Talmud - Kiddushin 54b קידושין נ״ד ב׳

The Gemara answers: The baraita and the mishna in tractate Nedarim are two tanna’im and they disagree with regard to the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda concerning whether or not he holds that Jerusalem itself was sanctified.

Ulla said a different opinion in the name of bar Padda: Rabbi Meir would say: Consecrated property is desacralized if misused intentionally; it is not desacralized if misused unwittingly. And they said that consecrated property that is misused unwittingly is desacralized only with regard to an offering, i.e., the one who misused it is liable to bring a guilt-offering for his action, but the property remains consecrated. The Gemara asks: But since it is not desacralized when misused unwittingly, for what reason is he rendered liable to bring an offering, as the action had no effect?

Rather, when Ravin came from Eretz Yisrael he explained it this way in the name of bar Padda: Rabbi Meir would say: Consecrated property is desacralized if misused intentionally; it is not desacralized if misused unwittingly. And they said that consecrated property that is misused unwittingly is desacralized only with regard to eating. If one ate consecrated food, thereby consuming it completely, he is liable to bring an offering. If he merely misused consecrated money it retains its sanctity and is not desacralized, and he is not liable to bring an offering.

§ Rav Naḥman says that Rav Adda bar Ahava says: The halakha is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Meir with regard to second tithe in that it is considered consecrated, as the tanna taught us an unattributed mishna in accordance with his opinion. And the halakha is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda with regard to consecrated property, as the tanna taught us an unattributed mishna in accordance with his opinion.

The Gemara clarifies this statement: What is the unattributed mishna that is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Meir with regard to second tithe? It is as we learned (Pe’a 7:6): It is prohibited to eat or derive benefit from fruit during the first three years after the tree is planted. The fruit of the fourth year is to be taken to Jerusalem and eaten there. With regard to a vineyard in its fourth year, Beit Shammai say: It does not have the halakha of adding one-fifth, i.e., if the owner himself redeems the fruit to bring money to Jerusalem to spend on food there, as one may also do with second tithe, he does not add one-fifth to its value but redeems it for its true value. And it also does not have the halakha of disposal, i.e., there is no obligation to dispose of it on the eve of Passover of the fourth year of the Sabbatical cycle, when all tithes that have not yet been separated must be disposed of. And Beit Hillel say: It does have the halakha of adding one-fifth and the halakha of disposal.

That mishna continues: Furthermore, Beit Shammai say: It has the mitzva requiring the owner of the vineyard to leave individual fallen grapes for the poor [peret], and it has the mitzva requiring the owner to leave incompletely formed clusters of grapes for the poor [olelot]. Since the vineyard is considered the owner’s property during this year, he must leave these gifts for the poor. And Beit Hillel say: All of it goes to the winepress to make wine. Since the grapes have sanctity, he is not obligated to leave these gifts for the poor.

The Gemara explains: What is the reason for the opinion of Beit Hillel? They derive a verbal analogy from the word “holy” stated with regard to a fourth-year vineyard, as the verse states: “Holy, for giving praise to the Lord” (Leviticus 19:24), from “holy” stated with regard to second tithe, as the verse states: “Holy to the Lord” (Leviticus 27:30). This verbal analogy teaches the following: Just as second tithe has the halakha of adding one-fifth and it has the halakha of disposal, so too, the fourth-year vineyard has the halakha of adding one-fifth and it has the halakha of disposal. And Beit Shammai do not derive the verbal analogy of “holy” with regard to a fourth-year vineyard and “holy” from second tithe.

The Gemara proceeds to clarify the opinions of Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai with regard to the obligation to leave peret and olelot from a fourth-year vineyard. And with regard to Beit Hillel, who say that the halakha of fourth-year produce is like the halakha of second tithe, in accordance with whose opinion do they hold with regard to second tithe? If they hold in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda, why does all of it go to the winepress? Didn’t Rabbi Yehuda say that second tithe is itself common, i.e., non-sacred, property, and the owner must therefore leave peret and olelot? Rather, is it not the case that they hold in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Meir, who says that second tithe is consecrated property? The mishna aligning the opinion of Beit Hillel with that of Rabbi Meir is tantamount to there being an unattributed mishna in accordance with Rabbi Meir’s opinion, as the halakha is generally in accordance with the opinion of Beit Hillel.

The Gemara continues with the explanation of Rav Naḥman’s statement: What is the unattributed mishna that is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda with regard to consecrated property? As we learned (Me’ila 21a): In a case where one sent an agent to buy something on his behalf and unwittingly gave him consecrated money to use, if he sent it in the possession of a halakhically competent person and remembered that it was consecrated money before the agent reached the storekeeper, the storekeeper will have misused consecrated property when he will later spend the money. This indicates that one is liable for misuse of consecrated property even when one acts unwittingly, as the storekeeper did.

The Gemara asks: But didn’t we learn an unattributed mishna in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda with regard to second tithe? But didn’t we learn (Ma’aser Sheni 4:3): With regard to one who redeems his own second tithe, he adds to it its one-fifth, whether the tithe was from his crop or given to him as a gift. The Gemara clarifies: In accordance with whose opinion is this mishna? If we say it is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Meir, can one give second tithe to another as a gift? But didn’t he say that second tithe is property belonging to the Most High, which means it is not one’s own to give to another as a gift? Rather, is it not in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda, who holds that second tithe is common property, and consequently this unattributed mishna is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda with regard to second tithe?

The Gemara answers: No, actually it is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Meir, and with what are we dealing here? It is not a situation where one gave second tithe itself as a gift, but where he gave him his entire crop in its state of being untithed produce. Consequently, the portion he gave him included tithes that had not yet been separated, and he holds that gifts that have not been separated are not considered as though they have been separated. One does not categorize the untithed produce as a mixture of regular produce and tithes, but as a non-sacred category in and of itself. Since the second tithe has not yet been separated, the produce has no sanctity, and he can give it as a gift.

The Gemara continues its line of inquiry: Come and hear another unattributed mishna in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda (Ma’aser Sheni 4:6): With regard to one who redeems his own fourth-year produce, he adds to it its one-fifth, whether the produce was from his crop or was given to him as a gift. The Gemara inquires: In accordance with whose opinion is this mishna? If we say it is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Meir, can one give produce of the fourth year to another as a gift? But didn’t he derive that one must add one-fifth from the verbal analogy of “holy” for fourth-year fruit from “holy” from second tithe? This would mean that fourth-year fruit, like second tithe, is property of the Most High and cannot be given as a gift. Rather, is it not in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda?

The Gemara answers: Actually, it is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Meir, and with what are we dealing here? It is not a situation where one gave fully grown fourth-year fruit but where he gave him the fruit when it was a bud. And this is not in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yosei, who says: A bud of a fruit is forbidden as orla, because it is already considered a fruit. Rabbi Meir, by contrast, holds that a fruit bud is not considered fruit. Therefore, the halakhot of orla and fourth-year fruit apply only to fruit that has grown, whereas beforehand it can be given as a gift.

The Gemara continues its line of inquiry: Come and hear another unattributed mishna in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda (Ma’aser Sheni 4:6): If one was selling second-tithe produce, and the buyer pulled tithe worth a sela from him, thereby acquiring it, and did not manage to redeem it until its value stood at two sela, and he had not yet paid the seller, the buyer gives a sela to the seller, and he thereby gains a sela and the second tithe is his, since he acquired it when he pulled it and the price was fixed at that point. The Gemara inquires: In accordance with whose opinion is this mishna? If we say it is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Meir, why does the buyer gain a sela? The Merciful One states in the Torah with regard to the redemption of consecrated property: And he will give the money and it will be assured to him (see Leviticus 27:19), from which it is derived that one acquires consecrated property only after paying money. This means that the value of the second tithe increased before he acquired it. Rather, is it not in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda, who holds that second tithe is common property, and it is acquired from the moment he pulled it?

The Gemara confirms: Actually, this mishna is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda. Nevertheless, Rav Naḥman’s statement that the halakha with regard to second tithe is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Meir is still correct, as here there is one unattributed mishna that is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda, while here there are two unattributed mishnayot that indicate that Beit Hillel’s opinion is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Meir, the one in tractate Ma’aser Sheni, and one in tractate Eduyyot (4:2).

The Gemara asks: But if an unattributed mishna is stated that way specifically to teach the halakha, what difference is there to me if it is one unattributed mishna or two unattributed mishnayot? The Gemara suggests an alternate reasoning. Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said: The halakha is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Meir, since we learned in a mishna in the preferred tractate, Eduyyot, in accordance with his opinion. Since the halakha is ruled in accordance with all of the mishnayot in Eduyyot, the fact that the opinion of Beit Hillel in that tractate is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Meir means that the halakha should be decided accordingly.

Traduction : The William Davidson digital edition of the Koren Noé Talmud, with commentary by Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz.

Kidushin 54b examines Rabbi Meir's view on desecrating consecrated property through misuse and clarifies which halakhic rulings prevail regarding second tithe.