Can you redeem ma'aser sheni using a $5 bill — even though burning it will enrich your countrymen?

Question

It's not so easy to mint coins. Canadian law says: If you want to destroy money, then burn banknotes. Don't destroy metal coins.

In fact, in Canada, it is legal to burn banknotes. (Note: In the U.S., it's illegal.)

A) Most people redeem ma'aser sheni (second tithe) using a coin. If you purchase imported Israeli produce, are you allowed to redeem ma'aser sheni using a banknote — even though a banknote is not a coin?

B) The Wikipedia article "Burning money" says that burning paper money helps control inflation. (Destroying coins might be different.) If you burn a $5 bill, you will increase the collective wealth of your fellow countrymen by about $5. Will you have fulfilled the commandment of bi'ur ma'asrot even though you've just enriched your countrymen?

_{Warning: If you want to burn the new Canadian plastic banknotes, consult a doctor first. Ask about the health effects of the fumes which will result.}

_{Note: The vast majority of people who answer questions here are educated laypeople, not rabbis. In matters as complex as this, don't rely on laypeople. Instead, ask a local Orthodox rabbi, for many reasons.}

Answer 1

A) One can only redeem Ma'aser Sheini on coins - that is well codified, starting with the Mishna, all the way through to the Shulchan Aruch.

Bank notes are not coins, and do not qualify.

To quote the Rambam in הלכות מעשר שני ונטע רבעי פרק ד:

ט) אין פודין פירות מעשר אלא בכסף, שנאמר "וצרת הכסף" (דברים יד,כה); וכן אם פדה לעצמו והוסיף חומש, לא יהיה החומש אלא כסף כקרן. ו*אין פודין בכסף שאינו מטבע*, אלא בכסף מרותח שיש עליו צורה או כתב; ואם פדה בלשון של כסף וכיוצא בו, הוא הנקרא אסימון--לא עשה כלום. ואין פודין בפחות מפרוטה, מפני שהוא כפודה באסימון.

For an English translation, see Halacha 9 here.

B) This question becomes irrelevant, as you cannot redeem Ma'aser Sheini onto paper money.

Answer 2

You can take out the five dollar bill from your bank account. Due to the reserve ratio, every 5 dollars in the bank is 50 dollars the bank may lend out. So by removing 5 dollar, you are affecting inflation by 50 dollars. You can then transfer your maaser sheni to the 5 dollar bill and burn it. Although burning it will reduce the money supply, cause deflation, and enrich your countrymen, 1) Its removal from the bank will have produced nine times the opposite effect. 2) The countrymen will each have been enriched by less than a peruta. The enrichment is thus not halachically significant.