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Mishnah [1]
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The explanation of this mishnah requires certain preliminary premises that will become clear at various points in the Mishnah. Here, then, I will set them out concisely, and afterward I will explain this law.
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So I say: God's dues from a crop, after it has been harvested, threshed, and winnowed, are as follows. A portion of one-fiftieth is to be taken out from it and given to the priest; this is called *terumah gedolah*.
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Then, from what remains after that, a portion of one-tenth is taken out; this is called *ma'aser rishon* (the first tithe), and one gives it to the Levite.
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Then, from what remains after that, a tenth is taken out; this is called *ma'aser sheni* (the second tithe), and the law of it is that its owner brings it up and eats it in Jerusalem. If he cannot bring it up, he redeems it in his town and brings up that money to Jerusalem.
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Now if some other person redeems it, he pays only its value; but if its owner redeems it, he adds a fifth, on account of God's saying, *And if he will indeed redeem any of his tithe, a fifth thereof shall he add to it* (Lev 27:31). Likewise, one who consecrates anything—if he himself redeems that thing which he consecrated, he adds a fifth onto it, as all of this will be explained in its place and made clear.
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Then the Levite takes that tenth which was given to him and takes out from it a portion of one-tenth and gives it to the priest; this is *ma'aser min ha-ma'aser* (a tithe of the tithe). That portion which the Levite takes out is called *terumat ma'aser*.
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*Tevel* is the name of the thing from which not one of all these dues we have described has yet been taken out; it is a compound word, *tav lo* ("not yet fit"). *Demai* is the thing concerning which there is doubt as to whether the tithes have been taken out from it or not; it too is a compound word, *da mai* ("what is this?").
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We hold as a principle that one who comes to the standing grain before it has been threshed, and takes out from it *ma'aser rishon* before taking out *terumah gedolah*, and gives that tithe to the Levite—the Levite is not obligated to take out from that grain the portion of *terumah gedolah* that is contained in it; rather, he takes out only *terumat ma'aser*.
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But if one comes to the wheat after it has been threshed and winnowed—and let us say, for example, it was one hundred measures of wheat—and he takes from it ten measures and gives them to the Levite without having taken out *terumah gedolah*, then the Levite is obligated to take out from those ten measures the portion of *terumah gedolah* that is incumbent on them, which is one-fifth of a measure, and only then does he take out *terumat ma'aser* from what remains.
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It is also among our principles that *ma'aser sheni* may be redeemed only with a stamped coin, on account of God's saying regarding it, *and you shall bind up the money* (Deut 14:25), and the tradition came: "a thing that has a figure stamped upon it." But to redeem with a piece of silver or a piece of gold—no.
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Nor is it permitted to redeem *hekdesh* (consecrated property) with land; rather it is redeemed with movables. And as for redeeming *hekdesh* with a portion of its own value—that is not permitted. So bear all these principles in mind.
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And know that the Mishnah does not speak of declaring a thing forbidden where its prohibition is self-evident, nor of declaring a thing permitted where its permissibility is self-evident; rather, by "forbidding" it means something one might have imagined to be permitted, and by "permitting" it means something one might have imagined to be forbidden. As for matters that are self-evident, no discussion is made of them.
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One must always raise this objection—I mean, to ask: what has this mishnah taught us, if the matter is self-evident? After all this, hear now the explanation of this mishnah.
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It says that if one ate *demai*, or *ma'aser rishon* whose *terumah* had been taken , or one ate *ma'aser sheni* or *hekdesh* whose owners had already redeemed them (despite their not having given the fifth, but rather a debt remaining upon them);
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and the *shamash*—who is the attendant, despite his not being one of the number of those eating; and the *Kuti*—who is a type of those who have entered the religion, as we will explain elsewhere—it might have occurred to us that for all of these no *zimmun* is required, since they are not complete things in the utmost degree, as we mentioned. So it teaches us that *zimmun* is required for all of that.
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But if one ate *tevel*—even *tevel mi-de-rabbanan* (*tevel* by rabbinic ordinance), and *tevel mi-de-rabbanan* is the thing that grows in vessels filled with earth, for those dues we mentioned are not incumbent by the Torah except upon what grows in the ground, whereas what grows in vessels is liable to the dues only by rabbinic ordinance;
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or *ma'aser rishon* whose *terumah* had not been taken—he means by this that the portion of *terumah gedolah* in it was not taken out, as when *ma'aser rishon* was taken out before *terumah gedolah* while it was winnowed wheat;
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or *ma'aser sheni* and *hekdesh* that were not redeemed—he means by this that they were not redeemed as required, namely, that *ma'aser sheni* was redeemed with an unstamped coin, or that *hekdesh* was redeemed with land.
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And it is a principle with us that the gentile does not complete his entry into the religion and become like an Israelite except through three things: circumcision, immersion, and the bringing of a sacrifice. So his saying here "and the gentile" means: when he has entered the religion and been circumcised, but has not immersed. Now it might have occurred to us that for these things mentioned here, since each contains some portion of its completeness, *zimmun* would be permitted over them; so he informs us that since their requirements are not complete, as we mentioned, no *zimmun* is required over them.
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And he will describe after this what the meaning of *zimmun* is.
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Mishnah [2]
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The law is not according to R. Yehuda.
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And this that we said, "Minors are not included in the *zimmun*," applies when they do not understand the meaning of the blessing—that it is a glorification of God; but if they know to whom they are blessing, they are included in the *zimmun*.
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And women may form a *zimmun* by themselves.
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Mishnah [3]
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The wording of this mishnah, "[Whether there are] eleven or eleven myriads," is the view of R. Akiva. What comes after that, of the graduated scale, is the view of R. Yose ha-Gelili, who says that the blessing varies according to the size of the assembly.
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The decisive ruling is that from three men up to ten, one of them blesses, "Let us bless Him of whose bounty we have eaten," and all respond, "Blessed is He of whose bounty we have eaten and by whose goodness we live."
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And from ten up to no limit, one of them blesses, "Let us bless our God, of whose bounty we have eaten," and all respond, "Blessed is our God, of whose bounty we have eaten and by whose goodness we live." And the law is according to R. Yishmael.
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Mishnah [4]
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The reason for that is clear: that when they reach ten, one adds the wording of the blessing as we mentioned.
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Mishnah [5]
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*Ḥavurah* means a group. And his saying, "and if not, these form a *zimmun* by themselves and these form a *zimmun* by themselves," is on the condition that the two groups do not have a single attendant who serves them both; but if they have a single attendant, then even though they do not see one another, they join together for *zimmun*.
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And their drink was very strong, unfit for drinking until it was strongly mixed with water; for this reason it does not warrant that one bless over it "Who creates the fruit of the vine" according to R. Eliezer until it is mixed, since before that it is not wine, as it is unfit for drinking. And the law is not according to R. Eliezer.