פרשת כי תבוא תשכ"ז - וידוי מעשרות

then thou shalt say before the LORD thy God: ‘I have put away the hallowed things out of my house, and also have given them unto the Levite, and unto the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all Thy commandment which Thou hast commanded me; I have not transgressed any of Thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them.

הקודש מן הבית, because of our and our fathers’ sins the privilege of performing Temple service was removed from the firstborn, who otherwise would also have been the recipients of all the various tithes. Ezekiel 20,26 refers to this when he writes: ואטמא אותם במתנותם, בהעביר כל פטר רחם , “and I defiled them through their own gifts, when causing each first born to pass;” the prophet calls this line the ווידוי מעשר, the confession represented by the fact that the tithe cannot remain in the home but must be given to Levites who supplanted the family priest, the firstborn as a result of their having participated in the sin of the golden calf. (Maasser Sheyni 5,10)

וגם נתתיו ללוי, the meaning of the word גם in our context is the same as the words אף על פי, “even so.” We find the word גם used as אף על פי also in Ruth 1,12 when Naomi explains to her daughters-in-law that even if she were to get married immediately she would not be able to produce sons who could become the husbands of her daughters-in-law and thereby keep their deceased husbands’ names alive vicariously (symbolic levirate marriage). We must therefore perceive the farmer’s declaration to mean: “I confess that my sin was great so that as a result I am forced to destroy or remove all sacred things from my house even though I, personally, have discharged my duties by giving the Levite and his companions these tithes at Your command. Having done so, I pray that You will look down benevolently. Seeing that normally the word השקפה is used in Scripture as “looking down to confirm something negative,” the farmer had to add that he means that he has merited a benevolent השקפה as expressed by the plea וברך את עמך את ישראל, “and bless Your people, Israel, etc.”

then thou shalt say before the LORD thy God: ‘I have put away the hallowed things out of my house, and also have given them unto the Levite, and unto the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all Thy commandment which Thou hast commanded me; I have not transgressed any of Thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them.

ואמרת לפני ה' אלוקיך, this is what the Lord your G’d commanded in order that you not become tardy and hold back your tithes making a liar out of yourself in the presence of your G’d.

כי תכלה לעשר את כל מעשר תבואתך בשנה השלישת WHEN THOU HAST FINISHED TITHING ALL THE TITHES OF THY INCREASE IN THE THIRD YEAR — this means: when you have finished the setting apart of the tithes of the third year. It (Scripture) has fixed the time for removing the tithes from the house (ביעור) and the confession regarding their proper disposition (ודוי) for the eve of the Passover festival of the fourth year, because it is stated, (Deuteronomy 14:28) “At the end (מקצה) of three years thou shall bring forth [all the tithe of thy increase in the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates]”. It uses here (in the verse just quoted) the words “at the end of” (מקצה) and it states further (Deuteronomy 31:10—11): “At the end of every seven years … [in the festival of Tabernacles, … thou shalt read this law before Israel]” with reference to the law of “public assembly”, in order to suggest an analogy. How is it in the case further on? It takes place at a festival period as stated! So, too, here, the rite takes place at a festival period. If so, one might argue: What is the case there? It takes place on the festival of Tabernacles; so, too, here the rite takes place on Tabernacles! Scripture, however, states here: When thou hast finished tithing the tithes of the third year, which thus points to a festival on which all tithes are finished and this is the Passover festival, for there are many trees the fruits of which are gathered after Tabernacles, and consequently the setting apart of tithes of the third year is at an end on Passover of the fourth year. And whoever had delayed his tithes until then Scripture declares him bound to clear them out by that time from his house (cf. Sifrei Devarim 302; Talmud Yerushalmi Maaser Sheni 5:6).

then thou shalt say before the LORD thy God: ‘I have put away the hallowed things out of my house, and also have given them unto the Levite, and unto the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all Thy commandment which Thou hast commanded me; I have not transgressed any of Thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them.

'ואכלת וגו AND THOU SHALT EAT [BEFORE THE LORD THY GOD, IN THE PLACE WHICH HE SHALL CHOOSE … THE TITHE OF THY CORN etc.] — This is the “Second Tithe”, for it (Scripture) has already taught us to give the “First Tithe” to the Levites — as it is said, (Numbers 18:26) “[And unto the Levite shalt thou speak …], when ye take of the children of Israel the tithes”, etc., — and besides it gave them permission to eat it in any place, as it is said, (Numbers 18:31) “and ye shall eat it in any place” — thus you must admit that this tithe mentioned here, (which is to be eaten by an ordinary Israelite in Jerusalem) must be another one, — the “Second Tithe”.

ולא שכחתי NOR HAVE I FORGOTTEN — i.e. forgotten to bless you on the occasion of setting the tithes apart (Sifrei Devarim 303:14; Mishnah Maaser Sheni 5:11; cf. Berachot 40b).

The LORD will smite thee with consumption, and with fever, and with inflammation, and with fiery heat, and with drought, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish.

בשחפת, with consumption; all the words in this verse refer to a variety of diseases.