What is the determinative moment for deciding which year's tithe applies to grain and legumes?
Halachah 2 establishes that grain and legumes follow the 'phase of tithing' — one-third growth — before Rosh HaShanah of the third year. If this threshold is crossed before Rosh HaShanah, the second tithe applies even if harvested later.
Question 2
Which fruit is treated like a vegetable for tithing purposes, following the year of harvest rather than the year of growth?
Halachah 5 rules that the esrog, unlike other tree-fruits, is governed by the year in which it is harvested — because, like vegetables, it requires irrigation water. This is unique among fruit-bearing trees.
Question 3
When second-year and third-year produce are mixed in equal halves, which tithe is separated from the entire mixture?
Halachah 11 rules that at 50/50, only the second tithe is separated from the whole, because the second tithe carries greater stringency — it has the status of sacred property — while the tithe for the poor is ordinary produce.
Question 4
An owner sows Egyptian beans intending to harvest the vegetables (leaves). Before Rosh HaShanah the plants reach one-third growth. He then withholds water for three irrigation periods, effectively changing his intent to seeds. How are the beans tithed?
Halachah 10 rules that changing intent from vegetables to seeds is only effective when reinforced by the deed of withholding water for three periods AND the plants reached one-third growth before Rosh HaShanah — both conditions are met here, so the seed-tithe rules apply.
Question 5
Why did our Sages not obligate the separation of the second tithe in Syria, even though they did require it in Babylonia and Egypt?
Halachah 14 explains that the second tithe cannot be brought from outside Eretz Yisrael to Jerusalem, so the Sages had no reason to require its separation in Syria. In Babylonia and Egypt, separation was ordained specifically to ensure the tithe for the poor would be available there; Syria, being closer, could rely on the tithes of Eretz Yisrael itself.