Sefer HaChinuch ספר החינוך

The commandment of the first tithe: That the Children of Israel were obligated to give one-tenth part of the seed of the Land to the Levites, as it is stated (Numbers 18:24), “For it is the tithes of the Children of Israel that they will give to the Lord that I give to the Levites as a gift.” And it is stated in the Order of Eem Bechukotai (Leviticus 27:30), “And all of the tithe of the Land, etc. it is for the Lord.” And that is what is called the first tithe (maaser rishon).

It is from the roots of the commandment [that] since God, may He be blessed, chose the tribe of Levi from among his brothers for His service in the Temple always, therefore it was from His kindness to them to give them their sustenance in an honorable way. As so is it proper for the servants of the King that their meals should be readied for them by others — that they should prepare it for them and that [the Levites] should not have to toil in anything besides the precious service of the King. And even though they were twelve tribes — and according to their equal portion, it would have been fitting that they take one twelfth part — this advantage to them is also for their glory. As since they are from the house of the King, it is fitting that their portion be more than all [the rest] of them. And it is a big advantage that the tenth part come to them free from all of the expenses of the land. And the blessing of God, may He be blessed, rests upon everything that belongs to the one who sustains the servants of God with his money. And this is what they, may their memory be blessed, said (Mishnah Avot 3:13), “Tithes are a safeguarding fence around wealth.” They, may their memory be blessed, also said (Taanit 9a) that it is forbidden for a person to think in his heart and say, “I will test if God does good to me [for] my involvement in His commandments”; and about that which is similar to this is it stated (Deuteronomy 6:16), “Do not test the Lord, your God” — except for in this commandment. As it is permitted to test if God will bless him [for] his doing it and [for] his being alacritous about it. And it is made explicit by the prophets, as it is stated (Malachi 3:10), “Bring the entire tithe into the storehouse, etc. and put Me to the test with it, said the Lord.”

From the laws of the commandment is that which they, may their memory be blessed, said (Yevamot 85b), that this tithe that is of the Levites is completely non-sacred (chullin) and [so] permissible for any man to eat — whether a Levite or whether an Israelite — and even in impurity, as it is stated (Numbers 18:27), “This shall be accounted to you as your gift.” [That is] to say that the tithe which is given as the tithe of Israel is for you “as the grain from the threshing floor or the flow from the vat.” And they, may their memory be blessed, expounded [that] just like the threshing floor and the vat are non-sacred for all purposes, so too is the first tithe that had its tithe taken non-sacred for all purposes. [And] the explanation of “that had its tithe taken” is meaning to say after the Levites skimmed a tithe from their tithe and gave it to the priests. That is what is called “its tithe.” And every place that it is stated about the tithe, “holy” or “redemption” is only about the second tithe. And they said in Sifrei that all that is food for people and guarded and its growth is from the earth is liable for the tithe and the priestly tithe (terumah). And they [derive] it from that which is written about the priestly tithe (Deuteronomy 18:4), “The beginning of your grain, etc.” As they, may their memory be blessed, expounded [that] just like grain, grapes and oil are food of people and its growth is from the earth and it has owners, as it is stated, “your grain.” So too all that is similar to them are liable for the tithe and the priestly tithe. But even though vegetables are food of people, they are not liable for the tithe except rabbinically; as about the tithe it states (Deuteronomy 14:22), “all the produce of your seed,” and vegetables are not called “produce.” But from the words of the Gemara that we rely upon more, it appears that also in all [other] fruits besides grain, grapes and oil, is there no liability for the tithe, except rabbinically. And [according to this,] the verse that was brought [as a prooftext] in the Sifrei was only a memory device (asmakhta). This is the conclusion in the beginning of the chapter [entitled] Hasokher et HaPoalim (Bava Metzia 88a) concerning that which Rav Pappa answered that the fig tree stood in the garden, but its branches leaned into the courtyard. However, Rambam, may his memory be blessed, wrote the opposite of this, and like he found [it] in the Sifrei. And so [too] from the topic of the commandment is that which they said that we do not separate the tithe of the new crop for the old crop, and not from the old for the new, not from that which is liable for that which is exempt and not from that which is exempt for that which is liable. And if one separated the tithe [like this], it is not [considered] a tithe. But we do take the tithe from that which is not encircled (close to the produce for which one is liable), even though it is not like this with the priestly tithe, as we only separate the priestly tithe from what is encircled. And nonetheless, with other things the tithe and the priestly tithe are the same; such that anything about which we say regarding the priestly tithe, “we do not take the priestly tithe,” but if one [took it], his priestly tithe is a [valid] priestly tithe — so [too,] with the tithe, if he separated it, his tithe is a [valid] tithe. And everything that is exempt from the priestly tithe is exempt for the tithe. And in the Order of Shoftim, we will write at greater length, with God’s help, and you can see it there. And so [too] from the topic of the commandment is that which they, may their memory be blessed, said that a person is only obligated to separate the tithe from Torah writ if he finished [the work] on his fruit to eat them for himself, but one who finished them to sell them in the marketplace is exempted, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 14:22), “You shall surely tithe, etc. and you shall eat.” And so [too,] one who buys [the produce] after its work has been completed — meaning to say it was put in the threshing floor by the seller — is exempt from Torah writ, but obligated from the words [of the Rabbis], as it is stated, “the produce of your seed,” meaning to say that the work was finished in your domain. And the obligation of the tithe does not rest on the fruits until they reach the time of the tithe, as it is stated (Leviticus 27:30), “from the seed of the land, from the fruit of the tree”; meaning to say until it becomes a fruit. And from here, they, may their memory be blessed, learned that the time of the tithe is from when the fruits reach [when they could] be seeded and grow. Everything is according to what [the specific] fruit is. How is this? Figs, from when they become soft such that they are ready to eat; apples and citrons from when they turn round. And so [too,] with each and every fruit, they established its time for the tithe. That is to say until this time that is established for them, we can eat as much as we need, as they are not in the category of the tithe at all. But after this time, it can only be eaten casually, until their threshing floor designates them for the tithe. And after their threshing floor has designated them for the tithe, it is forbidden to eat from them, even casually. And what is their threshing floor with regard to the tithe? Produce from when it is flattened, meaning to say that he flattens its top with a shovel, in the way that people do when they make it into a heap. And in the Talmud Yerushalmi Maasrot 1:4, we have found further that if his intention is not to flatten [it], it is a threshing floor for [the designation of] the tithe from when he sets up a pile from his produce. As the verse made it dependent on the threshing floor, and even without flattening, when his intention is not to flatten [it]. And even if he makes a threshing floor of it inside his house; even there, the threshing floor creates the designation for the tithe. And that which Rav Oshayah said, “A man may be crafty about his produce and bring it in with its chaff,” so as to exempt it from the tithe — and it is a set law, as we say in Tractate Berakhot 31a — that is speaking when he did not set up a pile inside his house, and so [too,] that he did not flatten it, but rather that he pounded it and winnowed it, little by little without flattening, and put it into the storehouse, little by little. This is what appears in this matter; and in this way, all of the discussions go up in one “stalk, healthy and well” (are all in agreement). And they, may their memory be blessed, said that the season of squash and watermelon and pumpkin is from when they are rubbed, meaning from when the thin hair that is upon them is removed; and the season of a basket of fruit is from when he covers the fruit inside of it with leaves and fronds. And so [too,] with each and every fruit, they established the time of its threshing floor, according to what it is — everything like it comes in Tractate Maasrot (Mishnah Maasrot 1:5). And I have also seen about the topic of designating the tithe by Torah writ that the opinion of some of the commentators is that there is never designation for the tithe from any angle until there is seeing the face of the house (that the produce enter the home), and also that the house be fit for it, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 26:13), “I have cleared out the consecrated from the house.” And that is when he brought it in through the gate, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 26:12), “and they shall eat in your gates and they shall be satiated.” But if he brought them in through the roofs or the enclosures, they are exempt from the tithe and the priestly tithe. And so did Rambam, may his memory be blessed, write (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Tithes 4:2), “It appears to me that we do not administer lashes from Torah writ for the eating of unseparated produce until they are designated by his bringing them into his house. But if it is designated with the other things that designate for the tithe, we do not administer lashes, besides [rabbinic] lashes of rebellion.” [This] and the rest of its details are elucidated in Tractate Maasrot. (See Tur, Yoreh Deah 338.)

And it is practiced by males and females, by Israelites and by priests and by Levites. As even though the priests and the Levites take the tithe from [the Israelites], they are [still] obligated to tithe their [own] fruits on their lands. And it stands in the prohibition of unseparated fruit until they tithe them, as it is stated (Numbers 18:28), “So shall you give, also you.” And the explanation upon it comes, “You” [is] the Levites; “also you” [is] to include the priests. But after they tithe them; if they want, they can eat the tithe themselves, or [they can] give it to a different priest. And this commandment of the tithe and also the commandment of the priestly tithe is only practiced in the Land of Israel by Torah writ — so did Rambam, may his memory be blessed, determine. And in the Order of Shoftim in the commandment of separating the great priestly tithe, we will elucidate more, with God’s help, the differences that there are in the tithe and in the priestly tithe between the Land of Israel and Syria or (other places) outside the Land. If it is your desire to know, my son, learn it from there.