Comentário sobre Deuteronômio 26:12

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).

[IN THE THIRD YEAR,] THE YEAR OF THE TITHE. The tithe for the poor.

When you finish setting aside the tithes, etc. The meaning is not when you finish setting aside the tithes of the second year, as is implied by “in the third year” as meaning that you are in the third year and setting aside tithes of the second year. Because then it should have said, “When you finish tithing all the tithes of your produce [of] the third year.” Therefore one must explain that “in the third year” means “pertaining to the third year,” and the word is lacking a שי"ן, as in the verse (Shmos 18:20), “The path [in which] they must walk.” The third year refers to the third year following Shemittah.

V. 12. כי תכלה וגו׳. In dem eigentlichen Maaßerkapitel Kap. 14, 22 — 29 ist bereits angeordnet, außer dem schon früher bestimmten jedes Jahr dem Leviten zu gebenden Zehnten, im ersten und zweiten, vierten und fünften Jahre einer Schemitaperiode einen zweiten Zehnten, מעשר שני, zum Selbstgenuss innerhalb der Tempelstadt auszuscheiden, jedes dritte und sechste Jahr der Schemitaperiode aber, also immer im dritten Jahr, den zweiten Zehnten nicht wie bemerkt zum Selbstgenuss, sondern als מעשר עני, zur Verteilung an die Armen und Mittellosen zu verwenden. Wir haben dort die Maaßergesetzbung bereits im Zusammenhange betrachtet und haben bemerkt, wie durch diese drei Zehnten, מעשר עני ,מעשר שני ,מעשר ראשון, die Ziele zu würdigen gelehrt werden, die Pflege des Geistes, die Pflege des Leibes, die Pflege der Nächstenliebe, denen überhaupt unter dem Diktate des göttlichen Gesetzes unsere nationalen Güter zugewendet werden sollen. Durch diese Maaßergesetzgebung ist also ein dreijähriger Maaßerturnus angeordnet. Innerhalb eines solchen Turnus, der mit dem dritten Jahre schließt, sind alle drei Zehntarten zur Erfüllung zu bringen und sollen mit Schluss des dritten Jahres vollbracht sein, so dass alle Zehntfrüchte der zurückgelegten drei Jahre mit Ablauf des dritten die ihnen gesetzlich bestimmte Verwendung gefunden haben. Hiernach wird wohl dieses dritte Jahr das Zehntjahr, שנת המעשר vorzugsweise genannt. Es heißt nun nicht שנת המעשרות, das Jahr, das alle drei Zehntpflichten brachte, sondern שנת המעשר, das Jahr, in welchem der Zehnte eintritt, der in den beiden vorangegangenen Jahren nicht, statthatte, und zwar kommt dieser nicht zu den beiden anderen hinzu, sondern tritt an die Stelle des שנה שאין בא אלא מעשר אחד הא כיצד מעשר ראשון ,מעשר שני ומעשר עני ומעשר שני יבטל (R. H. 12 b; — siehe Kap. 14, 22 u. 28).

כי תכלה לעשר, “when you complete tithing, etc.” this verse is also a repetition of Deut. 14,28; it is inserted here only on account of the confession as per verse 13: בערתי הקודש מן הבית, “I have removed everything that is holy (second tithe) from the house;”

שנת המעשר [THE THIRD YEAR] WHICH IS THE YEAR OF TITHE — These apparently redundant words (for every year except the Sabbatical year it “a year of tithing”) suggest: that year in which only one of the two tithes that had to be separated in the previous two years is due (שנת המעשר, lit., the year of the tithe), viz., the “First Tithe”. For in the first year of the Shemitta-period the law of the “First Tithe” applies — as it is stated, (Numbers 28:26) “[And to the Levites shalt thou speak …] when ye take of the children of Israel the tithe” (which is the First Tithe) — and that of the “Second Tithe”, as it is stated, (Deuteronomy 14:22—23; cf. Rashi on the latter verse) “[Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed … year by year], and thou shalt eat before the Lord thy God … the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil”. You thus have two tithes every year, one that you must give the Levite and the other which you must consume yourself in Jerusalem (the “Second Tithe”). It now comes and teaches you here that, in the third year, of those two tithes mentioned only one is due, and which is it? It is the “First Tithe”. And that instead of the “Second Tithe” one has to give in the third year (and similarly in the sixth) the “Tithe of the Poor”, for it states here ונתת ללוי “AND THOU HAST GIVEN UNTO THE LEVITE”, i.e. given him that which is due to him — here you have mention of the “First Tithe”, לגר ליתום ולאלמנה “[AND THOU HAST GIVEN] … UNTO THE STRANGER, THE FATHERLESS, AND THE WIDOW” — this is the “Tithe of the Poor” (cf. Sifrei Devarim 303:1; see also Rashi on Deuteronomy 14:23 and 29).

As it is said, “At the end of three years you shall remove, etc.” Rashi wants to prove that the time of divesture and recitation is on the day before Pesach. This verse is written in parshas Re'ei (above 14:28) relating to tithes.

Von diesem Schluss des dreijährigen Maaßerturnus heißt es nun hier כי תכלה לעשר usw. ונתת ללוי וגו׳ (siehe zu Kap. 14, 29). Der stärker trennende Akzent auf ללוי dürfte für die Auffassung sprechen, dass damit der dem Leviten als solchem zukommende מעשר ראשון-Zehnte gemeint sei. Es würden dann hier die beiden im dritten Jahre zur Verteilung kommenden Zehnten, מעשר ראשון ללוי und לגר :מעשר עני usw. bezeichnet sein.

ונתתי ללוי לגר וליתום ולאלמנה, “and I have also given to the Levite, the stranger the orphan and the widow.” This is not necessarily to be understood as cumulative, but you have given to any of the above mentioned categories of people.

ואכלו בשעריך ושבעו THAT THEY MAY EAT WITHIN THY GATES, AND BE SATISFIED — Give them sufficient to satisfy them. From here they (the Rabbis) derived the law: one must give the poor in the barn no less than half a kab of wheat or a kab of barley (Sifrei Devarim 303:2; Talmud Yerushalmi Peah 8:5; see also Rashi on Deuteronomy 14:29).

Here, “at the end of” is said, and below, “at the end of seven years” is said, etc. Not actually here in this parsha. Rather, Rashi is saying that [the phrase] “at the end of” is said regarding the third year. Therefore, it is as if it is written here, because here too it talks about the tithe of the third year.

ואכלו בשעריך (siehe zu Kap. 12. 17).

The year when the tithing obligation is for only, etc. Rashi is answering the question: Why the verse calls the third year “the year of the tithe.”? Are the first and second years not years of tithes? He explains, “The year when the tithing obligation is for only, etc.”

Supply them with enough to satisfy them, etc. Rashi is answering the question: If he does not want to eat, what can one do about it? Therefore he explains, “Supply them, etc.” Do what you are obligated to do.

Less than half a kav of wheat, etc. Which is [the volume of] twelve eggs. But of barley one has to give him a [whole] kav. And one only has to give him a half a kav of wheat at the threshing area, because in town one does not have to give him a half kav, because in town he can go to others as well. However, this is not the case regarding threshing areas because they are distant from each other.