Tithes in Judaism

The

The first record of tithing in the Bible appears in Genesis 14:20, where Abraham gave tithe to Melchizedek.^[5]

When starts the obligation

The obligation of separating the respected portions and giving them to the designated parties (priests, Levites and Israelites) applies to six years out of the seven-year cycle. With respect to the Second Tithe, it was permitted to redeem their value in money for a later time when the owner is able to buy therewith fruits in Jerusalem and to eat them there, within the walls of the city. Fruits and vegetables are exempt from tithing during the Seventh Year,^[6][7] but during the other six years, the obligation to tithe begins with the ripening of most fruits and when they are brought within the owner's house.^[8][9]

Under certain conditions, some harvested fruit and grain can still be eaten temporarily, without tithing.

If oil were to be pressed from the harvested olives, one may still temporarily make use of the oil that collects in the lower millstone and within the frails^[20] without tithing.^[13] Oil, however, that falls into the vat requires tithing before it can be consumed.^[13]

Terumah (Heave-offering)

This offering is sometimes called the priestly dues, as it is intended for the priests of Aaron's lineage. The first obligation that was incumbent upon an Israelite or Jew was to separate from his harvested grain, such as wheat, barley, or spelt, wine (including unpressed grapes) and oil (including unpressed olives) the one-fiftieth portion of these products^[21] (or one-fortieth, if he were a man of generosity; and one-sixtieth if he were stingy) and to give the same to a Kohen, a priest of Aaron's lineage, who, in turn, would eat such fruits in a state of ritual cleanness, in accordance with a biblical command, "...and let him not eat of the holy things, until he bathes his flesh in water. And when the sun goes down, he will be clean, and shall afterward eat of the holy things because it is his food".^[22]

The tractate

This obligation was contingent upon the fact that such fruits grew in the Land of Israel.^[24] Later, the Rabbis made it an obligation to do the same for all fruits and vegetables grown in the Land of Israel, and not only to such fruits as grain, grapes and olives.^[25]

After the

The first tithe is the gift of one tenth of the remaining agricultural produce to the

The Levites, also known as the Tribe of Levi, were descendants of Levi. They were assistants to the Aaronic priests (who were the children of Aaron and, therefore, a subset of the Tribe of Levi) and did not own or inherit a territorial patrimony.^[28] Their function in society was that of temple functionaries, teachers and trusted civil servants who supervised the weights and scales and witnessed agreements. The goods donated from the other Israelite tribes were their source of sustenance. They received from "all Israel" a tithe of food or livestock for support, and in turn would set aside a tenth portion of that tithe (known as the terumat hamaaser) for the priests.

The tractate Ma'aserot of the Mishna and of the Jerusalem Talmud formulates the Jewish religious law for the types of produce liable for tithing, as well as the circumstances and timing under which produce becomes obligated for tithing during each of the six years of the tithing cycle.^[29]

Second tithe

Unlike other offerings which were restricted to consumption within the

Today, with the absence of the Temple and ritual purity, the second tithe is no longer consumed in Jerusalem. Rather, the designated second tithe of fruits and vegetables is "redeemed" on a piece of money, and the money discarded.[33]^[34] Second tithe produce valued at one-hundred denarii can be redeemed on a perutah, and does not require redeeming its full monetary value.^[35][33] The second tithe then becomes no more than common produce, without any sanctity, and may be consumed by all.

Poor man's tithe

The poor man's tithe, also referred to as the pauper's tithe or the third tithe, is a triennial tithe of one's produce, required in

The law applies during the days of the Temple in Jerusalem, and after the Temple's destruction. It applies only to crops that are harvested in the Land of Israel, but during the seventh year, also applies to crops harvested in Jordan and Egypt, so that the poor of Israel would be supported in the seventh year.^[37]

Terumat maaser

Terumat hamaaser was given by the Levite to the Kohen, and was one-tenth of what the Levite had received of the first-tithe. It is alluded to in the Hebrew Bible under the words, "a tithe (tenth) of the tithe".^[38] It, too, was considered terumah, and was eaten by priests in a state of ritual cleanness. Today, the terumat maaser is discarded because of general uncleanness, just as the terumah is now discarded.

Demai

Demai (

Some fruits and vegetables are exempt from tithing altogether, such as when a gentile grew a crop on land that he purchased or owned in Israel, and made all necessary "final preparations" (גמר מלאכה‎) for the selling of such produce in the marketplace. Had an Israelite come along and purchased the produce from him, it is exempt from tithing.^[46][47] However, if an Israelite purchased fruits and vegetables from the gentile that were grown on the gentile's property, yet before the gentile could make "final preparations" for their selling in the marketplace, the Israelite who purchased the produce made all necessary final preparations himself (such as by pressing the grapes to make wine and removing from the wine casks the grape stems, peels and seeds), the produce would require tithing.^[46] Although the Israelite, in this case, is required to separate all tithes from such produce, he is not required to give to a Levite the First tithe, but may retain it himself, seeing that the produce belonged originally to a gentile who was not bound to give of his produce as a tithe to any man of the Hebrew nation.^[46][48][49]

Cattle tithe

An additional tithe mentioned in the

Ma'aser kesafim is a tithe that Jews give to charity (tzedakah), something that is done on a voluntary basis, as this practice has not been regulated in Jewish codes of law.^[51]

References