민수기 5:10의 인용 해설

You shall set aside a tenth part - This is what is written in the Sifri: "You shall set aside a tenth part of all the yield of your sowing that is brought from the field every year" (Deut. 14:22) [from a superficial reading] I can only find that one is obligated to tithe the yield of sowing, from where do I know that he is obligated on tithing also on interest and merchandise and all other types of gain? The text says "all" - it could have said simply "the yield of your sowing", why [does it have the word] "all"? To include interest and merchandise and all other types of ways of gain. And this too is in the Hagadah (?): "that is brought from the field every year" - that is to say if you don't tithe your field properly, you will be left only with "what comes from the field", meaning, your field only produces according to the tithes that were taken previously, therefore, "what comes from the field" - that is to say what you were used to take to tithing from the field. A story: a certain rich man who had a field that produced a thousand kor, and that same rich man gave 100 kor for tithes, and he separated this every year, and did so all his days. When he got sick to the point of dying he called his son and said to him: 'my son, know that this field that I am giving you for inheritance gives a thousand kor every year, make sure that you will separate 100 kor as I did'. Then he died. His son stood on his place and the field produced a thousand kor as it did when the father was alive, and [the son] separated 100 kor. In the second year the son looked and understood that tithing was a great thing. He said: 'We will not separate for the next year' And the field diminished [its production] and produced only 100 kor. He was disappointed, and his relatives heard that the field diminished and that he did not separate the tithes. They all came together near him, wearing white and happy. He said to them: 'I am under the impression that you are happy with my disgrace.' They said to him: 'We are disappointed in you since you brought upon yourself all this disgrace, and why did you not separate the tithe as it would have been right to do? Come and see that in the beginning, when the field first came to your hands,you were the owner of the house and the Holy One of Blessing was your kohen, whose part [in your field] was the tithe to be given to the poor and now that you didn't separate the part of the Holy One of Blessing, the Holy One is the master of the house and you are His kohen, in that your field will not do the thousand kor it did in the beginning, when you did separate the 100 kor. And this is why it's written "to each man his holy things will be his [and whatever he gives to the kohen will be his]" (Numbers 5:10) - that is to say, when he does not separate as appropriate the only thing that will be his is his holy portion, that is, the tithe. And on this our sages said: 'the one who delays his tithes will in the end have only one tithe, as it is written '[For ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bat] the seed of a homer will yield an ephah' (Isaiah 5:10). The tithe of an ephah is is three se'ahs and in a homer there are thirty se'ahs and it is written 'For ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bat' and Rav Natan Haophaniel (?) explains 'what comes out of the field' that is - if not, if you do not separate the tenth will be for the one that comes out to the field, which is, the wicked Esav, which is: the idolaters will get it.

Auch diese wie alle מתנות כהונה sind übrigens lediglich allgemeine Verpflichtung gegen den Priesterstamm im allgemeinen. Keinem einzelnen Priester steht ein persönlicher Anspruch darauf zu. Der Verpflichtete kann seine Pflichtspende einem jeden Priester seiner Wahl zuwenden, bei der er sich nur von der durch Gesinnung und Wandel zu betätigenden Würdigkeit des Bezugsberechtigten leiten zu lassen hat, טובת הנאה לבעלים (Bamidbar 5, 10), מנת הכהנים והלוים למען יחזקו בתורת ד׳ (Cron. II. 31, 4), כל המחזיק בתורת ד׳ יש לו מנת וכל שאינו מחזיק בתורת ד׳ אין לו מנת (Chulin 130b תוספו׳ daselbst), und: כל כהן שאינו מודה בעבודה אין לו חלק בכהונה (Chulin 132a; siehe Wajikra 7, 33).

“Any man whose wife goes astray, etc.” The connection of this section to the previous verse is explained by Rashi: “If you withhold the gifts of the priest, by your life, you will need to come to him to bring him your wayward wife.” An explanation for his interpretation: Because one who withholds gifts will come to poverty, as Rashi explained above (5:10), and the Sages said (Sotah 4b), “Anyone who has relations with a prostitute will eventually seek a loaf of bread and not find it, as it is said For on account of a harlot, one is brought to a loaf of bread (Proverbs 6:26).” And when the wife sees that her husband has come to poverty, she suspects him of becoming poor because he has been “shepherding prostitutes,” as it is written One who keeps company with harlots will lose wealth (Proverbs 29:3). Seeing that suddenly he loses his wealth in an unusual way, for this reason she too will stray from him, saying, “He [indulges] in immorality, and so will I” (Megillah 12a). Therefore it says, and she commits a trespass against him [bo, literally in him] — if his wife strays and commits a trespass, then in him — this trespass depends on him, because he caused her to want to act like him out of suspicion. And all this was caused by him trespassing regarding the priest’s holy things, by not giving the priest what is sacred, because through this he comes to poverty, and she suspects him of consorting with prostitutes which wastes wealth. And the truth will be clarified through the testing of the waters, for our Sages said (Sotah 28a), And the man shall be clear from iniquity — if he is clear from iniquity, the waters will test her, etc. That is, from an iniquity similar to hers — if he is innocent of what his wife suspected him of, then it is right that the waters should test her; but if he is not clear of this iniquity and her suspicion is true, it is not right that the waters should test her, since he himself was consorting with prostitutes and she has somewhat of an excuse. And regarding what is written, if she goes astray [tisteh] — a language of foolishness [shetut] — even though every sinner is called a fool, nevertheless it specifies to say that she is specifically clamorous and simple, and knows nothing (Proverbs 9:13), and did not know what caused his poverty, for she should have understood that withholding the gifts caused his poverty, as mentioned.