Heave Offering - in The Talmud and Rabbinic Literature

In The Talmud and Rabbinic Literature

The Mishnah, Tosefta, and Gemara, include a tract entitled Terumot ("Offerings"), which deals with the laws regulating raised offerings. According to Jewish Law, the "great offering" (terumah gedolah) could only be separated from the non-tithed produce (tevel), and "tithe offering" (terumat maaser) only be separated from "first tithe" (maaser rishon), by its owner, or an authorized, legally permissible agent; minors, deaf-mutes, the mentally ill and non-Jews were not obligated to perform such separation (Terumot 1:1). However, while non-Jews could not act as agents for Jews to separate terumah, the terumah owned by and separated by non-Jews was considered valid and had the status and sanctity of terumah (Terumot 3:9). Based in part on the measures described by the prophet Ezekiel, Jewish Law set the minimum amounts of the "great offering" at 1/60 of the finished produce for a poor person, 1/50 for the average person, and 1/40 for the generous. The "tithe offering" (terumat maaser) was always 10% of the "first tithe" (maaser rishon).

The Talmud opens with a discussion of when the Shema Yisrael ("Hear O Israel") prayer should be recited. The Mishnah states that it should be recited when priests who were "unclean" (tamei, טָמֵא ritually impure) are able to enter the Temple to eat their terumah raised-offering (Brachot 2a). This passage is one many which intimately connect the daily rituals of Orthodox Judaism with details of the rhythm of the life of the Temple in Jerusalem.