{"id":12098,"date":"2026-07-08T00:06:51","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T21:06:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/?p=12098"},"modified":"2026-08-05T09:22:18","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T06:22:18","slug":"17-08-06","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/17-08-06\/","title":{"rendered":"06. Gmar Melakha"},"content":{"rendered":"

Even after produce has reached onat ha-ma\u2019asrot<\/em> and been picked, terumot<\/em> and ma\u2019asrot<\/em> should not yet be separated until the produce reaches gmar melakha<\/em> \u2013 the point at which its processing is complete. Before then, the produce has not yet reached its optimal finished state. In addition, only after gmar melakha<\/em> can one properly calculate what must be separated as ma\u2019asrot<\/em>.[10]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

Gmar melakha<\/em> is the completion of gathering the produce from the field and preparing it to be brought home or sold. The exact point depends on the type of produce and its intended use. Produce that is normally cleaned in the field reaches gmar melakha<\/em> once it has been cleaned and fully gathered. Grapes intended for wine and olives intended for oil reach gmar melakha<\/em> only once the wine or oil has been prepared. Grapes intended to be eaten fresh reach gmar melakha<\/em> once they have been gathered; if they are intended as raisins, once they have become raisins. Olives intended for pickling reach gmar melakha<\/em> once the pickling is complete. For wheat, gmar melakha<\/em> is mirua\u1e25<\/em>. This means that the stalks have been threshed to separate the kernels, the grain has been winnowed to remove the chaff, the remaining waste has been cleared away, and the kernels have been properly set in place.<\/p>\n

Although it is forbidden to separate terumot<\/em> and ma\u2019asrot<\/em> before gmar melakha<\/em>, if one did so after the fact, he has fulfilled his obligation. Sometimes, however, it is unclear when gmar melakha<\/em> occurs. For example, fruit may be gathered into crates in the field and then taken to a packing house, where it is cleaned, sorted, and packaged for market. Ideally, one should avoid the uncertainty and wait until the packaging is complete. However, if there is a need to separate earlier \u2013 because people may forget to separate later, because the packaging may make separation difficult, or because workers may take some of the fruit home before separation \u2013 it is proper to separate terumot<\/em> and ma\u2019asrot<\/em> after the first stage of gathering has been completed.[11]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

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[10]<\/a>. The Torah states: \u201cYour gift shall be reckoned to you like grain from the threshing floor\u201d (Bamidbar 18:27). \u201cGrain from the threshing floor\u201d refers to wheat kernels after they have been separated from the stalks and chaff (Yerushalmi<\/em>, Terumot<\/em>, end of ch. 1). Similarly, the Torah speaks of \u201cthe tithe of your grain, your wine, and your oil\u201d (Devarim 12:17; 14:23; 18:4). Since tirosh<\/em> refers to wine and yitzhar<\/em> to oil, the verse indicates that terumot<\/em> and ma\u2019asrot<\/em> are separated only after the produce has reached its finished form. See also Yerushalmi<\/em>, Terumot<\/em> 1:2, in the statements of R. \u1e24ananya and R. Mana, from which the two reasons given above are derived.<\/p>\n

[11]<\/a>. R. Shimshon and Rosh write that the Torah implies that, le-khat\u1e25ila<\/em>, one should not separate before gmar melakha<\/em> (to Mishna<\/em>, Terumot<\/em> 1:10). Nevertheless, if one did so, the separation is valid. The Sages derive this from the verse: if one separates ma\u2019aser<\/em> early, while the grain is still in the stalks, the ma\u2019aser<\/em> that has been separated requires terumat ma\u2019aser<\/em> but not teruma<\/em> (Yerushalmi<\/em>, \u1e24alla<\/em> 1:3; Bavli<\/em>, Pesa\u1e25im<\/em> 35b). This shows that, by Torah law, separation before gmar melakha<\/em> is effective after the fact. Some maintain that the requirement to wait until the produce is fully processed is rabbinic (Levush<\/em>, YD 331:54; Shakh, YD 331:80).<\/p>\n

Ideally, it is proper to separate terumot<\/em> and ma\u2019asrot<\/em> only after the entire gathering process is complete, at the point closest to bringing the produce home or preparing it for market. When there is a practical need to separate earlier, however, one may do so after the first stage of gathering has been completed. Four considerations support this leniency. First, when early separation will prevent people from eating tevel<\/em>, there is precedent for leniency: just as the Sages sometimes permitted separation from non-adjacent produce when necessary, so too they may have permitted separation before gmar melakha<\/em> when waiting would create a real concern that the produce would be eaten without separation (Min\u1e25at Shlomo<\/em> 1:57:2). Second, the produce may already have reached gmar melakha<\/em> after this first stage of gathering, since it is then ready to be brought home or sold to produce vendors. Third, some maintain that if the only remaining steps are packaging or light cleaning, one may separate terumot<\/em> and ma\u2019asrot<\/em> even before the process is fully complete. Since the produce is essentially finished, separating at this point does not cause any loss to the kohanim or levi\u2019im (Or Same\u2019a\u1e25<\/em> to MT, Laws of Terumot 5:4). Fourth, according to my teacher, R. Shaul Yisraeli, the problem with separating before gmar melakha<\/em> is that produce before gmar melakha<\/em> is considered inferior to finished produce, and one may not separate from inferior produce for superior produce. Accordingly, today, since teruma<\/em> is not eaten by kohanim, the inferiority of the unfinished produce has no practical significance. One may therefore separate even before gmar melakha<\/em> le-khat\u1e25ila<\/em> (Ha-Torah Ve-ha-Aretz<\/em> 2, p. 299; this also seems to follow from Arukh ha-Shul\u1e25an<\/em>, Zera\u2019im 66:7).<\/p>\n

The same reasoning can be applied to ma\u2019aser rishon<\/em> and ma\u2019aser ani<\/em>. One might have thought that separating early would disadvantage the levi or the poor person, since the produce has not yet reached its finished state. In practice, however, the common arrangement is to give them the monetary value of the ma\u2019aser<\/em>, and that value can be calculated according to the produce\u2019s value after packaging.<\/p>\n

In any case, when one wishes to eat the produce, he may certainly separate terumot<\/em> and ma\u2019asrot<\/em> before gmar melakha<\/em>. It is inconceivable that the Sages would forbid him to eat the produce as a fixed meal because it is untithed, while also forbidding him to separate terumot<\/em> and ma\u2019asrot<\/em> from it (Min\u1e25at Shlomo<\/em> 1:56:1).<\/p>\n

The detailed laws of gmar melakha<\/em> are explained in Mishna<\/em>, Ma\u2019asrot<\/em> 1:5\u20138; MT, Laws of Ma\u2019aser 3:8\u201316; Mishpetei Eretz<\/em> 7:1\u201313; and Kedushat ha-Aretz<\/em> 7:21\u201350. Most practical questions are resolved by the principles explained above.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Even after produce has reached onat ha-ma\u2019asrot and been picked, terumot and ma\u2019asrot should not yet be separated until the produce reaches gmar melakha \u2013 the point at which its processing is complete. Before then, the produce has not yet reached its optimal finished state. In addition, only after gmar melakha can one properly calculate […]<\/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-12098","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-17-08"],"yoast_head":"\n06. 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