3,449. One Who Decides to Become Trustworthy Regarding Tithes

Hilchos Maaser 9:13

Let’s say that two people harvested their vineyards into the same vat and one of them is considered untrustworthy regarding tithes. Even though the one who is trustworthy already tithed his grapes, when he takes his share of wine, he must take tithes as a person does for demai in order to account for the unlearned person’s share. For example, let’s say that each contributed equally to the vat. If he takes 200 log as his share, he takes one log as terumas maaser and ten log as second tithe for his partner’s 100 log. This is because he already took tithes for the produce that was definitely not tithed for his half of the total. If the trustworthy person’s contribution was a one-third or one-quarter of the total, he takes tithes based on the appropriate ratios.

Hilchos Maaser 10:1

If someone decides to become trustworthy regarding tithes so that his produce won’t be demai, he must tithe what he eats, what he sells and what he buys, and he may not be the guest of an unlearned person. This commitment must be made publicly. If reliable witnesses confirm that he publicly made such a commitment and abides by it, he is considered trustworthy if he claims that his produce has been tithed.