Commentary for Deuteronomy 14:22

THOU SHALT TRULY TITHE [ALL THE INCREASE OF THY SEED] — What has this matter to do with that? (Why are they placed in juxtaposition)? But the Holy One, blessed be He, says in effect to Israel: “Do not compel Me to blast by heat the tender kernels of the grain, whilst they are yet in their mother’s womb (i.e. in the husks), for if you do not tithe your products as is proper, when they are near ripening I shall bring forth the east wind and it will blast them”, as it is said, (2 Kings 19:26) “[Therefore … they were] as the corn blasted before it be grown up” (Midrash Tanchuma, Re'eh 17). A similar reason may be given for בכורים (for its juxtaposition to לא תבשל גדי (Exodus 34:26).

THOU SHALT SURELY TITHE ALL THE INCREASE OF THY SEED. This also is a [previously stated] commandment that he [Moses] now explains. For He stated, And all the tithe of the Land, whether of the seed of the Land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the Eternal’s; it is holy unto the Eternal,²²⁶Leviticus 27:30. and He further said, And if a man will redeem aught of his tithe, he shall add unto it the fifth part thereof²²⁷Ibid., Verse 31. Now these verses do not refer to the tithe of the Levites [i.e., the First Tithe], for of that it is said, And ye may eat it in every place,²²⁸Numbers 18:31. and it is unconsecrated food, and what reason is there for its redemption? And now he explained that He obligated [them] to tithe all the increase of thy seed [i.e., to set aside the Second Tithe] in order that he himself and his children eat it before G-d, that thou mayest learn to fear the Eternal.²²⁹Verse 23. “Corn” refers to five types of grain as explained further. For the priests and judges who stand there before the Eternal,²³⁰Further, 18:7. the teachers of the Torah, will instruct him in the fear [of G-d] and teach him the Torah and the Commandments. And he explained [here] the meaning of the redemption He mentioned there:²²⁷Ibid., Verse 31. it is because sometimes the [Second] Tithe will be abundant because the Eternal will have blessed you and the way will be too long for you, and [therefore] it is better to redeem it with money and to bring the redemption-money [to Jerusalem for use in buying food]. He did not mention [here] the fifth [that is added to the value of the Second Tithe when redeeming it] because it has already been mentioned [there in Leviticus].²²⁷Ibid., Verse 31.
The purport of the expression, that which is brought forth in the field is “‘and all’ that which is brought forth in the field,” [so that the phrase does modify ‘the increase of thy seed,’ and adds additional categories of produce to the requirement of the Second Tithe], just as He has said, whether of the seed of the Land, or of the fruit of the tree,²²⁶Leviticus 27:30. and the sense thereof is “that which comes forth ‘from’ the field.” Now the intent of the expression all the increase of thy seed is not that he is to tithe all produce from whatever he seeded, nor everything that is brought forth in the field year by year. The sense of the verse is that one is to tithe, of those species which are liable to the tithe, all of his produce [these being grain, wine, and oil, as will be explained] and all that was brought forth of them in the field. He is warning that he is not to tithe only a small part of that which cometh to his hand²³¹Genesis 32:14. and thus exempt only a small quantity of the produce, but instead he is to tithe both the measures of seed that he planted and the increase upon them [in the process of growing], all of it faithfully. Then he mentions the species which are obligated to be tithed: the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil,²²⁹Verse 23. “Corn” refers to five types of grain as explained further. and so he mentions in all places, as it is said, Thou mayest not eat within thy gates the tithe of thy corn, or of thy wine, or of thine oil etc.²³²Above, 12:17. And so He said in the section on the gifts to the priesthood, All the best of the oil, and all the best of the wine, and of the corn, the first part of them which they give unto the Eternal,²³³Numbers 18:12. for of these only we are obligated by the law of the Torah²³⁴By law of the Rabbis, other products of the earth must also be tithed, as will be explained further on. to set aside the heave-offering and the tithes. Similarly, what Scripture states, And all the tithe of the Land, whether of the seed of the Land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the Eternal’s²²⁶Leviticus 27:30. [does not mean] that He commanded that one tithe all the seed of the Land and all the fruit of the tree, but rather the meaning thereof is as follows: “Whatever you tithe of the seed of the Land, which is corn, and of the fruit of the tree, which is wine and oil, are the Eternal’s.” In this identical language Rashi writes there: “Of the seed of the Land — corn. Or of the fruit of the tree — wine and oil.” Now Scripture abbreviates the matter there [in Leviticus] because it is not the place of the commandment obligating that one tithe, but it merely commands that the [Second] Tithe shall be holy unto the Eternal²²⁷Ibid., Verse 31. until he redeems it by adding a fifth thereto. But the commandment regarding the heave-offerings and the tithes applies everywhere [in the Torah] to corn, wine and oil [exclusively and to no other produce of field or tree]. Now the term dagan (corn) in the Sacred Language applies to the five well-known species of grain;²³⁵Wheat, barley, spelt, goatgrass, and oats (Challah 1:1). tirosh (wine) applies to the new wine in the overflowing vats,²³⁶See Joel 2:24. and yitzhar refers to the oil therein.²³⁶See Joel 2:24. No other kind of seedling or fruit of the trees at all, are obligated by law of the Torah neither in heave-offerings nor in tithes. Now, there are Beraithoth²³⁷See Vol. II, p. 133, Note 209 on meaning of the term. taught in the Torath Kohanim and in the Sifre that are Scriptural supports for Rabbinic ordinances, and they are misleading [because the Beraithoth indicate that Scripture requires heave-offerings and tithes from other produce as well]. However, the principle that emerges clearly from the Gemara of the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmud²³⁸On Jerusalem Talmud see Vol. III, p. 192, Note 44. and the plain meaning of Scripture is this: that even tithes of olives and grapes are not [required] by law of the Torah until they have been made into wine and oil. Be heedful of this matter, for some of the greatest authors²³⁹Reference is to Rambam who wrote that included in thy corn, thy wine, and thine oil are all products similar to these — that are used as food, and are guarded, and grow from the soil — that they too are to be tithed by law of the Torah (Hilchoth Terumoth 2:1). have erred concerning it.
And the meaning of the expression year by year is that we are to set aside this [Second] Tithe in two consecutive years, one after the other [i.e., in the first and second years of the Sabbatical cycle, and again in the fourth and fifth years]. Such is the interpretation accepted by our Rabbis. And afterwards he explained that at the end of three years²⁴⁰Verse 28. you shall bring forth the tithe of your increase of that [third] year and feed it to the poor, thus declaring that the third year [and the sixth year as well] the tithe is for the poor [unlike the Second Tithe which is to be eaten in Jerusalem, it is given to the poor anywhere in the Land]. He states thou shalt bring forth … and shalt lay it up within thy gates²⁴⁰Verse 28. in order to teach us concerning the removal thereof [from the house], and he will yet explain it in the section of When thou hast made an end of tithing.²⁴¹Further, 26:12.
The Midrash of the Sages relative to the expression aseir t’aseir (thou shalt surely tithe) is:²⁴²Taanith 9a. Tanchuma, R’eih 18. “Aseir (give tithes) so that tithasheir (you may become rich);²⁴³By giving charity one is assured of becoming rich. give tithe so that you may not be deprived [of your belongings]. This is a hint to those who make their way through the seas [i.e., to merchants who travel abroad] to set aside one tenth [of their profits] for those who toil in the Torah.”²⁴⁴See my Hebrew commentary p. 411.

עשר תעשר, for by tithing the crops of the fields and orchards as well as that of your livestock, you will actually increase their numbers (G’d will see to this) instead of decreasing the amount at your disposal. This is what our sages meant when they said in Shabbat 119 עשר בשביל שתתעשר, “give the tithes so that you will be enriched” (with the dot in the letter ש of the word תתעשר on the right hand side.).