the tithe that they received from the Israelite farmers and this was called terumat ma'aser ("offering of the tithe"), or ma’aser min hama’aser (tithe of the tithe). The Israelites, on the other hand, separated the terumah gedolah to be given to the priests before they separated a tenth of the produce to be given as tithe to the Levites. Both types of gifts come under the general term of terumah, which forms the theme of this tractate, but the terumah gedolah of the Israelite farmers comprises the main subject of discussion. The Torah does not specify the amount of terumah that must be given, and theoretically, even one single kernel of grain could suffice; thus the Mishna in this tractate establishes an amount, from one-fortieth to one-sixtieth of the gross product, depending on the circumstances and generosity of the individual farmer, with one-fiftieth being regarded as the average gift. The generally accepted measure is therefore one-fiftieth, and the Sages found an allusion to this amount in the term terumah as an acronym of the Aramaic words trei mi-meah ("two from a hundred") or 2%. The tractate deals with the details of many circumstances which could arise with regards to the terumah. Thus, for example, before the terumah is separated, all the produce is tevel (untithed) and forbidden to be eaten. Terumah is considered holy, and may be eaten by priests only, as prescribed in Leviticus 22:10, and must be guarded against becoming ritually unclean, lost or wasted, as interpreted from Numbers 18:8. The Mishna also considers what to do in cases where terumah became mixed with non-sacred food; if the ratio is less than one hundred times that of terumah, it determines that all of it becomes forbidden to non-priests. However, it is not necessary to give the mixture to the priest, rather it is sold to a priest at the price of terumah, which was fixed lower than ordinary produce, while deducting the value of the terumah mixed into it. If the ratio of non-sacred food exceeds one hundred-times than that of the terumah, a non-priest may eat it, after removing the quantity of the terumah that had fallen into it and giving it to the priest. Structure and content The tractate consists of eleven chapters and 101 paragraphs (mishnayot). It has a Gemara – rabbinical analysis of and commentary on the Mishnah – of 59 double-sided pages in