{"id":12060,"date":"2026-07-07T00:09:51","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T21:09:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/?p=12060"},"modified":"2026-08-03T16:54:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T13:54:11","slug":"17-07-09","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/17-07-09\/","title":{"rendered":"09. Ma\u2019aser Sheni"},"content":{"rendered":"

After separating ma\u2019aser rishon<\/em> for the levi, one separates an additional tithe from the remaining produce, amounting to about nine percent of the original total. In the first, second, fourth, and fifth years of the shemita<\/em> cycle, this additional tithe is ma\u2019aser sheni<\/em>; in the third and sixth years, it is ma\u2019aser ani<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Ma\u2019aser sheni<\/em> has a unique status: it is sacred and considered mamon gavoha<\/em> \u2013 property of Heaven \u2013 yet it remains in the owner\u2019s possession, because the mitzva is for him and his family to eat it in purity within the walls of Jerusalem. As it says: \u201cYou shall surely tithe all the produce of your seed that comes out of the field year by year. You shall eat before the Lord your God, in the place that He will choose to make His name dwell there, the tithe of your grain, your wine, and your oil\u2026 so that you will learn to fear the Lord your God all the days\u201d (Devarim 14:22\u201323).<\/p>\n

When the distance to Jerusalem or the amount of produce makes it difficult to bring the ma\u2019aser sheni<\/em> itself, the owner may redeem it by transferring its sanctity to money. The produce then becomes non-sacred, while the money assumes the sanctity of ma\u2019aser sheni<\/em>. The owner brings that money to Jerusalem and uses it to buy food, which is then eaten there in purity, in accordance with the laws of eating ma\u2019aser sheni<\/em>. As it says: \u201cIf the way is too long for you, so that you cannot carry it, because the place that the Lord your God will choose to place His name there is far from you, when the Lord your God blesses you, then you shall place it in money. You shall bind up the money in your hand and go to the place that the Lord your God will choose. You shall spend the money on whatever your soul desires: cattle, sheep, wine, strong drink, or anything your soul asks of you. You shall eat there before the Lord your God and rejoice, you and your household\u201d (ibid. 14:24\u201326).<\/p>\n

When redeeming the ma\u2019aser sheni<\/em>, the owner must add a fifth to the value of the produce, as it says: \u201cEvery tithe of the land, from the seed of the land and from the fruit of the tree, belongs to the Lord; it is sacred to the Lord. If a man redeems any of his tithe, he shall add its fifth to it\u201d (Vayikra 27:30\u201331). This added fifth is calculated as one-fifth of the final amount, which in practice means adding one-quarter to the original value. Thus, if the produce is worth 100, the owner redeems it for 125.<\/p>\n

Because ma\u2019aser sheni<\/em> is sacred, it may not be treated like ordinary produce. For example, one may not sell it or exchange it.[6]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

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[6]<\/a>. Unlike teruma<\/em>, which may be sold outside the framework of commerce, ma\u2019aser sheni<\/em> may not be sold or pledged as collateral, since the Torah declares it sacred: \u201cEvery tithe of the land, from the seed of the land and from the fruit of the tree, belongs to the Lord; it is sacred to the Lord\u201d (Vayikra 27:30). Such transactions demean its sanctity (Mishna<\/em>, Ma\u2019aser Sheni<\/em> 1:1).<\/p>\n

For the same reason, ma\u2019aser sheni<\/em> may not be used as part of an exchange. Thus, a person who has ma\u2019aser sheni<\/em> wine may not say to his friend, \u201cTake some of my ma\u2019aser sheni<\/em> wine and give me oil in its place.\u201d He may, however, invite his friend to drink with him, or give him ma\u2019aser sheni<\/em> wine to complete his meal (Yerushalmi<\/em>, Ma\u2019aser Sheni<\/em> 1:1). He may even hint to the friend drinking his wine that he needs oil, so that if the other person wishes, he can give him some of the ma\u2019aser sheni<\/em> oil in his possession. As long as the produce is not given as part of a sale or exchange, there is no prohibition (see MT, Laws of Ma\u2019aser Sheni and Neta Reva\u2019i 3:17\u201318). Since ma\u2019aser sheni<\/em> is mamon gavoha<\/em>, property of Heaven, it may not be given as a gift through a standard act of acquisition (Kiddushin<\/em> 54b).<\/p>\n

When the owner redeems his own ma\u2019aser sheni<\/em> produce, he must add a fifth to its value. If someone else redeems it, that added fifth is not required. The money paid by the redeemer becomes the owner\u2019s property and assumes the sanctity of ma\u2019aser sheni<\/em>, while the produce passes to the redeemer and becomes non-sacred (see Mishna<\/em>, Ma\u2019aser Sheni<\/em> 4:3; MT, Laws of Ma\u2019aser Sheni and Neta Reva\u2019i 5:7).<\/p>\n

If the owner wants to redeem his ma\u2019aser sheni<\/em> but is under financial strain and cannot easily add the fifth, he may give the redemption money to a friend and ask him to redeem the produce instead. Since the friend is not the owner, he does not need to add the fifth. They may do this with the understanding that the friend will then return the produce, now non-sacred, to the owner. The owner then takes the money that became sanctified through the redemption to Jerusalem and uses it to buy food for his family (Mishna<\/em>, Ma\u2019aser Sheni<\/em> 4:3\u20134). Although this is a form of ha\u2019arama<\/em> \u2013 a legal device used to avoid the added fifth \u2013 the Sages permitted it under such circumstances. From the verse \u201cwhen the Lord your God blesses you\u201d (Devarim 14:24), they understood that ma\u2019aser sheni<\/em> is meant to bring a person blessing. Since that blessing is meant to come through natural means, they instructed a person under financial strain to proceed this way (Yerushalmi<\/em>, Ma\u2019aser Sheni<\/em> 4:3).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After separating ma\u2019aser rishon for the levi, one separates an additional tithe from the remaining produce, amounting to about nine percent of the original total. In the first, second, fourth, and fifth years of the shemita cycle, this additional tithe is ma\u2019aser sheni; in the third and sixth years, it is ma\u2019aser ani. Ma\u2019aser sheni […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[228],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12060","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-17-07"],"yoast_head":"\n09. Ma\u2019aser Sheni - Peninei Halakha<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/17-07-09\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"09. Ma\u2019aser Sheni - Peninei Halakha\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"After separating ma\u2019aser rishon for the levi, one separates an additional tithe from the remaining produce, amounting to about nine percent of the original total. In the first, second, fourth, and fifth years of the shemita cycle, this additional tithe is ma\u2019aser sheni; in the third and sixth years, it is ma\u2019aser ani. 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