[Avodah] shmitta

[Zev Sero]

Ilana Sober wrote:
> RZS: Who says we're dealing with tevel?  We have no idea where the produce
> comes from, or what if anything's been taken from it.  It's demai, not
> tevel.
> 
> I think demai is where we know they took terumah, which they take seriously,
> but suspect they did not take ma'asrot?

The amei haaretz in the time that masechet Demai is discussing were
trusted to take terumah gedolah, but not terumat maaser (because they
didn't realise they had to).  The result, though, is the same as if they
weren't trusted to take anything; the produce has to be treated as
safek tevel.  The only difference is that nowadays we have to take not
just 1% for terumat maaser (and 9% for maaser sheni/ani to be redeemed),
but a tiny bit more for terumah gedolah.  (In those days, of course,
terumah gedolah was approximately 2%, but nowadays we only take a
mashehu.)

-- 
Zev Sero               Something has gone seriously awry with this Court's
zev at sero.name          interpretation of the Constitution.
                       	                          - Clarence Thomas