Comentario sobre Deuteronómio 18:4

ראשית דגנך THE FIRST-FRUIT [ALSO] OF THY CORN … [THOU SHALT GIVE HIM] — This refers to the heave-offering. Scripture, however, does not state any minimum quantity, but our Rabbis fixed a quantity for it from a sixtieth to a fortieth: a benevolent eye (a generous person) gives one fortieth of the crop, a niggard at least one sixtieth, a person of average generosity one fiftieth. They found a support in Scripture that one should not give less than one sixtieth, because it is said, (Ezekiel 45:13) “[This is the heave-offering which ye shall offer:] the sixth part of an ephah of an homer of wheat”. Now the sixth part of an ephah is a half Seah; if therefore you give half a Seah as Terumah from a Kor (which is another term for a Homer), that is a sixtieth part, for a Kor is thirty Seahs (Talmud Yerushalmi Terumot 4:3).

One sixth of an eiphah (וששיתם האיפה). This denotes a sixth.

V. 4. ראשית דגנך וגו׳, die תרומה, auch בכורים und חלה, die alle ראשית heißen.

ראשית דגנך, “the first fruits of your corn harvest.” No quantity has been mentioned as adequate for the amount of fruit to be given to the priest as this gift. It suffices that what is left over is recognisable as such. In other words, the farmer must not donate his entire corn harvest, or grape harvest to a priest or priests. This is why the sages in the tractate Chulin, folio 137, state that even a single husk of corn is considered as fulfillment of this commandment, although the sages on their own gave guidance when they said if one gives the priest one sixtieth of the harvest one is considered a miser, when one gives one fiftieth one is considered average, whereas when one gives one fortieth, one is considered generous. (Compare Mishnayot T’rumot, chapter 4 mishnah 3.) The Mishnah there finds a hint in scripture for these measures. The prophet Ezekiel 45,13, writes: ששית האיפה מחומר שעורים, “one sixtieth of an eyphah from a chomer of wheat. Seeing that the measure eyphah equals three sa-ah of the measure known as סאה, half, half a סאה, from thirty סאה equals one sixtieth. There is also a hint in scripture that a generous measure is considered one fortieth of one’s harvest when Ezekiel continues by writing: וששיתם האיפה מחומר השעורים, “you are to take a sixth of an eypha from a chomer of barley. [The prophet refers to the t’rumah, gift, to be given to the priest mentioned in Numbers 18,12, which had not been quantified by the Torah. Ed.] The word ששיתם, is to be understood as “two sixths.” Our author refers us to Numbers 31,30 where the distribution of the loot from the Midianite campaign goes into further detail, from which one fiftieth is considered as average. In addition, the very word תרומה, looked at closely, really means: “two one hundreds.” It could be read as תרי מאה, “two one hundreds.”

ראשית דגנך, “the first fruit of your grain harvest;” According to Rashi, the average amount donated to the priests from this harvest was 2%. This is based on a verse describing how the loot from the campaign against Midian was shared out. (Numbers 31,47) Why was this repeated once more, when it had already been repeated? The donation called תרומה גדולה, to describe the first donation,” was called such called by this adjective was because it is the largest of the gifts the farmer has to make or to allow to remain in the field, uncut. How do we arrive at such a statement, when on the face of it the tithe of a tenth of the harvest appears to be much more? After deducting the 2% set aside from the harvest before any other deductions, the remaining 49 parcels of 2% each have to be divided into 50 equal amounts in order to set aside 5 parts of each as the tithe to be given to the Levite.

וראשית גז צאנך AND THE FIRST OF THE FLEECE OF THY FLOCK [SHALT THOU GIVE HIM] — i.e. each year when you sheer your sheep (not when you shear a particular animal for the first time) give the first of it (the wool) to the priest. Scripture mentions no minimum quantity for it, but our Rabbis assigned a quantity for it, viz., one sixtieth part. And how many sheep must there be in the flock that they should come under the law of ראשית הגז (of “giving the first shearing as a gift to the priest”)? At least five sheep, as it is said, (I Samuel 25:18) “[Then Abigail made haste and … took] five sheep ready dressed (עשויות). Rabbi Akiba says: we may derive it from our text itself, as follows: ראשית גז suggests two, צאנך also two, together four, תתן לו one, — altogether five (Chullin 137a; Sifrei Devarim 166:9).

From a chomer. I.e. a kur.

וראשית גו צאנך, hat מן התורה ebenso wie תרומה kein שיעור und kann mit einem Minimum erfüllt werden (daselbst 137 b). ראשית הגז erscheint daher ebenso wie תרומה גדולה zunächst nur als ein Symbolum von der "Ernte des bürgerlichen Gewandstoffes" (Wolle) zum Bekenntnis, dass, wenngleich das Priestertum nicht produktiv an materiellen Werten für das bürgerliche Leben ist, dieses darum nicht minder der treuen Wirksamkeit desselben verpflichtet sei, und zugleich zur Mahnung, auch der äußeren bürgerlichen Erscheinung des Priesters im Volksleben entsprechende Fürsorge zuzuwenden.

וראשית גז צאנך תתן לו, “and you are to give him (the priest) the first of the fleece of your sheep.” The Talmud tractate Chulin folio 136, states that the minimum amount of such fleece is to be sufficient for the recipient to weave a belt for himself.

וראשית גז צאנך, “and the first of the fleece of your sheep.” According to the view of Rabbi Ilai this had to be done only in respect of sheep raised in the land of Israel. (Chulin 136).

Now one sixth of an eiphah is half a se’ah. etc. Because an eiphah is three se’ah and it is written, “Give one sixth of an eiphah from a chomer of barley,” which means you should separate a sixth of an eiphah from a kur, which is half a se’ah for thirty se’as. Thus one has to separate one sixtieth.

צאנך, “your sheep or goats;” this excludes animals which prove inedible due to faulty slaughter or diseased part discovered afterwards which would have led to the death of this animal within less than 12 months, in other words: an animal that was treif.

When you shear your sheep every year etc. [It does] not [mean] that you should give the entire shearing of the first year to the kohein, and the shearing of all subsequent years are to be exempt.

תתן לו, “you are to give to him” (one or more of the priests who is on duty during that roster (usually a week, except during the pilgrimage festivals when all the priests we equally entitled to share in this). The expression תתן, i.e. something valuable enough to qualify for the term מתנה, “gift,” led to the peculiar system where if you lived in the tribal territory of Yehudah, you were required to give only 5 shekel worth, as opposed to the galil (northern section of Israel) you had to give the priest twice as much. (as only then would people in that part of the country consider that amount as a “gift.”

As it is said, “Five sheep which cause etc.” I.e., [you are obligated] when you have five sheep עשויות (which cause). What does עשויות mean? That they are מעשות (cause), i.e. they obligate their owners and say, “Rise up and do the mitzvah!” (Chullin 137a) And what mitzvah is the verse referring to? You cannot say the mitzvah of the first-born because one is obligated regarding the first-born even when he has only one animal. You also cannot say that it refers to the gifts [of the forearm, etc.] that one gives to a kohein, etc. because one is obligated regarding the gifts even when he has only one animal. Perforce, it is referring to the first shearing.