Poor man's tithe: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 22:14, 11 June 2019

Revision as of 19:26, 10 July 2019

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The '''poor tithe''', or '''poor man's tithe''' ([[Hebrew]]: {{Hebrew|מַעְשַׂר עָנִי}} ''ma'sar<!--"ma'sar"–(NO double “a” – the ע has a Shva, not a ḥaṭaf pataḥ) as in וְכָל-מַעְשַׂר הָאָרֶץ (Lev. 27:30)--> ani''), also referred to as the '''pauper's tithe''' or the '''third tithe''', reflects an obligation to set aside one tenth of produce grown in the third and sixth years of the seven-year [[Sabbatical year (Bible)|sabbatical]] cycle for the benefit of the [[Levites]] and the poor, inboth, during the days of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]], and after the Temple's destruction.<ref>Sirach, scrolls, and sages'' p185 ed. T. Muraoka, John F. Elwolde - 1999 "and honouring God was expressed, ''inter alia'', by paying one's dues to the priesthood and by setting aside the 'pauper's tithe'"</ref> The commandment to give the ''poor man's tithe'' applies only to those crops that are harvested in the Land of Israel, but during the [[Shmita|Seventh Year]], also applies to those crops harvested in Jordan and Egypt, so that the poor of Israel might be stayed thereby in the Seventh Year.<ref>[[Mishnah]] (''[[Yadayim]]'' 4:3</ref>

[[File:Grapes and barley.jpg|thumb|Grapes and barley]]

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:At the end of three years you shall bring forth all the tithe of your produce in that year, and shall lay it up inside your gates; And the Levite, because he has no part nor inheritance with you, and the stranger, and the orphan, and the widow, who are inside your gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.” ({{Bibleverse|Deuteronomy|14:28|JP}})

:When you have finished tithing all the tithes of your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, you shall give them to the Levite, the stranger, the orphan, and the widow, so that they can eat to satiety in your cities. ({{Bibleverse|Deuteronomy|26:12|JP}})

Thus, the ''poor man's tithe'' is separated from homegrown crops during the 3rd and 6th year of the seven-year cycle.

The early rabbis, the [[Tannaim]] and [[Amoraim]], understood these texts as describing two separate tithes: the [[first tithe]] (Hebrew: {{Hebrew|מעשר ראשון}} ''ma'aser rishon'') to be given to the Levites and the [[second tithe]] (Hebrew: {{Hebrew|מעשר שני}} ''ma'aser sheni'') in [[Leviticus]] {{Bibleverse-nb|lev|27:30|JP}} to be kept by its owner and to be eaten in Jerusalem, except in the third and sixth years of the sabbatical cycle, when instead of separating the second tithe, the poor tithe (''ma'sar ani'') was separated and given to the poor.<ref>David Instone-Brewer ''Traditions of the Rabbis from the Era of the New Testament'' Page 321 2004 "The rabbis understood these texts as describing two separate tithes: the first tithe (''maaser rishon'') which was for the Levites and the second tithe (''maaser sheni'') which was for eating in Jerusalem except every third year when it became the poor tithe (''maaser ani''). The passage in Leviticus 27 is traditionally interpreted as referring to second tithe because it speaks about redeeming the tithed produce, which was necessary only for second tithe."</ref> The medieval commentator [[Rashi]] also interprets Deuteronomy 26:12 as referring to the third year, when the first tithe was given to the Levite and the poor tithe was given to "the stranger, the orphan, and the widow".<ref>{{cite wikisource |author=Rashi |title=Commentary on Deuteronomy 26:12 |wslink=קטע:רש"י על דברים כו יב |wslanguage=he}}</ref>