Chagigah, Chapter 3, Mishnah 4. Until now we have dealt with cases in which we are stricter with kodashim than with Terumah. In our Mishnah we will learn the opposite side: the cases in which we are actually stricter with Terumah than with kodashim.
The text of the Mishnah:
"Chomer b'terumah, sheb'Yehudah ne'emanin al taharas yayin v'shemen kol yemos hashanah" - There is a stringency in Terumah, for in the region of Yehudah, near Jerusalem, large quantities of wine and oil were used for the needs of kodashim. For this purpose even an am ha'aretz, who is generally not trusted in the laws of Terumah and maaser, is trusted when he says that this wine or this oil is designated for kodashim, and this applies all year round.
"Uvish'as hagitos v'habadim af l'terumah" - With regard to Terumah they are not trusted all year, but only during the season when the winepresses and olive presses are operating. For the custom was that even an am ha'aretz would purify himself at the time of producing the wine and oil, so that he would be able to separate the Terumah as required, and therefore during that period he is trusted even for Terumah.
The reason for the leniency regarding kodashim:
The care taken by amei ha'aretz: Amei ha'aretz are more careful when kodashim are involved, and therefore we are lenient with them throughout the entire year.
The concern that they will distance themselves from the Temple: If we begin not to trust amei ha'aretz in matters connected to the Beis HaMikdash, we may reach a situation in which they build a Temple of their own, and the like. For this reason we are more lenient in everything relating to kodashim and amei ha'aretz.
"Avru hagitos v'habadim, v'heivi lo chavis shel yayin shel terumah - lo yekablenah mimenu" - Once the season of harvesting and production has passed, the am ha'aretz is no longer trusted, and therefore if he brought a barrel of Terumah wine to a kohen, the kohen need not accept it from him. "Aval yachol" - He is permitted to hold on to it and leave it in his possession until the next production season, and during that season the am ha'aretz will once again be trusted and will be able to tell him that it is tahor.
"V'im amar lo: hifrashti l'sochah revi'is kodesh - ne'eman" - If the am ha'aretz told the kohen that he had separated within the barrel of Terumah a certain amount designated for kodashim, he is trusted regarding the entire barrel: since he is trusted regarding the kodesh, we trust him as well regarding the Terumah mixed together with it in that same barrel.
"Kadei yayin v'kadei shemen hamduma'os":
"Kadei yayin v'kadei shemen hamduma'os - ne'eman aleihem bish'as hagitos v'habadim, v'kodem lagitos shiv'im yom" - This refers to barrels full of wine or oil from which Terumah and maasros have not yet been separated, and which the am ha'aretz has been safeguarding for the needs of kodashim. Even though Terumah and maasros still need to be separated from them, the am ha'aretz is trusted regarding their purity during the season of the winepresses and olive presses, and once he has announced that they are designated to serve the needs of kodashim, he is trusted even seventy days before the winepress season, as part of the preparation for the production period.
The difference between the liquid and the vessel:
At the beginning of the Mishnah it was stated that in matters of kodashim amei ha'aretz are trusted all year long, but that ruling refers to the liquid itself - to the wine and to the oil. Our Mishnah adds a further point and deals with the barrels themselves: when the wine and oil are designated to serve the needs of kodashim, the am ha'aretz is trusted even regarding the barrels, and not only for the needs of kodashim but even for the needs of Terumah - during the production season and even seventy days before it.
In summary: In this Mishnah we learned the stringency of Terumah over kodashim: in Yehudah, amei ha'aretz are trusted regarding the purity of wine and oil for the needs of kodashim all year round, whereas for Terumah they are trusted only during the season of the winepresses and olive presses; once that season has passed, we do not accept a barrel of Terumah from them, but it may be left in their possession until the next production season; and if he separated within it a revi'is for kodesh, he is trusted regarding the entire barrel. We also learned that this trustworthiness extends even to the barrels of mixed produce, during the winepress season and seventy days before it.