Acronyms that contain the term demai 

Demai

Demai (Mishnaic Hebrew: דמאי) is a Halakhic term meaning "doubtful"; something which may still contain the elements of "things holy" when referring to agricultural produce, the owner of which was not trusted with regard to the correct separation of tithes, although the terumah (the part designated to priests) was believed to have been separated from such fruits. In such "dubious" cases, all that was necessary was to separate the one-tenth portion due to the priests from the First Tithe given to the Levites, being the 1/100th part of the whole. The Second Tithe is also removed (redeemed) from the fruit in such cases of doubt.The laws pertaining to Demai-produce only apply to produce grown in the Land of Israel, and to adjacent territories immediately outside the Land of Israel where produce grown in Israel was thought to have been taken. The law of separating the Demai-tithe was enacted by John Hyrcanus, in whose days the commoners of the people of Israel were considered faithful in separating the Terumah (heave-offering) from all agricultural produce, but were thought to have neglected the First tithe and the Second tithe.The Sages of Israel have mentioned certain fruits as being mostly exempt from tithing as Demai produce, owing to their nature of being taken generally from trees that grow in the wild, such as wild figs (Ficus carica), jujubes (Ziziphus spina-christi), hawthorns (Crataegus aronia), sycamore figs (Ficus sycomorus), windfall dates, capers (Capparis spinosa), and, in Judea, the sumach (Rhus coriaria).The tribe of Levi, having been excluded from participating in the division of the land, obtained as compensation a share in its produce. As the tribe included two elements, priests and Levites, the compensation was given in two forms: "terumah" (heave-offering) for the priests and "ma'aser" (tithes) for the Levites; and the Levites gave the tenth part of the tithe to the priests as "terumat ma'aser" (heave-offering of the tithe). In addition, a second tithe had to be separated from the produce in the first, second, fourth, and fifth years of the shemitah cycle. This tithe had to be taken to Jerusalem and consumed there, in accordance with certain regulations; while in the third and sixth years it was given to the poor. In the former case it was called "ma'aser sheni" (second tithe); in the latter "ma'asar 'ani" (the tithe for the poor). The produce of the seventh year was free from all these dues.

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