Ma'aser ani
The third and sixth years of the shemitah cycle are ma’aser ani years, during which ma’aser is separated to be given to the poor.
In the current shemitah cycle:
The year 5785 is the third year.
The year 5788 is the sixth year.
The year 5789 is a shemitah year.
Vegetables that were picked in a ma’aser ani year (i.e. from Rosh Hashanah 5785 until Rosh Hashanah 5786) belong to a ma’aser ani year, even if they grew before Rosh Hashanah. Likewise, fruit whose chanatah (the beginning phase of the fruit’s development, shortly after the tree blossoms) occurs after Tu BiShevat of a ma’aser ani year, belongs to the ma’aser ani year.
Fruits and vegetables from which terumos and ma’asros have definitely not been separated are known as tevel vadai. (For example, fruits or vegetables that grew in your own garden or in a friend’s garden, or that you picked yourself on a farm.)
Tevel vadai from a ma’aser ani year requires that you not only separate ma’aser ani but also that you actually distribute it to the poor, because the produce set aside during the separation belongs to the poor.
Produce that is purchased in stores or markets without a reliable hechsher are not considered tevel vadai, but safek tevel (there is a doubt as to whether they are tevel). With this type of produce, one is obligated to separate ma’aser ani — i.e. he must designate part of the produce as ma’aser ani by separating more than 1% and reciting the nusach that designates the location and amount that has been set aside for ma’aser ani, but he is not required to give the ma’aser ani to the poor [because of the rule of “hamotzi mi’chaveiro alav ha’ra’ayah,” according to which the burden of proof is on the poor person, who must prove that ma’aser ani was not separated from the produce.]
Similarly, those who are stringent to separate terumos and ma’asros from all produce, even that which was sold under a reliable hechsher, must separate ma’aser ani as well.
Keren HaMa’asros Assists with the Distribution of Ma’aser Ani
In the past, people would give their ma’aser ani produce directly to the poor, but nowadays, most poor people prefer money to fruits and vegetables, and the common practice is to give the poor person the monetary value of the produce.
Keren HaMa’asros, under the auspices of Beis Midrash L’Halachah B’Hisyashvus, offers an arrangement that enables you to fulfill the requirement of ma’aser ani. Through the Beis Midrash, produce owners transfer the monetary value of the ma’aser ani produce to Rav Shaul Reichenberg shlit”a, who oversees Keren HaMa’asros and also serves as a gabbai tzedakah. Rav Reichenberg then distributes the money to the poor on behalf of the produce owners. [A similar arrangement can be made with a gabbai tzedakah of your choice in any location.]
Please note that the standard Keren HaMa’asros membership does not include an arrangement for the distribution of ma’aser ani to the poor. Those who would like to distribute ma’aser ani via Keren HaMa’asros must follow the procedure outlined below.
How Are Ma’aser Ani Funds Distributed?
Estimate the monetary value of the ma’aser ani that will accumulate over the course of the year by calculating a tenth of the total weight of the produce that will be in the owner’s possession, multiplied by the market value per kilogram.
For example: If the owner has a tree from which he expects to pick 10 kilos of fruit throughout the year, and the going price of the fruit is 8 shekel a kilo, the total worth of the produce is 80 shekel. He must therefore distribute 8 shekel to the poor, which is the value of the ma’aser ani. If it is difficult for him to calculate the exact amount, he can overestimate.
This amount is then transferred to the Beis Midrash, and one of the following two methods are selected:
Method 1: The money is transferred to the Beis Midrash as a deposit that belongs to the owner even after it was given to the gabbai. Over the course of the year, the gabbai will transfer the money to the poor in place of the ma’aser ani that the produce owner separates.
Method 2: Via the Beis Midrash, the produce owner transfers the money as a loan to Rav Shaul Reichenberg, who acts as a gabbai tzedakah and distributes the money to the poor. The gabbai repays the loan by having the produce owner acquire ma’aser ani produce on his behalf throughout the year. The produce owner then keeps the produce, as repayment of the loan. In other words, the value of the produce is deducted from the debt, so that the money remains in the hands of the poor and the produce owner keeps the ma’aser ani produce.
The first method is simpler, but the second method is halachically preferable and more mehudar, because ownership of the ma’aser ani produce is actually transferred to the gabbai tzedakah who represents the poor, and only afterwards is the produce returned to the owner as repayment of the loan. In the first method, the poor person does not take ownership of the fruit but only of the fruit’s monetary value.
It is important to make sure that the cumulative value of the ma’aser ani produce does not exceed the sum that was transferred to the Beis Midrash. If, over the course of the year, it becomes apparent that the value of the ma’aser ani is greater than the sum that was transferred, its value should be recalculated, and the difference should be transferred to the Beis Midrash.
Those who give ma’aser rishon from tevel vadai to a Levi nowadays, can do so according to one of these two methods for distributing ma’aser ani. Add another 10% of the value of the produce (a total of 20%) and indicate that the sum is for both the poor and the Leviim.
Guidelines for Separating Terumos and Ma’asros in a Ma’aser Ani Year
Separating terumos and ma’asros from safek tevel — see section A
Separating terumos and ma’asros from tevel vadai in a ma’aser ani year — see section B
Separating terumos and ma’asros from tevel vadai in a ma’aser ani year in the most mehudar way — see section C
Occasional separation of terumos and ma’asros from tevel vadai — see section D
A. Separating Terumos and Ma’asros from Safek Tevel
Separate a little more than 1% of the produce for terumah gedolah and terumas ma’aser.
Recite the nusach for separating terumos and ma’asros (either the long or short nusach), which states that if the produce requires ma’aser ani, this ma’aser will be on the south side of the produce (of the entirety of the produce, not of the part which was separated).
Throughout the ma’aser ani year, there is produce on the market from the previous year (i.e. a ma’aser sheini year) as well, and one who is not an expert will find it difficult to determine which year the produce is from. In addition, opinions differ as to exactly how to determine which year produce belongs to, so even during a ma’aser ani year, the entire nusach should be recited, including the separation of ma’aser sheini and its redemption on a coin.
Completely wrap the separated more-than-1% of the produce and place it in the garbage. The remainder of the produce may now be eaten.
B. Separating Terumos and Ma’asros from Tevel Vadai in a Ma’aser Ani Year
At the beginning of the ma’aser ani year, transfer to the Beis Midrash a sum of money estimated to be the cumulative monetary value of your ma’aser ani for the entire year. Indicate that the sum is being sent as a deposit.
The money can be transferred in one of the following ways: Credit card, by calling 02-648-8888; via Nedarim Plus; or by mailing a check made out to Beis Midrash L’Halachah B’Hisyashvus.
The Beis Midrash will send you a receipt confirming that the money was received, and from that point on you can separate terumos and ma’asros. The Beis Midrash will keep the money as a deposit and distribute it to the poor throughout the year.
Procedure for Separating Terumos and Ma’asros:
- Separate a little more than 1% of the produce.
- Recite the blessing: “Baruch…l’hafrish terumos u’ma’asros,” and then say the nusach, which states that if the produce requires ma’aser ani, that ma’aser will be on the south side of the produce (of the entirety of the produce, not of the part which was separated).
Recite the whole nusach, including the separation of ma’aser sheini and its redemption on a coin, without a blessing.
Although the produce is tevel that belongs to a ma’aser ani year, in order to avoid any possible errors or halachic doubts, it is always advisable to designate ma’aser sheini as well.
- Completely wrap the separated more-than-1% of the produce and place it in the garbage. The remainder of the produce may now be eaten.
C. Separating Terumos and Ma’asros from Tevel Vadai in a Ma’aser Ani Year — in the most mehudar way
When transferring the estimated monetary value of the entire year’s worth of ma’aser ani, indicate that the money is a loan for the poor.
After receiving confirmation that the Beis Midrash received the money, you can separate terumos and ma’asros all year long.
The gabbai tzedakah, who functions as an extension of the poor person, will return the loan to the produce owner by deducting the monetary value of the ma’aser ani produce (that was acquired on his behalf) from the amount of the loan that he received.
Procedure for Separating Terumos and Ma’asros:
The procedure for separating terumos and ma’asros is the same as above (see section B), but after reciting the entire nusach, a kinyan (acquisition) is made on behalf of the poor, as follows:
Ask a neighbor or other individual who is not a member of the produce owner’s household, to lift the produce containing the ma’aser ani (without the more-than-1% that was set aside). When he lifts the produce, he should say, “With this lifting, I have intention to acquire the ma’aser ani in this produce on behalf of the gabbai tzedakah Rav Shaul Reichenberg shlit”a, for the benefit of the poor.”
Important Notes:
● If it is difficult to make a kinyan (acquisition) every time terumos and ma’asros are separated, one may resolve that all of the estimated ma’aser ani for the year will be given to the poor via the gabbai tzedakah Rav Reichenberg. The first three times that ma’aser ani is separated after the loan is transferred to the Beis Midrash, make the kinyan as described above.
From the fourth time on, separate terumos and ma’asros as usual, without making a kinyan, and the ma’aser ani produce can be eaten on the basis of the loan that the produce owner gave for the poor, without making a kinyan, because it has already been established that the produce is automatically acquired by Rav Shaul Reichenberg shlit”a, who represents the poor.
● As previously noted, the cumulative value of the ma’aser ani produce must not exceed the sum that is transferred to the Beis Midrash.
● If it turns out that the value of the ma’aser ani is greater than was anticipated at the beginning of the year, the lender (i.e. the produce owner) can transfer an additional loan to the Beis Midrash. If it turns out that the value of the ma’aser ani is less than was anticipated at the beginning of the year, the extra funds will not be returned to the lender. (These are the halachic conditions of the loan.)
D. Occasional Separation of Terumos and Ma’asros from Tevel Vadai
Occasional Separation:
If you need to separate terumos and ma’asros from tevel vadai only on rare occasions, follow this procedure: When the need arises, separate terumos and ma’asros as usual and then send the Beis Midrash the monetary value of the ma’aser ani (approximately 10% of the monetary value of all the produce). Indicate that the money is for a one-time separation of ma’aser ani.
Occasional Separation — in the most mehudar way:
If you need to separate terumos and ma’asros from tevel vadai only on rare occasions, and you wish to give ma’aser ani in the most mehudar and halachically preferable way, follow this procedure: After reciting the blessing and the nusach for separating terumos and ma’asros, ask someone who is not a member of your household to lift the remaining produce (without the more-than-1% that was separated) and recite the following nusach: “With this lifting, I have intention to acquire the ma’aser ani in this produce on behalf of the gabbai tzedakah Rav Shaul Reichenberg shlit”a, for the benefit of the poor.”
By doing so, the produce owner acquires the ma’aser ani for himself by transferring the value of the ma’aser ani to the Beis Midrash using one of the methods listed above and indicating that the money is for a one-time separation of ma’aser ani. These acquisitions are made with the agreement of Rav Shaul Reichenberg shlit”a.
