3,534. Second Tithe Money That Gets Mixed Up With Secular Money

Hilchos Maaser Sheini and Neta Revai 6:1

Let’s say that both secular money and second tithe money get scattered. If the owner gathers from both sides, what he gathers is second tithe until he reaches the original amount of second tithe, and then the rest is secular. If he mixed the coins and grabbed a handful of them, or if he only gathered from one side, then he must calculate the proportions of the two types of coins. Therefore, let’s say that 200 second tithe coins and 100 secular coins got scattered. The owner mixes them and picks them up, but he only finds 270. In such a case, 180 are considered second tithe and 90 are considered secular. The general rule is that what’s gathered is considered second tithe; what’s mixed together is divided based on proportion. One who finds himself in such a situation should stipulate that if the coins in his hand are second tithe, then the rest are secular; if they’re secular, then the sanctity of the second tithe money is transferred to them, wherever those second tithe coins may be.

Hilchos Maaser Sheini and Neta Revai 6:2

If a sela of second tithe money gets mixed with a sela of secular money, one brings a sela’s worth of coins – even of copper coins – and declares that wherever the sela of second tithe is, its sanctity is transferred to those coins. He then chooses the more pristine of the two coins and transfers the sanctity from the copper to it. In this way, the superior sela becomes second tithe money.