Saturday 24 December 2016

Bava Metzia 88: Tithing Produce in the Home, in the Field

If a labourer is permitted to eat while in the field, how should we deal with the obligation to tithe?  The Gemara discusses a number of issues, including:

  • Tithing must be done when food is in the home
  • That food must have come through a conventional entrance
  • Produce brought into the home via the roof is exempt from tithing
  • A person is generally permitted to eat without tithing from the food on the vine/trees
  • An ox is generally permitted to eat from the food on the ground
  • If an ox is muzzled, it should be permitted to eat at the end of its work
  • We should not muzzle animals because we should relieve the suffering of any living creature
  • If a labourer is muzzled, or forbidden from eating, he should be compensated for that loss
  • If a labourer does not eat, the employer is breaking the mitzvah of sustaining one's workers
The rabbis name different vegetables and when each is ready to be processed and then tithed.

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