Introduction Our mishnah contains several disputes between Beth Shammai and Beth Hillel with regards to the status of the fruit of a vineyard in its fourth year, which according to Leviticus 19:24 must be “set aside”. The Rabbis teach that this fruit is similar to second tithe and that both may be consumed by their owners only in Jerusalem. In our mishnah Beth Shammai says that despite some similarities to second tithe there are some key differences. Beth Hillel teaches that they are completely the same.
A vineyard of the fourth year Beth Shammai says: it is not subject to the law of the fifth nor to the law of removal. And Beth Hillel says: it is subject to the law of the fifth and to the law of removal. The fruit of a vineyard in its fourth year is treated similar to second tithe. Both must be brought to Jerusalem and consumed there. If it is too far or too difficult to carry the actual fruit to Jerusalem one may redeem it for money and bring the money to Jerusalem and use it to buy food there. When second tithe is redeemed for money, a person must add one-fifth the value of the produce being redeemed. According to Beth Shammai, when one redeems the fruit of fourth year vineyard he does not need to add the fifth. According to Beth Hillel he does, just as he does with second tithe. Before Passover on the fourth and seventh years of a seven year (shmittah) cycle, one must remove all of the tithes from one’s house. This is called the “law of removal”. According to Beth Shammai the law does not apply to the removal of the fruit of a fourth year vineyard. According to Beth Hillel it does.
Beth Shammai says: it is subject to the law of fallen grapes and to the law of gleanings, and the poor redeem them for themselves. And Beth Hillel says: all of it goes to the winepress. According to Leviticus 19:10 one is not allowed to pick bare the fruit of a vineyard nor collect the fallen fruit. Rather these must be left for the poor. According to Beth Shammai these rules still apply for the fourth year vineyard. When the poor person has collected his share, he must redeem it himself and bring the money to Jerusalem and use it there to buy food. According to Beth Hillel fourth year produce is not subject to the laws of what must be left to the poor. Just as second tithe is not subject to the laws of what must be left for the poor, so too fourth year produce is not.