Blog Yomi – Chagigah #24

We’re at the level of the Mishnah, seven lines from the bottom of דף כד עמוּד ב. The previous Mishnah dealt with the stringencies of קֹדֶשׁ over תְּרוּמָה. This Mishnah, and those that follow, are the inverse – the stringencies of תְּרוּמָה over קֹדֶשׁ of which there are unsurprisingly less.

The Mishnah begins:

חוֹמֶר בַּתְּרוּמָה, שֶׁבִּיהוּדָה נֶאֱמָנִין עַל טהֳרַת יַיִן וָשֶׁמֶן כּל יְמוֹת הַשָּׁנָה, וּבִשְׁעַת הַגִּיתּוֹת וְהַבַּדִּים — אַף עַל הַתְּרוּמָה

Rashi says this discussion centers on whether not עַמֵי הָאָרֶץ are believed regarding the purity of wine and oil used for sacred purposes, and the Mishnah says that those from יהוּדָה, which is in the Southern region of Israel, are believed year round, in contrast with those up North – from the גַלִיל. Why Southerners are believed more than Northerners will be discussed in the Gemara. And in the time of the wine press and the olive press (no relation here), עַמֵי הָאָרֶץ are believed even with regard to the tahara of תְּרוּמָה because, as Rashi notes, הכל מטהרין את כליהם – everyone purifies their vessels for that season (kind of like spring cleaning).

The Mishnah continues:

עָבְרוּ הַגִּיתּוֹת וְהַבַּדִּים, וְהֵבִיאוּ לוֹ חָבִית שֶׁל יַיִן שֶׁל תְּרוּמָה — לֹא יְקַבְּלֶנָּה מִמֶּנּוּ, אֲבָל מַנִּיחָהּ לַגַּת הַבָּאָה. וְאִם אָמַר לוֹ הִפְרַשְׁתִּי לְתוֹכָהּ רְבִיעִית קֹדֶשׁ — נֶאֱמָן

Once the periods of the wine press and olive press have passed, if עַמֵי הָאָרֶץ brought a barrel of תְּרוּמָה wine to a כֹּּהֵן who is a חָבֵר, he may not accept it from them, as עַמֵי הָאָרֶץ are not trusted with regard to matters of ritual purity during the rest of the year. However, עַמֵי הָאָרֶץ may leave it over for the following wine press season, in the following year, at which point the חָבֵר may accept it from him, although it was prohibited for him to accept the same barrel beforehand. And if the עַם הָאָרֶץ said to the כֹּּהֵן: I separated and placed into this barrel of תְּרוּמָה a quarter-log of sacrificial wine or oil, he is trusted with regard to the entire contents of the barrel. Since an עַם הָאָרֶץ is trusted with regard to the purity of קֹדֶשׁ, he is also believed with regard to תְּרוּמָה that is co-mingled with the קֹדֶשׁ.

Rabbi Stern offers excellent commentary here about the sensitivity of the רַבָּנָן in allowing deferment of the תְּרוּמָה to the following wine or oil press season when the individual in question misses the deadline for this season. It is a testament to the כֹּחַ of the חַכָמִים, and is in line with the pragmatics of not needlessly alienating עַמֵי הָאָרֶץ over הַלָכוֹת that are מִדְרַבָּנָן. For example, during the רֶגֶל there is no tumah. The עַם הָאָרֶץ is the same עַם הָאָרֶץ that he is year round, but the רַבָּנָן wanted to give him the opportunity to participate in עַלִייַת הָרֶגֶל. There is even leeway in matters that are דְאוֹרַייְתָא. Consider for example that the כֹּּהֵן during רֶגֶל doesn’t look at a מְצוֹרָע because he doesn’t want to be compelled to pronounce him as a מְצוֹרָע (if that is the case) and ruin his יוֹם טוֹב.

The Transformative Daf has a nice entry that complements Rabbi Stern’s thoughts. Rabbi Friedman writes: “What is the meaning of this enigmatic teaching? Is the food pure or not? If it is acceptable, the Kohen should be able to consume it immediately. And if it’s not acceptable, then why may he consume it next season? The Mishnah is teaching us an important lesson: timing is everything. You have various goals that you’ve dreamed of achieving in your life. But, somehow, so far they have failed to materialize. Not for want of trying, no doubt. You did your very best and gave it your all. You poured out your heart and soul to accomplish those dreams. And yet you haven’t seen the success you anticipated. It’s only human to start doubting yourself. Maybe I’m just not up for the task? Maybe I’m not good enough? Maybe I’m overestimating my talents and abilities? Here’s what you need to know. It’s probably not you. Sometimes you can do everything right, but the timing’s just not right. There was clearly nothing wrong with the purity of the farmer’s produce. It was just that the timing for delivery wasn’t quite right. A few months later and the exact same gift would cross the finish line accomplishing the desired outcome.”

The Gemara now expounds on the difference between an עַם הָאָרֶץ coming south from the northern territory of the גַלִיל, and that he doesn’t get the benefit of the doubt as an עַם הָאָרֶץ traveling to the בֵּית הַמִקְדָשׁ from יְהוּדָה. At the 8:15 mark of his video above, R’ Eli Stefansky shows a map indicating where the כּוּתִים (non-Jews or “אֶרֶץ הָעַמִים”) resided, and this represents a North/South divide that people from the גַלִיל would have to traverse South that exposed them to the unmarked burial grounds of the כּוּתִים.

We’ll Zoom ahead now to a pressing question in the Gemara: We saw earlier than the עַם הָאָרֶץ can save his gift for the following season if he missed the giving deadline for this season. Would the כֹּּהֵן be able to accept the gift now, and put it in storage so that he can use it during the following wine or oil press season? The Gemara says no – if it is given to the כֹּּהֵן now, beyond the cutoff date for this season he has to get rid of it.

Ah, the Gemara says, but what if this is referring to בַּדָּבָר שֶׁאֵין לוֹ גַּת – something that has no pressing season? Regarding which Rashi comments: בדבר שאין לו גת – כגון שכר תמרים של תרומה והאי שורף לשון איבוד הוא. We could be talking about a liquid such as beer made from dates. Actually it is closer to cider than beer, and was the favorite alcoholic beverage of the ancient Babylonians. And this was made year round rather than having a specific season during which it was pressed. Apparently there were some strange brews around back then.

Returning to a recurrent theme, the Gemara at the top of דף כה עמוּד ב cites the case of two sons, one a חָבֵר and one an עַם הָאָרֶץ, who inherit the property of their father who is an עַם הָאָרֶץ.

חָבֵר וְעַם הָאָרֶץ שֶׁיָּרְשׁוּ אֶת אֲבִיהֶם עַם הָאָרֶץ, יָכוֹל לוֹמַר לוֹ: טוֹל אַתָּה חִטִּין שֶׁבְּמָקוֹם פְּלוֹנִי, וַאֲנִי חִטִּין שֶׁבְּמָקוֹם פְּלוֹנִי

טוֹל אַתָּה יַיִן שֶׁבְּמָקוֹם פְּלוֹנִי, וַאֲנִי יַיִן שֶׁבְּמָקוֹם פְּלוֹנִי

This is another fascinating insight into the sensitivity the Gemara is showing in not allowing the עַם הָאָרֶץ to be taken advantage of or blindsided. As Rashi elaborates:

יכול לומר לו טול אתה חטין במקום פלוני – שיודע בהן שהוכשרו ואני אטול חטים במקום פלוני שיודע שלא הוכשרו דכיון דחד מינא הן אמרי’ יש ברירה שאלו הן חלקו של זה ואלו הן חלקו של זה ולא החליף לו חבר לע”ה חלקו שבטמאין בשביל חלקו של ע”ה בטהורין אבל בשני מינין אין לומר ברירה דכשמת אביהן נפל חלק לזה וחלק לזה בכל המינים ונמצא חבר זה מחליפה לו ועובר בלפני עור לא תתן מכשול

As it turns out, this is rooted in whether the field is of one מִין (species) or is of mixed species. If it is of one מִין, it is easier to say that each brother gets 50% of 100%. If the contents of the field is mixed, there is no retroactive clarity in the בְּרֵירָה or choice. I realize what I’m about to say isn’t an exact parallel to what the Gemara is saying, but I’d like to offer a construct. Consider two couples who go to dinner together, each ordering what strikes their fancy including their favorite beverages and food. It’s all mixed together, and when the waiter comes at the meal’s end he asks if the couples would like the bill split according to what each party ordered, or just split down the middle of each party paying 50% of the total bill. The two couples didn’t discuss this beforehand and want to remain cordial, but also to be fair to one another.

There is considerable real estate still left to today’s Daf that we didn’t cover, but I’ll have to defer the remainder to Rabbi Stern’s video.