In describing the laws of teruma, the Torah refers only to grains, wine, and olive oil.[1] The Rambam[2] maintains that these are just examples of vegetation that are eaten by people. In truth, all edible species of vegetation that a field’s owner would protect require teruma to be taken. In contrast, Rashi[3] and the Ra’avad[4] say that other than the aforementioned crops, teruma on other foods that grow is only Rabbinic. In any case, fruits and vegetables that grow in the Jewish-owned ground of Eretz Yisrael require teruma on some level.[5]
The question, though, is whether spices are considered foods in this regard. The gemara,[6] in distinguishing between different levels of teruma obligations, says that teruma on tavlin (spices) is Rabbinic. Thus, it appears that while teruma on spices is not derived from the Torah, there is a practical requirement nonetheless. Indeed, many classical sources indicate this. For example, there is a correlation between whether something is considered a food in regard to being susceptible to food tumah[7] and whether it requires teruma,[8] and spices are susceptible to tumah.[9]
The gemara[10] says that one who chews the type of pepper that is used as a spice (pilpeli) does not fully[11] violate the prohibition of eating on Yom Kippur, implying that it is not a food. However, the gemara cites a source that indicates that the prohibition of orla applies to pilpeli, implying that it is a food, and distinguishes between different types of pilpeli. Tosafot[12] points out that the qualification for the laws of orla is parallel to the qualification for the laws of teruma. In order to reconcile the various sources with each other, Tosafot distinguishes between different types of spices. One category consists of foods such as onions, which are sometimes eaten as an independent food (or a main element of a food[13]) in addition to being used as a spice. These are considered foods to which orla, teruma, and tumah apply. Spices that are used only for spicing and are not eaten independently are exempt from those halachic obligations.
This approach also works well within the view of the Rambam. On the one hand, he does not mention as a general rule that there is teruma for tavlin. On the other hand, he mentions the obligation in the context of a few spices, including onions.[14] In the Laws of Ma’aser Sheni,[15] he says that products that are grown only for their color, their smell, or their taste cannot be bought with the money of ma’aser sheni, which has to be spent on things that “are the food of humans,”[16] and this is the requirement for teruma, as well.[17] The list of those nonfoods includes pilpeli, which one does not eat separately.
Several Acharonim cite and seem to accept Tosafot’s distinction, including the Chatam Sofer,[18] Igrot Moshe,[19] and Shevet HaLevi.[20] Therefore, it appears that spices that are used only to give a taste and not to be eaten as a food do not require teruma. (Rav Mordechai Eliyahu holds that if the spices are grown purposely to be used as a spice, they require teruma in any case.) In particular, since mint leaves are used as a food nowadays, for example in salads, they do require teruma. (This response does not go into such factors as whether the vegetation grows directly in the ground or in a pot and whether it is grown indoors or outdoors, which are beyond our present scope.)