva of terumot and ma’asrot. This mitzva forges a deep bond between the world of action and the world of spirit, between those engaged in work and those engaged in Torah and education. Through the terumot and ma’aser rishon separated from their produce, the kohanim and levi’im are able to devote themselves to their spiritual work. In this way, people of action and people of spirit become partners in sustaining a full and meaningful national life.
Moreover, terumot and ma’asrot reveal the sacred values latent within the fruit that grows in Eretz Yisrael. The terumot given to the kohanim express the yearning to support sacred service and to increase Torah among the Jewish people. Ma’aser rishon, given to the levi’im, expresses the aspiration to support education and the teaching of Torah. In the four years when ma’aser sheni is separated, a person’s desire to connect personally with holiness is revealed through his ascent to Jerusalem and his eating his produce in purity. The fruit contains one further hidden aspiration: support for the poor. This is expressed in the two years when ma’aser ani is separated, as well as through leaving leket, shikḥa, and pe’a for the poor. Once all these values have been expressed, the fruit is restored to its proper order and fit to eat, giving the Jewish people strength and joy for a good life.
