Demai ( he, דְּמַאי, is the third
tractate
A tractate is a written work dealing formally and systematically with a subject; the word derives from the Latin ''tractatus'', meaning treatise.
One example of its use is in citing a section of the Talmud, when the term '' masekhet'' () is used ...
of ''
Seder Zeraim
Seder Zeraim ( he, סדר זרעים, Seder Zra'im, lit. "Order of Seeds") is the first of the six orders, or major divisions, of the Mishnah, Tosefta, and the Talmud, and, apart from the first Masekhet, tractate which concerns the rules for prayer ...
'' ("Order of Seeds") of the
Mishnah
The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Torah ...
and of the
Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...
. It deals with the
Jewish legal concept of ''
demai'', meaning doubtfully tithed produce, and concerns the laws related to agricultural produce about which it is suspected that certain obligatory tithes have not been separated in accordance with requirements derived from the
Torah
The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...
.
The tractate consists of seven chapters and has a
Gemara
The Gemara (also transliterated Gemarah, or in Yiddish Gemo(r)re; from Aramaic , from the Semitic root ג-מ-ר ''gamar'', to finish or complete) is the component of the Talmud comprising rabbinical analysis of and commentary on the Mishnah w ...
only in the
Jerusalem Talmud
The Jerusalem Talmud ( he, תַּלְמוּד יְרוּשַׁלְמִי, translit=Talmud Yerushalmi, often for short), also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century ...
. There is a
Tosefta
The Tosefta (Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: תוספתא "supplement, addition") is a compilation of the Jewish oral law from the late 2nd century, the period of the Mishnah.
Overview
In many ways, the Tosefta acts as a supplement to the Mishnah ( ...
of eight chapters for this tractate.
Subject matter
This tractate concerns the laws regarding agricultural produce about which there is a doubt as to whether the rules relating to the tithes were strictly observed. This doubtfully tithed produce is known as ''demai''.
The background to the discussions of this tractate is that according to the
Torah
The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...
,
Israelite
The Israelites (; , , ) were a group of Semitic-speaking tribes in the ancient Near East who, during the Iron Age, inhabited a part of Canaan.
The earliest recorded evidence of a people by the name of Israel appears in the Merneptah Stele o ...
farmers were obligated to separate three types of tithes:
* ''
Ma'aser rishon
The first tithe (Hebrew: ''ma'aser rishon'' מעשר ראשון) is a positive commandment in the Torah requiring the giving of one tenth of agricultural produce to charity, after the giving of the standard ''terumah,'' to the Levite (or Kohen). ...
'' – the first tithe, which had to be given to
Levite
Levites (or Levi) (, he, ''Lǝvīyyīm'') are Jewish males who claim patrilineal descent from the Tribe of Levi. The Tribe of Levi descended from Levi, the third son of Jacob and Leah. The surname ''Halevi'', which consists of the Hebrew defi ...
s, who had not been given an allotment of tribal land and therefore depended on this produce for their sustenance ()
* ''
Ma'aser sheni
The second tithe ( Hebrew: ''ma'aser sheni'' מעשר שני) is a tithe mentioned in the Hebrew Bible and practised within Orthodox Judaism. It is distinguished from the first tithe (Hebrew: ''ma'aser rishon'' מעשר ראשון), the third ...
'' – the second tithe, which the owner had to consume in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
, or convert into money plus a fifth of its value and reconvert into food in Jerusalem ()
* ''
Ma'aser ani'' – poor person's tithe, in place of the second tithe in the third and sixth year of the seven-year cycle in the
sabbatical year
A sabbatical (from the Hebrew: (i.e., Sabbath); in Latin ; Greek: ) is a rest or break from work.
The concept of the sabbatical is based on the Biblical practice of ''shmita'' (sabbatical year), which is related to agriculture. According to ...
( and ).
The Levites also had to contribute from the tithe that they received from the Israelites to the kohanim, consisting of a tenth part of the tithe they had received; it was called '' terumath ma'aser'' (offering from the tithe) or ''ma'aser min ha-ma'aser'' (tithe from the tithe) ().[
During the period of the Second Temple, doubt began to arise among scrupulous observers of the law (known as ''haverim'') as to whether produce had been properly tithed when they bought from farmers who were likely to be uneducated, or unscrupulous about separating the tithes. This type of individual was known as an ''am ha'aretz'' (person of the land), someone whose trustworthiness was questionable.][
The ''am ha'aretz'' was not suspected of not giving '']terumah
A ''terumah'' ( he, תְּרוּמָה) or heave offering is a type of sacrifice in Judaism. The word is generally used for an offering to God, although it is also sometimes used as in ''ish teramot'', a "judge who loves gifts".
The word ''teru ...
'' (gifts to the priests), because it required only a small payment comprising one-hundredth of the produce, and because ''terumah'' had a degree of sanctity that made it a severe transgression for a non-priest to eat.[
However, because it was doubtful whether the produce of the ''am ha'aretz'' had been tithed, the ''haverim'' who bought grain from them had to designate part of the produce as ''ma'aser'' (a tithe for the Levites or the poor) and ''ma'aser min ha-ma'aser'' (a tenth part of that tithe), albeit in a way that reduced financial loss.]
Of general note in this tractate are disputes between the Houses of Shammai and Hillel, the sages from Yavne, as well as material from the generation of Usha contained in this tractate.[
One of the earliest uses of the concept of "]monopoly
A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situati ...
" in a commercial sense appears in this tractate, regarding the purchasing of agricultural goods from a dealer who has a monopoly on the produce (chapter 5; 4).
The Gemara contains a few passages of Aggadah
Aggadah ( he, ''ʾAggāḏā'' or ''Haggāḏā''; Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: אַגָּדְתָא ''ʾAggāḏəṯāʾ''; "tales, fairytale, lore") is the non-legalistic exegesis which appears in the classical rabbinic literature of Judaism, ...
. For example, the conscientiousness of Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair regarding the laws of tithes is described along with other acts of piety for which he was well-known.[
]
Structure
The tractate consists of seven chapters and 53 paragraphs (''mishnayot''). It has a Gemara
The Gemara (also transliterated Gemarah, or in Yiddish Gemo(r)re; from Aramaic , from the Semitic root ג-מ-ר ''gamar'', to finish or complete) is the component of the Talmud comprising rabbinical analysis of and commentary on the Mishnah w ...
– rabbinical analysis of and commentary on the Mishnah – only in the Jerusalem Talmud
The Jerusalem Talmud ( he, תַּלְמוּד יְרוּשַׁלְמִי, translit=Talmud Yerushalmi, often for short), also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century ...
; it also has Tosefta
The Tosefta (Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: תוספתא "supplement, addition") is a compilation of the Jewish oral law from the late 2nd century, the period of the Mishnah.
Overview
In many ways, the Tosefta acts as a supplement to the Mishnah ( ...
.[
There is no Gemara in the ]Babylonian Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...
for this tractate or indeed for any of the tractates of this order of the Mishna, other than tractate Berakhot, as the laws related to agriculture that they discuss generally have no practical application outside of the Land of Israel.[
Demai, with its seven chapters, is an exception to the usual pattern of arranging the tractates in order according to the numbers of their chapters; it appears third in the Mishnah and Jerusalem Talmud, and in most manuscripts of the Tosefta, before tractates with more chapters.][
The Tosefta has a few modifications and additions. It divides Chapter 2 of the Mishna into two parts, and thus has eight chapters instead of the seven of the Mishnah. The eighth paragraph of the sixth chapter of the Mishnah corresponds to the beginning of the eighth chapter of the Tosefta.][
An overview of the topics of the chapters is as follows:
*Chapter 1 details the cases of products that are exempt from the rules of ''demai'' such as fruit or vegetables which are ''hefker'' (unclaimed or ownerless property).][
*Chapter 2 lists the products to which the rules of ''demai'' apply even outside the Land of Israel if it is bought from an ''am ha’aretz''; discusses how a person may be certified as a ''ne'eman'' (one who is deemed trustworthy with respect to tithing), or as a ''ḥaver'' who is also trusted on matters of purity; and the duty of merchants regarding tithing ''demai'' produce.][
*Chapter 3 considers the rules for giving or leaving ''demai'' for other people to use and specifies that a ''haver'' must not cause others to consume ''demai''.][
*Chapter 4 considers the rules of eating ''demai'' produce with people who are not trustworthy, and when buying it from them is allowed.][
*Chapter 5 examines the rules about tithing ''demai'' produce bought from several people, and about tithing produce of one kind for produce of another kind.][
*Chapter 6 examines the rules of tithing produce of rented or leased land or trees, of tithing the produce of partners and heirs, of produce sold in lands bordering the Land of Israel, and of produce bought for an ''am ha'aretz''.][
*Chapter 7 considers the rules for the tithing of food consumed with an am ''ha'aretz'', rules of tithing by 'designation', and the rules concerning mixtures and regulations for the tithing of ''demai'' on urgent occasions.][
]
Commentaries
Commentaries on this tractate include the following:
*The ''Rash Sirilio'' is the earliest known comprehensive commentary on a large portion of the Jerusalem Talmud is that of Rabbi Shlomo Sirilio (1485–1558). In the Vilna edition
The Vilna Edition of the Talmud, printed in Vilna (now Vilnius), Lithuania, is by far the most common printed edition of the Talmud still in use today as the basic text for Torah study in yeshivas and by all scholars of Judaism.
It was typeset by ...
of the Jerusalem Talmud it appears only for tractates Berakhot and Pe'ah
Pe'ah ( he, פֵּאָה, lit. "Corner") is the second tractate of ''Seder Zeraim'' ("Order of Seeds") of the Mishnah and of the Talmud. This tractate begins the discussion of topics related to agriculture, the main focus of this ''seder'' (order) ...
; but the commentary for the entire Seder Zeraim, including tractate Demai, appears in the Mutzal Mi'Eish edition of the Jerusalem Talmud. In addition to his commentary, Rash Sirilio worked to remove mistakes made by manuscript copyists that over time had slipped into the text of the Jerusalem Talmud and his amended text of the Gemara is reproduced alongside his commentary in the Vilna and Mutzal Mi'Eish editions of the Jerusalem Talmud.
*''Mahara Fulda'' and its companion, ''Tosefot Maharaf'', are the commentaries of Rabbi Eliyahu of Fulda, published in Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
in 1710. Many later commentators refer to him only as ''HaMefareish'' (''The Commentator'').
*''Pnei Moshe'', the only commentary that covers all of the Jerusalem Talmud completely was written by Rabbi Moshe Margolies, where it was first published in Amsterdam in 1775.
*The Vilna Gaon
Elijah ben Solomon Zalman, ( he , ר' אליהו בן שלמה זלמן ''Rabbi Eliyahu ben Shlomo Zalman'') known as the Vilna Gaon (Yiddish: דער װילנער גאון ''Der Vilner Gaon'', pl, Gaon z Wilna, lt, Vilniaus Gaonas) or Elijah of ...
also worked to correct many of the textual errors in the text of the Jerusalem Talmud and his rectifications are contained in marginal glosses published under the title ''Hagahot HaGra''. In addition, a work known as ''Beurei HaGra'', was written by his disciples based on his comments. Two versions of this commentary exist, based on manuscripts written by different disciples.
*A commentary known as the ''Ridvaz'' on nearly all the tractates of the Jerusalem Talmud was first published in Piotrków in 1898, with its companion commentary, ''Tosefot HaRid'', by Rabbi Yaakov Dovid Wilovsky
Rabbi Yaakov Dovid Wilovsky (February 7, 1845 – October 2, 1913), known by the acronym Ridvaz or Ridbaz, was a renowned rabbi, Talmudic commentator and educator.
Biography
Wilovsky was born in Kobrin, Russia on February 7, 1845.
Wilovsky held ...
of Slutzk and later of Safed
Safed (known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as Tzfat; Sephardi Hebrew, Sephardic Hebrew & Modern Hebrew: צְפַת ''Tsfat'', Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation, Ashkenazi Hebrew: ''Tzfas'', Biblical Hebrew: ''Ṣǝp̄aṯ''; ar, صفد, ''Ṣafad''), i ...
(1845–1914).
In modern times, two comprehensive works have been published:
*''Toldot Yitzchak'' and its companion ''Tevunah'', by Rabbi Yitzchok Isaac Krasilschikov
Rabbi Yitzchok Isaac ben Dov Ber Krasilschikov (1888 – May 13, 1965), also known as the Gaon of Poltava, was an exceptional Talmudic scholar and author of a monumental commentary on the Jerusalem Talmud. He was one of the last publicly pract ...
of Poltava
Poltava (, ; uk, Полтава ) is a city located on the Vorskla River in central Ukraine. It is the capital city of the Poltava Oblast (province) and of the surrounding Poltava Raion (district) of the oblast. Poltava is administratively ...
, who wrote his commentary in the Soviet Union before he died in Moscow in 1965. The manuscript was smuggled out of Communist Russia by Rabbi Harry Bronstein, who founded Machon Mutzal MeiEish and published a new edition of Seder Zeraim of the Jerusalem Talmud, which included Rabbi Krasilschikov's work and all the major commentators published up to that time.
*''Sha'arei Emunoh'', the commentary of Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky
Shmaryahu Yosef Chaim Kanievsky ( he, שמריהו יוסף חיים קַניֶבסקִי; January 8, 1928 – March 18, 2022) was an Israeli Haredi rabbi and '' posek''. He was a leading authority in Haredi Jewish society on legal and ethical ...
to the Jerusalem Talmud has been published to date on Sedarim Zeraim and Moed. It is based on lectures given by Rabbi Kanievsky and contains explanations from earlier commentators, as well as many original insights; the volume on Demai was published in Bnei Brak
Bnei Brak or Bene Beraq ( he, בְּנֵי בְּרַק ) is a city located on the central Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean Israeli coastal plain, coastal plain in Israel, just east of Tel Aviv. A center of Haredi Judaism, Bnei Brak covers an are ...
, Israel, in 2002.
In addition to the commentaries listed to the above, commentaries specific to tractate Demai, or to the laws of demai are the following:
*''Kaftor VaFerach'', by Rabbi Ishtori Haparchi, a disciple of the Rosh, is one of the few surviving compositions of the Rishonim concerning Seder Zeraim. Rabbi Ishtori was born in Provence
Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...
in about 1280 and emigrated to the Land of Israel
The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine (see also Isra ...
, where he absorbed himself in the study of the halachot applying to the Land. His work was first published in Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
in 1546.
*''Maharam Chaviv'' by Rabbi Moshe ibn Chaviv of Salonika
Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...
(17th century) wrote a commentary to the Jerusalem Talmud's tractate Demai, as well as to the Jerusalem Talmud's tractates Berakhot and Peah. This commentary was also named Pnei Moshe, but to distinguish it from the more well-known commentary of that name by Moshe Margolies, it is sometimes referred to as Maharam Chaviv. Extant only as a manuscript from the time of its composition, it was first published by Machon Yerushalayim in 1994.
*''Pe'at HaShulchan'' is a work on the laws pertaining to agriculture, written by Rabbi Yisroel ben Shmuel of Shklov
Yisroel ben Shmuel Ashkenazi of Shklov (c. 1770 – May 22, 1839) was a Lithuanian Jewish Talmudist, one of a group of Talmudical scholars of Shklov who were attracted to Vilna by Rabbi Elijah ben Solomon Zalman, known as the Vilna Gaon (1720–9 ...
(1770–1839), a disciple of the Vilna Gaon and first published in Safed in 1836. It contains two sections, the basic laws, which are mostly adopted from Maimonides
Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah ...
, and a section of broader discussion called ''Beis Yisrael''.
*''Aruch Ha'Shulchan He'Atid'' is a compendium of halachot written by Rabbi Yechiel Michel Epstein
Yechiel Michel ha-Levi Epstein ( he, יחיאל מיכל הלוי אפשטיין)
(24 January 1829 – 25 March 1908), often called "the ''Aruch haShulchan''" after his magnum opus, Aruch HaShulchan, was a Rabbi and ''Posek'' (authority in Jew ...
of Novaradok (1829–1902), who also composed the standard Aruch HaShulchan
''Arukh HaShulchan'' (Hebrew: עָרוּךְ הַשֻּׁלְחָן r, arguably, עָרֹךְ הַשֻּׁלְחָן; see ''Title'' below is a work of halacha written by Yechiel Michel Epstein (1829–1908). The work attempts to be a clear, orga ...
. It was published posthumously in Jerusalem in 1938 and the first volume deals with the laws of Seder Zeraim.
*''Torat HaAretz'' is a work on the agricultural laws, authored by Rabbi Moshe Kliers of Tiberias
Tiberias ( ; he, טְבֶרְיָה, ; ar, طبريا, Ṭabariyyā) is an Israeli city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. A major Jewish center during Late Antiquity, it has been considered since the 16th century one of Judaism's Fo ...
, published in Jerusalem in 1928 (with a second edition published in 1972).
*''Mikdash David'' is the work of Rabbi David HaKohen Rappaport (1890–1942), a Torah scholar who was murdered in the Holocaust
The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...
and whose work contains a section pertaining to Seder Zeraim.
*''Chazon Ish'' is a wide-ranging work by Rabbi Avrohom Yeshaya Karelitz
Avraham Yeshaya Karelitz (7 November 1878 – 24 October 1953), also known as the Chazon Ish () after his magnum opus, was a Belarusian-born Orthodox rabbi who later became one of the leaders of Haredi Judaism in Israel, where he spent his f ...
covering a good part of the Mishnah and Talmud. Chazon Ish's writings on Seder Zeraim in particular have been influential in establishing contemporary halachah in Israel regarding agricultural matters. Chazon Ish's work on Seder Zeraim, including a section on Demai, was originally published in Bnei Brak
Bnei Brak or Bene Beraq ( he, בְּנֵי בְּרַק ) is a city located on the central Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean Israeli coastal plain, coastal plain in Israel, just east of Tel Aviv. A center of Haredi Judaism, Bnei Brak covers an are ...
in 1958.
*''Chidushim U'Veurim'' of Rabbi Moshe Feinstein
Moshe Feinstein ( he, משה פײַנשטיין; Lithuanian pronunciation: ''Moshe Faynshteyn''; en, Moses Feinstein; March 3, 1895 – March 23, 1986) was an American Orthodox rabbi, scholar, and ''posek'' (authority on ''halakha''—J ...
is an extensive work on the Jerusalem Talmud's tractate Demai and is published in the Machon Mutzal MeiEish edition of the Jerusalem Talmud.
*''Eretz HaBechirah'' is a multi-volume work on Seder Zeraim by Rabbi Yosef Tzvi Weiner of Jerusalem; the volume on tractate Demai was published in Jerusalem in 1998.
*''Emunas Eliezer'' is a commentary on the Mishna of tractate Demai by Rabbi Eliezer Ephraim Sherwinter, published in Fallsburg, NY in 2007.
*''Mishnas Avraham'' is a work on various tractates in Seder Zeraim by Rabbi Avraham HaLevi Stewart; the volume on Demai was published in Jerusalem in 2007.
*''Birkat Yisrael'' by Rabbi Yisrael Moshe Fried, in collaboration with others, was published in Jerusalem in 2008 as part of a volume containing a critical edition of the Jerusalem Talmud's tractate Demai with commentaries. In addition to its original comments, ''Birkat Yisrael'' cites many earlier works.
*''Kav VeNaki'' is a commentary as well as a section of insights to tractate Demai co-authored by Rabbi Yehudah Levi and Rabbi Gershon Metzger, published in Jerusalem in 2005.
Works that are of assistance interpreting the many botanical references in tractate Demai include the following:
*
* (monograph which identifies the plant names mentioned in the commentaries of the Rishonim).
* (Rabbi Yosef Kafich in his notes to Rambam's Commentary in Arabic identifies numerous species by their Latin equivalents)
Historical context
The contents of this tractate mostly reflect conditions in Judea
Judea or Judaea ( or ; from he, יהודה, Hebrew language#Modern Hebrew, Standard ''Yəhūda'', Tiberian vocalization, Tiberian ''Yehūḏā''; el, Ἰουδαία, ; la, Iūdaea) is an ancient, historic, Biblical Hebrew, contemporaneous L ...
and the Galilee during the second century C.E. and particularly the conditions in the Galilee after the Bar Kokhba revolt
The Bar Kokhba revolt ( he, , links=yes, ''Mereḏ Bar Kōḵḇāʾ''), or the 'Jewish Expedition' as the Romans named it ( la, Expeditio Judaica), was a rebellion by the Jews of the Judea (Roman province), Roman province of Judea, led b ...
(132–136 C.E.). Most of the Tannaim
''Tannaim'' ( Amoraic Hebrew: תנאים , singular , ''Tanna'' "repeaters", "teachers") were the rabbinic sages whose views are recorded in the Mishnah, from approximately 10–220 CE. The period of the ''Tannaim'', also referred to as the Mis ...
whose opinions are recorded in this tractate are from this period.[
The tractate contains data about the social life and institutions of the time and the social and commercial relations between the various segments of the population, such as the ''chaver'', the ''am haaretz'', employers and workers, and innkeepers and their guests. The Gemara in the Jerusalem Talmud indicates that there were inspectors who distinguished between produce that was properly tithed (''metukan'') and the ''demai'', and that there were also officers appointed to watch the sale of articles of food and keep the prices low.][
The Gemara also has considerable information about the produce of the ]Land of Israel
The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine (see also Isra ...
. Many names of fruits and vegetables, in addition to those mentioned in the Mishnah, are cited in the Gemara, along with information about the markets and names of places inside and outside the Land of Israel.[
]
References
External links
Full Hebrew and English text of the Mishnah for tractate Demai
on Sefaria
Full text of the Mishnah for tractate Demai (Hebrew)
{{Mishnah
Jewish agrarian laws
Jewish ethical law
Land of Israel laws in Judaism
Mishnah
Negative Mitzvoth
Positive Mitzvoth
Talmud
Tithes in Judaism