With regard to fruits and vegetables, there is a distinction between produce grown in the Land of Israel and produce grown elsewhere. All raw vegetables that grow outside Israel are permitted to be eaten, virtually without any concern for kashrut problems at all, other than the need to check certain vegetables for bugs, which will be discussed below.

The situation in Israel is different, as many commandments apply to produce that grows in the ground in Israel. As stated above, one must separate teruma and tithes from fruits and vegetables; the correct manner of this separation will be clarified below. In the case of fruits from a tree, one must make sure that the fruit is not orla, i.e., the fruit of a tree in its first three years of growth. Likewise, many problems of kashrut can arise in the Sabbatical Year, as detailed below. In Israel, it is recommended to purchase fruits and vegetables from a store that has proper kashrut supervision in order to avoid these kashrut complications.

As for cooked fruits and vegetables, they should be treated like all cooked foods, with regard to which the following kashrut matters can arise: cooking by gentiles; the status of the vessels used for cooking, and the various flavorings and additives used. All these issues will be dealt with below.

As stated, the obligation of teruma and tithes applies to fruits and vegetables that grow in the Land of Israel. Eating fruits and vegetables from which teruma and tithes have not been separated is prohibited. This is relevant even to consumers outside of Israel. If one purchases produce imported from Israel, one should ensure that it has a kashrut certification, or one should separate the teruma and tithes oneself.

One must distinguish between a situation in which it is known for certain that teruma and tithes have not been separated from the harvest (such produce is called tevel), and a case of uncertainty as to whether the requisite separations have been performed. In either case, one must set aside teruma and tithes. When there is a definite obligation to perform the separations, a blessing is recited beforehand. In a case of uncertainty, the separation is carried out without a blessing.

The process of the separation of teruma and tithes is somewhat complicated, but we will try to simplify it:

By Torah law, a Jew who lives in Israel must separate from the produce that he grew in his land certain portions for the priests and Levites, and another portion that he must bring to Jerusalem and eat there or give to a poor person, depending on the year. One must also pay special attention to the precise order of the separation.

Teruma gedola (literally, “the great offering”): When the Temple was still standing, approximately two percent of the crop was set aside and given to the priests. This portion, which is called teruma gedola, is sacred, and it was permitted to be eaten only by priests and their families, and even they could eat it only if they and the food were both in a state of ritual purity. Nowadays, when attaining ritual purity is not possible, teruma gedola may not be eaten, even by priests, so the produce that is separated as teruma is ultimately disposed of. For this reason, nowadays there is no need to be strict about the amount of two percent, which was established by the Sages in the time of the Temple, but rather one separates a minute amount for teruma gedola, in accordance with the basic requirement of Torah law. The separated produce should be not be destroyed directly, but should be set aside to rot of its own accord, or it should be wrapped respectfully in a plastic bag and thrown away in a trash bin.

The first tithe: After teruma, ten percent of the remainder of the produce is set aside and given as a gift to a Levite. This is called the first tithe. It is not considered a sacred food, and may be eaten by anyone.

The teruma of the tithe: The Levite is required to set aside ten percent of the tithe that he has received, and give it to a priest. This portion, amounting to one percent of all the produce, is called “the teruma of the tithe” and it, like teruma gedola, is sacred, and may be eaten only by priests in a state of purity.

Nowadays, the first tithe is not given to a Levite, but rather it is separated and left in the possession of the owner of the produce. By contrast, the teruma of the tithe must be treated like teruma gedola.

The practical implication of the above is that one must physically set aside slightly more than one percent of his produce. The one percent is the teruma of the tithe, while the additional minute portion is teruma gedola. This produce may not be eaten, but must be left to rot or discarded respectfully, as explained earlier.

Second tithe or the poor man’s tithe: Afterward, one must set aside a third portion, which is either “the second tithe” or “the poor man’s tithe.” The status of this portion, which is ten percent of the remainder of the produce, varies in accordance with the cycle of the Sabbatical Year. In the first, second, fourth, and fifth years of the Sabbatical Year cycle, this third portion is designated as the second tithe. In the third and sixth years, it is designated as the poor man’s tithe.

The poor man’s tithe is meant to be given to the poor. This is only if it is known for certain that the produce has not been tithed before; in cases of doubt, the owner of the produce may keep the tithe for himself. As for the second tithe, it is desacralized by redeeming it onto a coin, as detailed below.

The total amount of separated produce in Temple times was therefore slightly more than twenty percent of the entire crop. In practice, nowadays one removes only a little more than one percent (aside from the poor man’s tithe when relevant). This amount comprises teruma gedola (one percent) and teruma of the tithe (a minute amount), the only portions that may not be eaten.

The obligation to bring second tithe produce to Jerusalem and to eat it there in a state of holiness and purity applied during the time of the Temple. In those days, if it was too difficult to transport that produce to Jerusalem, one was permitted to redeem the tithe onto money, which was then brought to Jerusalem and used to purchase food. This food assumed the sanctity of second tithe and had to be eaten in Jerusalem in a state of ritual purity.

One may partake of the second tithe in Jerusalem only when the Temple is standing. Now that the Temple has been destroyed, it is no longer permitted to eat second tithe produce, and the only remaining option is to redeem it and transfer its sanctity onto a coin. This money can no longer serve its original purpose of purchasing food in Jerusalem to eat in purity, so it retains its status of sanctity; see below for what one should do with it. For this reason, it is permissible nowadays to use for redemption a coin that is only a small fraction of the actual value of the tithe.

The separation of teruma and tithes is an act that almost every person in Israel might have to perform at some point, and therefore it became necessary to formulate a fixed text and a standard procedure for the separation.

The procedure is as follows: One takes slightly more than one-hundredth (one percent) of each kind of produce from which one wishes to separate teruma, and puts it aside.

If one is dealing with produce about which it is known with certainty that terumot and tithes have not already been separated, one must recite a blessing before reading the text of the separation. In a case of uncertainty, one does not recite the blessing, but only the formula of separation itself. The blessing is as follows:

“Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who sanctified us through His mitzvot, and commanded us to separate terumot and tithes.”

Then one recites the text of the separation: “The part that is more than one-hundredth that is here (in the small portion that has been placed to the side) is hereby teruma gedola, on the northernmost side (of that small portion).

“The remaining one-hundredth which is here, and another nine equal parts on the northernmost side of the (main pile of) produce, is hereby the first tithe. That one-hundredth (in the small, set-aside portion) which I previously made first tithe shall hereby be teruma of the tithe.

“And the poor man’s tithe is hereby on the southernmost side (of the main pile). And if it is the second tithe that is required, the second tithe is hereby on the southernmost side.” (The usage of the terms “northernmost side” and “southernmost side” is to have a uniform text for the declaration. In principle, one could separate the teruma and tithes from any side.)

If one knows for certain which tithe he is required to separate, the second tithe or the poor man’s tithe, one mentions only that tithe.

If the produce is subject to the second tithe, one must redeem the produce of the second tithe that he has designated as being on the southernmost side.

One takes a coin and designates it for this purpose. If one knows for certain that the produce is subject to the second tithe, he recites a blessing before the redemption:

“Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who sanctified us through His commandments, and commanded us concerning the redemption of the second tithe.”

Afterward, one recites the formula of the redemption of the tithe onto a coin: “And it (the second tithe) and its [requisite addition of one] fifth are hereby desacralized onto a peruta within the coin that I have designated for the desacralization of second tithe.”

If one is performing a one-time separation, one may desacralize the second tithe on a ten agora coin in Israel, for example, and then destroy it by beating it with a hammer or with pliers, in such a manner that prevents its further use.

One who expects to be separating teruma and tithes on a more frequent basis should set aside for this purpose a coin of a larger denomination, which may be used for many redemptions. Thus, if, for argument’s sake, the value of a peruta is ten agorot, one can use a five-shekel coin to be used for redemption fifty times. When the value of the coin has been fully used up, one desacralizes it onto a smaller coin, which is subsequently destroyed. It is also possible to desacralize the coin onto food, for example, a tablespoon of sugar, and then dissolve the sugar in the sink.

The fruits of a tree that grew in the fourth year after the tree was planted are called neta reva’i and have the same halakhic status as second tithe produce. That is, they may not be eaten before they are desacralized onto a coin.

The procedure for this desacralization is as follows: One takes a coin and says: “The fourth-year produce that is here, and its [requisite addition of one] fifth are hereby desacralized onto a peruta within the coin that I have designated for the desacralization of fourth-year fruit.”

For fruits grown in Israel, if one is certain that the fruit in question grew in the tree’s fourth year, a blessing is recited before the redemption:

“Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who sanctified us through His commandments, and commanded us to redeem [the fruits of] a fourth-year sapling.”

In order to avoid the need to keep in one’s house a collection of coins for the desacralization of second tithe and neta reva’i and to have to deal with the destruction of the coins, there are several “tithe foundations” in Israel, known as Keren Ma’asrot, which handle all the requirements of the coins for their subscribers, so that they merely have to recite the above formula (with some minor adjustments).

After reciting the text, one takes the produce that he had placed to one side and leaves it out to rot, or respectfully wraps it in a plastic bag and discards it in the garbage.

One who wishes to avoid having to perform the separation of tithes himself should buy his fruits and vegetables only from a store that is under the supervision of a recognized and certified kashrut body that performs all the requirements of teruma and tithes for the produce that they sell.

In the fourth year of the Sabbatical Year cycle, each person must dispose of the tithes of the first, second, and third years of the cycle that are still in his possession and have not been transferred to their proper place. Likewise, in the Sabbatical Year, one must dispose of the tithes of the fourth, fifth, and sixth years. This disposal is performed on the day before Passover, or on the sixth day of Passover.

This disposal is achieved by separating all the requisite portions that have not yet been separated, and appropriately dispersing any remaining teruma or tithes in one’s possession. On a practical level, for most people this simply means destroying any second tithe coins one may have in his possession.

If one is subscribed to a Keren Ma’asrot all of these activities are performed by the management of the foundation.

After performing these actions, some have the custom to read the following verses, which describe the disposal of the tithes and the related “confession” that was recited in the Temple:

“When you finish tithing all the tithes of your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, and you have given it to the Levite, to the stranger, to the orphan, and to the widow, and they ate within your gates, and were satisfied. You shall say before the Lord your God: I have disposed of the consecrated from my house, and also I gave them to the Levite, and to the stranger, to the orphan, and to the widow, in accordance with all Your commandment that You commanded me; I did not violate any of Your commandments, and I did not forget. I did not eat from it during my mourning, and I did not dispose of it in a state of impurity, and I did not give from it for the dead; I heeded the voice of the Lord my God, I have acted in accordance with everything that You commanded me. Look from Your holy abode, from the heavens, and bless Your people Israel, and the land that You gave us, as You took an oath to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey” (Deuteronomy 26:12–15).