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Terumot & Ma’aserot

Terumot and ma'aserot from an olive harvest from hefker and obligated olives

Rabbi Yehuda Halevi Amichai | Kislev 5786

Question

Hello Rabbi, Happy Chanukah!I would appreciate guidance on a somewhat complex halachic question.

I harvested 100 kg of olives for oil production:

  • 80 kg of them were hefker (ownerless),
  • 20 kg belonged to someone who gave me permission to harvest them.

When I arrived at the olive press, I was told this was too small a quantity to process alone, so I waited for someone to join me. Another person arrived with 50 kg of olives, and oil was produced from a total of 150 kg. We then divided the oil according to the percentage each of us contributed.

A. Of the oil that I received, from how many kilograms must I separate terumot and ma'aserot — from 150100, or 20?


B. Do I need to coordinate with the other person whose oil was mixed with mine? I understand there may be an issue of bilah belach, that liquids mix.

Composting terumah and using compost for fertilizing the garden

Rabbi Ehud Achituv | Emunat Itecha issue 149, Tishrei 5786

Is it permissible to place terumah produce in a compost bin for the purpose of making compost, and once it has decomposed, may it be used to fertilize the soil?

Does the emergence of flowers before Tu Bishevat determine ma'aser year?

I see on my mandarin tree that some of the flowers set right before 15 Shevat. Assuming that citrus fruits also follow chanatah, how would I deal with terumot and ma'aserot? Would I need to take from each fruit separately?

Do I need to renew Beit Ha'otzar membership every Rosh Hashanah?

Rabbi Moshe Bloom | Tishrei 5786

I signed up as a member of Beit Ha'otzar at one point last year. Now that Rosh Hashanah has just passed, do I need to renew my membership, as it's a new ma'aser year?

Taking terumot and ma’aserot from a tree in a shared courtyard

Rabbi Yehuda HaLevy Amichay

There is a guava tree in my apartment building’s shared courtyard (with 15 families). Every week I pick two to four fruits and take them home. Am I supposed to take terumot and ma’aserot from the guava with a blessing? If the tree was in a public playground, would its fruit also be subject to terumot and ma’aserot?

 

Perutah for ma'aser sheni - how does it work?

Rabbi Yehuda HaLevi Amichay, Elul 5785

I didn’t quite understand the issue of the coin used for terumot and ma‘aserot. What exactly is this coin? Is it just regular money? Also, does this mean I can’t eat fruit from a garden if I don’t have the coin with me at that moment—for example, if I’m at the school where I work and there are fruit trees there?

 

How do I know which type of ma'aser (sheni/ani) to take from the fruit on my trees?

Rabbi Moshe Bloom, Nissan 5785
We have 2 apple trees, a lemon tree and a clementine tree. What is the ma'aser year for the fruit?

Are fruit on trees in public parks obligated in terumot and ma'aserot?

Rabbi Moshe Bloom

Are the fruit trees in public parks hefker and does it matter how much you take and what you plan on doing with it? For instance, large-scale olive harvest.

Terumot and ma'aserot from Jewish produce in closed military zones

Rabbi David Eigner, Shevat 5784, Annual Conference of Torah VeHa'aretz Institute at Sederot

Do we need to separate terumot and ma'aserot from produce found in closed military zones during the War of Iron Sword?

Picking herbs on the roadside

Rabbi Moshe Bloom

Am I allowed to take cuttings from overgrown wild sage or rosemary at the side of the road in public areas? A few people I know have said that you’re allowed because they grow back and it’s actually good for the trees to take cuttings… but is there an issue of stealing? What about terumot and ma'aserot?