פירוש על דברים 26:14

לא אכלתי באני ממנו I HAVE NOT EATEN THEREOF IN MY MOURNING — From here we may derive that it (partaking of sacred gifts) is forbidden to an אונן (a technical term for the near relatives of a deceased, from the period of death to burial) (cf. Sifrei Devarim 303:15; Mishnah Bikkurim 2:2).

I HAVE NOT EATEN THEREOF IN MY MOURNING. Even though the avowal¹⁹The “avowal was recited at the time of the Afternoon Offering on the last day of Passover, in the fourth and seventh years of the Sabbatical cycle. The avowal [recited in any language] could be made only by one who observed all laws affecting tithes and heave-offerings. See further “The Commandments,” Vol. I, p. 139. included all tithes, as the Rabbis interpreted:²⁰Maaseir Sheini 5:10. “I have also given it unto the Levite, and unto the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow²¹Verse 13. etc.,”²²“I have also given it to the Levite, this is the tithe of the Levite [i.e., the First Tithe]. I have ‘also’ given it, this is the terumah (the heave-offering), [given by the Israelite to the priest] and the heave-offering of the tithe [given by the Levite to the priest]. And unto the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, this refers to the Poorman’s Tithe, gleanings, the forgotten sheaf, and the corner of the field” (Maaseir Sheini 5:10). — the statement I have not eaten thereof in my mourning refers only to the hallowed things [mentioned at the beginning of the preceding Verse 13: I have put away ‘the hallowed things’ out of my house] which refers to the Second Tithe and fourth-year’s plantings which may not be eaten in mourning and in a state of impurity.²³The heave-offering on the other hand may be eaten by the priest in mourning, but not when he is impure. The First Tithe [after the heave-offering thereof has been removed], the Poorman’s Tithe, gleanings, etc. may be eaten in mourning as well as in impurity. The Second Tithe, eaten by the owner, his family and guests in Jerusalem, is thus the only tithe that may not be eaten in mourning. Like the heave-offering and the heave-offering of the tithe, the Second Tithe may not be eaten in impurity.

לא אכלתי באוני ממנו, the word און is used here in the same sense as in Job 20,10 ידיו תשבנה אונו, where it refers to the proceeds of a robbery, i.e. “his own hands must give back his wealth.” We also find it used in this sense in Hoseah 12,9 מצאתי און לי, “I have become rich.” (the riches derive from robbery) This is the plain meaning of the line.