When redeeming ma’aser sheni onto money, one must use a coin that is accepted as legal currency in the country where the redemption is being performed. A coin that is not used there is not considered money for this purpose (MT, Laws of Ma’aser Sheni 4:9–10).
A coin designated for redeeming ma’aser sheni can be used repeatedly, as long as it still contains unused peruta units. A person may also allow family members and friends to redeem their ma’aser sheni onto his coin, provided that he estimates that the coin contains enough peruta units for all the redemptions that will be made. When the coin is used often – whether by him alone or by others as well – it can become difficult to keep track of how many peruta units remain available. Therefore, if he is unsure whether one coin will suffice, he should designate two coins – for example, a ten-shekel coin and a five-shekel coin – and mark them clearly, preferably by taping them together so they will not be used accidentally.
The larger coin serves as the regular redemption coin. Each redemption is made onto one peruta of that coin. Periodically, as needed, he transfers all the kedusha that has accumulated on the used peruta units of the larger coin onto one peruta of the smaller coin. This clears the larger coin for further use. He continues this system until the time of bi’ur ma’asrot. At the time of bi’ur ma’asrot, he transfers all the kedusha remaining on both coins onto ordinary food, wine, or oil worth at least a peruta. Once the coins have been cleared, they may be used again in future years.
If the final transfer was made onto a piece of fruit or other food, he should wrap it respectfully and place it in the trash. If it was made onto wine or oil, he should pour it down the sink, but not into the toilet.[15]
When one redeems his own ma’aser sheni onto someone else’s coin, he does not add one-fifth. He should say: “This ma’aser sheni is redeemed on a peruta of the coin that so-and-so designated for the redemption of ma’aser sheni” (MT, Laws of Ma’aser Sheni 5:1, 8).
When the ma’aser sheni produce is worth less than four perutot, the additional fifth is worth less than a peruta. Since an amount below a peruta has no halakhic significance for redemption, one does not add the fifth. He should say: “This ma’aser sheni is redeemed on a peruta of the coin that I designated for the redemption of ma’aser sheni” (MT, Laws of Ma’aser Sheni 5:4). If he mistakenly added the fifth when it was not required, the redemption is valid.[16]
[15]. In principle, one should not transfer the kedusha of ma’aser sheni from one coin to another. Nevertheless, if one did so, the redemption is valid (MT, Laws of Ma’aser Sheni 4:5). Therefore, in the present era, when ma’aser sheni produce cannot be eaten in any case, one may transfer the kedusha from one coin to another even from the outset and may do so repeatedly (Kaftor Va-feraḥ ch. 40).
Some authorities maintain that one should not transfer ma’aser sheni money from one coin to another; rather, the coin onto which the ma’aser sheni was redeemed should be destroyed (Ḥazon Ish, Demai 3:12; Mishpetei Eretz 15, notes 55–58). In practice, however, destroying a coin is both physically difficult and prohibited by civil law. The accepted practice, therefore, is to transfer the kedusha from coin to coin until the time of bi’ur ma’asrot, and no authority maintains that such a transfer is invalid.
At the time of bi’ur ma’asrot, all the kedusha remaining on the coins should be transferred onto food worth at least a peruta. Although Ḥazon Ish maintains that ma’aser sheni money cannot be transferred onto food (Ḥazon Ish, Demai 3:10), the overwhelming majority of poskim maintain that it can. Ideally, the food used for this transfer should not have become tamei, in accordance with the view of Tosafot (Kiddushin 56a, s.v. be-mezid). Nevertheless, if the transfer was made onto food that had become tamei, it is valid. On this basis, authorities explain the earlier custom of transferring the kedusha onto bread (Responsa R. Betzalel Ashkenazi §2; Tal Orot YD 1; see Mishpetei Eretz 15:16).
- Shmuel Salant would transfer the kedusha of ma’aser sheni coins onto a piece of sugar. Some objected that sugar should not be considered food, but only a seasoning. R. Tzvi Pesaḥ Frank responded that for this purpose, sugar is considered food (Har Tzvi, Zera’im 1:116:8). Minḥat Shlomo writes similarly (3:151). Others objected that sugar can become tamei. Nevertheless, the accepted custom in Jerusalem was to use sugar, as R. Tikochinsky and R. Mordechai Eliyahu write.
- Shlomo Zalman Auerbach initially followed the Jerusalem custom of using sugar, but later instructed that it is preferable to use a piece of potato instead. Today, however, one must ensure that the food used is certainly worth a peruta, since an ordinary piece of potato or spoonful of sugar may not be worth that amount.
If the final transfer is made onto wine or oil, it is best to pour it onto the ground, though not in a way intended to fertilize. Pouring it into the sink involves a slight degradation, since it carries the wine or oil into the sewage system. When pouring it onto the ground is burdensome, however, one may pour it into the sink. It should not be poured into the toilet, just as food may not be placed in the trash unless it is first wrapped respectfully.
[16]. Some question the standard nusach accepted in Jewish practice, and therefore introduce a new stringency: one should say, “This ma’aser sheni, together with its fifth, is redeemed on a peruta and a quarter.” Their concern is that there are cases in which the fifth is not required at all or is required only rabbinically. If one follows the customary nusach and says, “This ma’aser sheni, together with its fifth, is redeemed on one peruta,” perhaps the principal ma’aser sheni – which certainly requires redemption – is left with less than a full peruta (Ḥazon Ish, Demai 15:11).
The overwhelming majority of poskim, however, were not concerned about this. The redemption is valid as long as it is made on a full peruta, even if the nusach also mentions the fifth or other elements that may not be necessary. The person redeeming does not mean to divide the peruta into separate portions, assigning part to the ma’aser sheni and part to the fifth. Rather, he intends to redeem the ma’aser sheni on the entire peruta; the fifth and any other elements included in the nusach are attached to that same peruta as well. In any case, the peruta is not being used as the true market value of the produce today.
Indeed, the accepted practice for generations has been to redeem ma’aser sheni on one peruta of a coin without adding anything. This is the position of R. Ḥayim Vital in Sha’ar Ha-mitzvot, Parashat Vayelekh; Olat Re’iya, vol. 1, p. 353; Ḥazon Ovadia: Terumot U-ma’asrot, p. 190; R. Eliyahu in his siddur; and many others.
