{"id":12073,"date":"2026-07-07T00:14:51","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T21:14:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/?p=12073"},"modified":"2026-08-03T17:09:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T14:09:00","slug":"17-07-14","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/17-07-14\/","title":{"rendered":"14. When Terumot and Ma\u2019asrot Must Be Separated and Distributed"},"content":{"rendered":"
Once the produce has been gathered from the field, the owner should not wait until the deadline of bi\u2019ur<\/em> to separate and distribute the terumot<\/em> and ma\u2019asrot<\/em>. Rather, he should separate them immediately and give each portion to its proper recipient, as the Torah commands. As the Sages teach: when a mitzva comes to hand, one should not let the opportunity pass (Mekhilta de-Rabbi Yishmael<\/em>, Bo 9).<\/p>\n However, until the first pilgrimage festival passes, he has not yet neglected a positive mitzva. Once a festival passes and he has still not given the gifts, he has neglected that mitzva. This first-festival deadline is learned from the Torah\u2019s command that when a person goes up on pilgrimage, he must bring with him the sacred obligations already in his possession \u2013 such as vowed offerings, ma\u2019aser sheni<\/em>, and ma\u2019aser behema<\/em>. As it says: \u201cYou shall come there, and there you shall bring your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, and the contribution of your hand\u201d (Devarim 12:5\u20136). Therefore, one who is exempt from going up on pilgrimage \u2013 for example, because he is ill \u2013 does not neglect this mitzva by failing to bring his vowed offerings or ma\u2019aser behema<\/em> on the first festival.<\/p>\n If three pilgrimage festivals pass and he still has not brought or given these obligations, he violates the Torah prohibition against delay, as it says: \u201cWhen you vow a vow to the Lord your God, do not delay in paying it, for the Lord your God will surely demand it of you, and it will be a sin in you\u2026 What comes out of your lips you shall guard\u2026\u201d (Devarim 23:22\u201324). The Sages explain that once three festivals have passed, he is considered to have delayed fulfilling his obligation. This applies not only to offerings, but also to terumot<\/em> that must be given to the kohen and to ma\u2019asrot<\/em> that must be given to the levi and the poor (Rosh Ha-shana<\/em> 4a; Tosafot, Rosh Ha-shana<\/em> 4a, s.v. tzedakot<\/em> and u-ma\u2019asrot<\/em>; MT, Laws of Sacrificial Procedure 14:13).<\/p>\n In addition, as explained above, section 12, there is a distinct mitzva that applies to terumot<\/em> and ma\u2019asrot<\/em>: bi\u2019ur ma\u2019asrot<\/em>. Its purpose is to complete the fulfillment of the mitzva of separating and distributing terumot<\/em> and ma\u2019asrot<\/em> from all the produce of the first three years of the shemita<\/em> cycle by Pesa\u1e25 of the fourth year, and from all the produce of the fourth, fifth, and sixth years by Pesa\u1e25 of the seventh year.[10]<\/a><\/p>\n