{"id":12235,"date":"2026-07-12T00:11:51","date_gmt":"2026-07-11T21:11:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/?p=12235"},"modified":"2026-08-05T14:34:07","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T11:34:07","slug":"17-12-11","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/17-12-11\/","title":{"rendered":"11. Terumot and Ma\u2019asrot: By Torah Law or Rabbinic Enactment?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0All agree that the Men of the Great Assembly sanctified the Land a second time so that the Jewish people would once again become obligated in the communal-national mitzvot dependent on the Land, including terumot<\/em> and ma\u2019asrot<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The Amora\u2019im and Rishonim disagree, however, regarding the level of that obligation: did the second sanctification restore the Torah obligation to separate terumot<\/em> and ma\u2019asrot<\/em>, or did it establish only a rabbinic obligation? According to many Rishonim, once the Men of the Great Assembly sanctified the Land, one was once again obligated by Torah law to separate terumot<\/em> and ma\u2019asrot<\/em>. However, after the destruction of the Second Temple, authorities disagree about whether that Torah obligation continued. Some maintain that it remained in force, as the Land had been sanctified forever (Rashi, Raavad, and Kaftor Va-fera\u1e25<\/em>). Others maintain that after the Temple was destroyed, the obligation to separate terumot<\/em> and ma\u2019asrot<\/em> became rabbinic (Rashba, Ritva, Ran, and Sefer ha-Teruma<\/em>).<\/p>\n

According to Rambam, even after the Men of the Great Assembly sanctified the Land, one was obligated to separate terumot<\/em> and ma\u2019asrot<\/em> only by rabbinic enactment. Terumot<\/em> and ma\u2019asrot<\/em>, like \u1e25alla<\/em>, apply by Torah law only when the majority of the Jewish people dwell in the Land. Nevertheless, the sanctification performed by the Men of the Great Assembly was halakhically effective: the Land once again had the sanctified status necessary for terumot<\/em> and ma\u2019asrot<\/em>. Therefore, when the majority of the Jewish people are not in the Land, one is obligated only rabbinically; once the majority of the nation is in the Land, one will be obligated to separate terumot<\/em> and ma\u2019asrot<\/em> by Torah law, without any need to sanctify the Land again. This is the accepted position among the A\u1e25aronim. [13]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

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[13]<\/a>. In accordance with Rambam\u2019s view, SA and Rema rule that terumot<\/em> and ma\u2019asrot<\/em> today are rabbinic (YD 331:2). This is also the view of Radvaz 2:731; Mabit<\/em> 2:196; Mahari\u1e6d<\/em> 1:25; Levush<\/em> 331:2; the Vilna Gaon, Bi\u2019ur Ha-Gra<\/em> 331:6; and many others. So too write Mishpetei Eretz<\/em> 3:1 and Gevulot Ha-sadeh<\/em> 3:15.<\/p>\n

See above, note 8, regarding the dispute over the second sanctification. It was explained there that the main position is that the Land was sanctified permanently by Torah law with respect to all the communal-national mitzvot dependent on the Land. In practice, however, shemita<\/em> is rabbinic today, because its Torah obligation depends on the Jewish people dwelling properly in their Land, each tribe in its inheritance. Terumot<\/em> and ma\u2019asrot<\/em> are rabbinic today because, according to Rambam, their Torah obligation applies only when the majority of the Jewish people are in the Land. This is also the view of Maggid Mishneh<\/em> to MT, Laws of Forbidden Relations 20:3, and Beit Yosef 331:1.<\/p>\n

As noted, however, according to the Vilna Gaon in Bi\u2019ur Ha-Gra<\/em> 331:6, based on Rambam, the second sanctification itself was rabbinic in origin. Even so, Rambam writes that with the third inheritance, when the majority of the Jewish people are in the Land, they will be obligated by Torah law without any additional sanctification (MT, Laws of Terumot 1:26; see Peninei Halakha: Shemita Ve-yovel<\/em> 11:3\u20134).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0All agree that the Men of the Great Assembly sanctified the Land a second time so that the Jewish people would once again become obligated in the communal-national mitzvot dependent on the Land, including terumot and ma\u2019asrot. The Amora\u2019im and Rishonim disagree, however, regarding the level of that obligation: did the second sanctification restore the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[233],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12235","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-17-12"],"yoast_head":"\n11. 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