{"id":12104,"date":"2026-07-08T00:09:51","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T21:09:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/?p=12104"},"modified":"2026-08-05T09:27:07","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T06:27:07","slug":"17-08-09","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/17-08-09\/","title":{"rendered":"09. Where the Obligation Applies in Eretz Yisrael"},"content":{"rendered":"

The mitzva of terumot<\/em> and ma\u2019asrot<\/em> is one of the mitzvot dependent on the Land. Therefore, anything that grows within the territories of Eretz Yisrael is included in the mitzva, including the east side of the Jordan and Syria. However, the level of obligation depends on the presence of the Jewish people in the Land. When most of the Jewish people live in Eretz Yisrael, the obligation applies by Torah law. When most of the people do not live in the Land, as is the case today, the obligation is rabbinic. Some maintain that in the areas settled by those who returned from Babylonia during the Second Temple period, the obligation remains by Torah law even when most of the Jewish people are not living in the Land (see below, 12:11\u201312; Peninei Halakha: Shevi\u2019it and Yovel<\/em> 11:4, where this is explained).<\/p>\n

Produce grown anywhere under the rule of the State of Israel requires terumot<\/em> and ma\u2019asrot<\/em>, and one recites a berakha when separating from it. One may also separate from produce grown in one part of the State of Israel on behalf of produce grown in another part.<\/p>\n

However, one should not separate from produce grown in parts of Eretz Yisrael that are under foreign rule \u2013 such as Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt \u2013 on behalf of produce grown within the State of Israel, or the reverse. Some maintain that in areas under Israeli rule the mitzva has a basis in Torah law, while outside the state\u2019s borders its obligation is rabbinic. When most of the Jewish people live in the Land, the obligation will be by Torah law in all territories under Israeli rule, as explained at length below, 12:17.<\/p>\n

When produce crosses between Eretz Yisrael and the Diaspora, the basic rule depends on where its gmar melakha<\/em> is completed.<\/p>\n

Produce grown in Eretz Yisrael and exported to the Diaspora requires separation of terumot<\/em> and ma\u2019asrot<\/em> if its gmar melakha<\/em> was completed before it left the Land. If its gmar melakha<\/em> was completed only after it left Eretz Yisrael, it is exempt.<\/p>\n

There is one additional debate regarding exported produce. If, already at the time of picking, the owner intended to export the produce, some exempt it from terumot<\/em> and ma\u2019asrot<\/em> even if its gmar melakha<\/em> was later completed in Eretz Yisrael (Maharsham). Others are stringent (\u1e24azon Ish<\/em>; Igrot Moshe<\/em>). Since the obligation in this case is rabbinic, those who wish to be lenient may do so.[13]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

Produce grown in the Diaspora and brought into Eretz Yisrael follows the same basic principle. If its gmar melakha<\/em> was completed before it entered the Land, it is exempt. If its gmar melakha<\/em> was completed in Eretz Yisrael, terumot<\/em> and ma\u2019asrot<\/em> must be separated by rabbinic law (MT, Laws of Terumot 1:22).<\/p>\n

Several A\u1e25aronim limit this last ruling to produce grown in a Jewish-owned field in the Diaspora. Produce grown there in a non-Jewish-owned field remains exempt, even if its gmar melakha<\/em> was completed in Eretz Yisrael (A\u1e25iezer<\/em>; R. Shlomo Zalman Auerbach). Although \u1e24azon Ish<\/em> is stringent, the lenient view appears correct. Since the obligation is rabbinic, the halakha follows those who are lenient.[14]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

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[13]<\/a>. Rambam writes that produce from Eretz Yisrael that is exported to the Diaspora is exempt from terumot<\/em> and ma\u2019asrot<\/em> (MT, Laws of Terumot 1:22). Raavad disagrees and maintains that it is subject to a rabbinic obligation even if its gmar melakha<\/em> is to be completed in the Diaspora. The A\u1e25aronim write that the halakha follows Rambam, but they disagree about how to understand his ruling. According to Ba\u1e25 and Min\u1e25at \u1e24inukh<\/em>, the produce is exempt even if its gmar melakha<\/em> was completed in Eretz Yisrael. According to Radvaz, Mishneh la-Melekh<\/em>, and most A\u1e25aronim, Rambam exempts only when the gmar melakha<\/em> was completed outside the Land. If the gmar melakha<\/em> was completed in Eretz Yisrael, terumot<\/em> and ma\u2019asrot<\/em> apply to the produce.<\/p>\n

Maharsham 1:72 adds that even those who interpret Rambam stringently would agree in one case: if the produce\u2019s gmar melakha<\/em> was completed in Eretz Yisrael with the intent to export it, it is exempt. Mishpetei Uziel<\/em>, vol. 6, YD 98, rules similarly. However, A\u1e25iezer<\/em>, \u1e24azon Ish<\/em>, Demai<\/em> 15:4, and Igrot Moshe<\/em>, YD 3:127, are stringent. Since produce exported for sale is, in any event, subject only to rabbinic obligation, those who wish to be lenient may do so.<\/p>\n

If one may rely on this leniency even when the produce is certainly untithed, then all the more so one may be lenient when produce from Eretz Yisrael is already in the Diaspora and there is doubt whether terumot<\/em> and ma\u2019asrot<\/em> were separated before export. This is the view of R. Isser Zalman Meltzer, R. Rosenthal, and Yabi\u2019a Omer<\/em> 10, YD 46.<\/p>\n

[14]<\/a>. A\u1e25iezer<\/em> 2:39:6 and Ma\u2019adanei Eretz<\/em>, Laws of Terumot 1:22:9, exempt produce grown in a non-Jew\u2019s field in the Diaspora, even if a Jew later completed its gmar melakha<\/em> in Eretz Yisrael. The dispute turns on how broadly to understand Rambam\u2019s ruling that Diaspora produce whose gmar melakha<\/em> was completed in Eretz Yisrael is subject to a rabbinic obligation. According to the lenient view, Rambam\u2019s ruling applies only to produce grown in a Jewish-owned field in the Diaspora. Produce grown in a non-Jew\u2019s field is different, since everyone agrees that non-Jewish ownership of land in the Diaspora is fully effective. Therefore, completing its gmar melakha<\/em> later in Eretz Yisrael does not create an obligation to separate from it. \u1e24azon Ish<\/em> is stringent, understanding Rambam to include all Diaspora produce whose gmar melakha<\/em> was completed by a Jew in Eretz Yisrael (\u1e24azon Ish<\/em>, Shevi\u2019it<\/em> 2:1). Ha-Ma\u2019aser Ve-ha-Teruma<\/em> 3:29 inclines in that direction as well. Nevertheless, the lenient view appears correct. Since the obligation here is rabbinic, doubts in rabbinic law are resolved leniently.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The mitzva of terumot and ma\u2019asrot is one of the mitzvot dependent on the Land. Therefore, anything that grows within the territories of Eretz Yisrael is included in the mitzva, including the east side of the Jordan and Syria. However, the level of obligation depends on the presence of the Jewish people in the Land. […]<\/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-12104","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-17-08"],"yoast_head":"\n09. 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