{"id":12080,"date":"2026-07-08T00:02:51","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T21:02:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/?p=12080"},"modified":"2026-08-05T08:58:21","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T05:58:21","slug":"17-08-02","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/17-08-02\/","title":{"rendered":"02. Further Details"},"content":{"rendered":"

Any food grown from the ground and normally eaten by people requires terumot<\/em> and ma\u2019asrot<\/em>, whether it is eaten in its natural form, crushed, or made into juice. Parts of a fruit that are not normally eaten do not require separation. Thus, inedible peels and seeds are exempt, while edible ones \u2013 such as apple peels and watermelon seeds \u2013 require terumot<\/em> and ma\u2019asrot<\/em>. Grape leaves, even when picked for food, such as to wrap rice and meat, are exempt, since they are not generally considered food.<\/p>\n

Spices used only to give food flavor, aroma, or color, and not eaten on their own, do not require terumot<\/em> and ma\u2019asrot<\/em>. This includes black pepper, cinnamon, cumin, coffee beans, and tea leaves. Parsley and cilantro, however, are different. Since people commonly mix them into salads, where they remain recognizable, they are considered foods eaten in their own right and require terumot<\/em> and ma\u2019asrot<\/em>. Similarly, if one cooks soup with parsley, garlic, or onion, the soup requires separation even if he added them only for flavor and plans to discard them afterward. Since these vegetables are normally eaten on their own, a soup flavored by them is treated as receiving its taste from produce that requires terumot<\/em> and ma\u2019asrot<\/em>.[2]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

Plants grown for medicine, fragrance, or decoration are exempt from terumot<\/em> and ma\u2019asrot<\/em>. Khat<\/em> leaves are exempt as well. The same applies to seeds that are not edible in themselves but are grown in order to produce vegetables, such as onion seeds. If one takes seeds and sprouts them, the sprouts do not require separation. Although some are stringent, the primary halakha follows the lenient view.[3]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

Species used as animal feed are exempt from terumot<\/em> and ma\u2019asrot<\/em>, even if a person wants to eat them and planted them for that purpose. Their status follows their normal use as animal food. However, species that are sometimes eaten by people and sometimes by animals, such as barley, depend on intent. If one planted and gathered them for human consumption, they require terumot<\/em> and ma\u2019asrot<\/em>. If he planted and gathered them for animal feed, they are exempt (see MT, Laws of Terumot 2:2; Ma\u2019adanei Eretz<\/em>, Laws of Terumot 2:7).[4]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

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[2]<\/a>. This is the position of Tosafot, Yoma<\/em> 81b, s.v. she-ha-pilpelim<\/em>, and Rosh in his first explanation. Tosafot Yeshanim<\/em>, Rashba, and Ran write similarly. Some are stringent regarding tea leaves and require separating terumot<\/em> and ma\u2019asrot<\/em> from them without a berakha (R. Mordechai Eliyahu, Ha-Torah Ve-ha-Aretz<\/em> 4, p. 10). However, since the overwhelming majority of authorities are lenient, and since any obligation would be rabbinic, the halakha follows the lenient view.<\/p>\n

Mint leaves require a separate distinction. Many people use them only to flavor drinks, while others also eat them as part of a salad. Therefore, if one planted them for eating, they require terumot<\/em> and ma\u2019asrot<\/em>. If he planted them only for flavoring, they are exempt. In a doubtful case, one should separate without a berakha.<\/p>\n

Regarding sugar produced from cane by pressing and cooking its liquid, some exempt it from terumot<\/em> and ma\u2019asrot<\/em>, since sugarcane is not considered a fruit (Radvaz 1:563; Nahar Mitzrayim<\/em>; and others). Sugar produced from sugar beets is likewise exempt, since this type of beet is not fit to eat (Har Tzvi<\/em>, Zera\u2019im 1:79; \u1e24azon Ovadia: Terumot and Ma\u2019asrot<\/em>, p. 111). Others disagree. Some maintain that cane sugar requires terumot<\/em> and ma\u2019asrot<\/em> (Kaftor Va-Fera\u1e25<\/em> 26), while others distinguish between the two and require separation from beet sugar even if cane sugar is exempt (Min\u1e25at Shlomo<\/em> 3:150:3; Mishpetei Eretz<\/em> 1:9). In practice, the accepted custom follows the lenient view, especially since any obligation would be rabbinic.<\/p>\n

Regarding orange peels, some maintain that they require terumot<\/em> and ma\u2019asrot<\/em>. They argue that since the entire peel is used to make sweets, and many people eat the white part of the peel as is, the peel has the status of edible produce. According to this view, one may even separate terumot<\/em> and ma\u2019asrot<\/em> from the peels for the fruit itself le-khat\u1e25ila<\/em> in our time (Tzitz Eliezer<\/em> 1:1; 3:21). Mishpetei Eretz<\/em> 8, note 42 inclines toward permitting this when necessary.<\/p>\n

\u1e24azon Ish, however, maintains that the peels are exempt, since only a minority are intended for eating (Ma\u2019asrot<\/em> 1:30). Others take an intermediate position: one who wants to eat the peels must separate terumot<\/em> and ma\u2019asrot<\/em> from them, but one may not separate from the peels for the fruit itself (see Ha-Ma\u2019aser Ve-ha-Teruma<\/em> 3:38). This appears to be the practical halakha. Nevertheless, one who separates terumot<\/em> and ma\u2019asrot<\/em> from oranges without further specification has exempted the peels as well.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a>. Some are stringent and require separating terumot<\/em> and ma\u2019asrot<\/em> from sprouts. In their view, even if one already separated from the seeds themselves, the sprouts are treated as a new stage of growth, since the entire purpose of planting the seeds was to produce the vegetable that emerges from them (R. Mordechai Eliyahu, Ha-Torah Ve-ha-Aretz<\/em> 3, p. 215). Mishpetei Eretz<\/em> 1:14 is stringent regarding produce grown in water and requires separation without a berakha. However, it is lenient regarding sprouts grown only in moisture, since they resemble mushrooms.<\/p>\n

In practice, however, there are several reasons to be lenient, even when the sprouts grow in water. First, the obligation would be rabbinic from two angles: they grow in a closed vessel, which has the status of an unperforated pot, and their status is that of vegetables. Second, there are three separate doubts regarding whether any obligation applies at all. Some maintain that produce grown in water is exempt from shevi\u2019it and from terumot<\/em> and ma\u2019asrot<\/em> (see below, note 17). Authorities also disagree about whether produce grown indoors is subject to a rabbinic obligation in terumot<\/em> and ma\u2019asrot<\/em>: Rambam requires separation from it (MT, Laws of Ma\u2019aser 1:10), while Raavad exempts it. Finally, the shoot may be secondary to the seed, since all its substance comes from the seed, from which terumot<\/em> and ma\u2019asrot<\/em> were already separated. This is also the view of R. Yaakov Ariel (Be-ohalah Shel Torah<\/em> 4:47).<\/p>\n

If it were easy to be stringent, perhaps it would be proper to satisfy all opinions. Since doing so involves much effort and also creates further uncertainties \u2013 for example, if one separates from all the sprouts today, they may continue growing by tomorrow, raising new questions about whether and how to separate again \u2013 one should rule according to the primary law: in a doubtful rabbinic matter, we are lenient.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a>. The Sages made an exception for vetch. Although it is normally animal feed, people eat it in times of famine. They therefore decreed that terumot<\/em> and ma\u2019asrot<\/em> must be separated from it, even when it was planted for animals (Yerushalmi<\/em>, \u1e24alla<\/em> 4:4; Mahari Kurkus and Radvaz to MT, Laws of Terumot 2:2).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Any food grown from the ground and normally eaten by people requires terumot and ma\u2019asrot, whether it is eaten in its natural form, crushed, or made into juice. Parts of a fruit that are not normally eaten do not require separation. Thus, inedible peels and seeds are exempt, while edible ones \u2013 such as apple […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[229],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12080","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-17-08"],"yoast_head":"\n02. 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