Pick-Your-Own Grapes – Terumot and Ma’aserot
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Question
Be’ezrat Hashem
A large group of yeshiva students is planning to go grape harvesting in a vineyard in Israel. Each person pays about 20 NIS, receives a basket to fill with grapes to take home, and also receives permission from the owner of the vineyard to eat as many grapes as he wants during the harvest in the vineyard.
Under what conditions are they allowed to eat the grapes in the vineyard during the harvest without separating terumot and ma’aserot at that time, and to separate terumot and ma’aserot only later at home from the grapes in the basket?
A large group of yeshiva students is planning to go grape harvesting in a vineyard in Israel. Each person pays about 20 NIS, receives a basket to fill with grapes to take home, and also receives permission from the owner of the vineyard to eat as many grapes as he wants during the harvest in the vineyard.
Under what conditions are they allowed to eat the grapes in the vineyard during the harvest without separating terumot and ma’aserot at that time, and to separate terumot and ma’aserot only later at home from the grapes in the basket?
Answer
Shalom u’vracha
Fruit becomes obligated in ma’aser immediately at the time of picking, when two conditions are fulfilled: 1. The fruit is acquired – payment is made for it. 2. More than one fruit is picked.
With grapes this is almost impossible, because each individual grape is considered its own fruit.
Therefore, if one picks a single grape and eats it, and then another grape, and so on, this does not create an obligation of ma’aser. But if two grapes are picked together, or more – there is an immediate obligation to separate terumot and ma’aserot.
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