וְרֵאשִׁית֩ כָּל־בִּכּ֨וּרֵי כֹ֜ל וְכָל־תְּר֣וּמַת כֹּ֗ל מִכֹּל֙ תְּרוּמ֣וֹתֵיכֶ֔ם לַכֹּהֲנִ֖ים יִֽהְיֶ֑ה וְרֵאשִׁ֤ית עֲרִסֽוֹתֵיכֶם֙ תִּתְּנ֣וּ לַכֹּהֵ֔ן לְהָנִ֥יחַ בְּרָכָ֖ה אֶל־בֵּיתֶֽךָ׃
At ang pinakauna sa lahat ng mga unang bunga ng bawat bagay, at ang bawat handog na inihahandog mula sa lahat ng bagay, mula sa lahat ng inyong mga handog, ay mapapasa mga saserdote; at ibibigay rin ninyo sa saserdote ang unang bahagi ng inyong masa, upang mapasa iyong bahay ang pagpapala.
Rabbeinu Bahya
In the Sefer Habahir item 103 you will find the following explanation of our verse: “they shall take for the Holy One a gift which is equivalent to י i.e. the tenth. How do I know that the tenth is holy? Because we read in Leviticus 27,32 “the tenth shall be holy for the Lord.” What precisely is the meaning of קדש,”holy?” Ezekiel 44,30 explains וראשית כל בכורי כל וכל תרומת כל, “All the choice first fruits of every kind and all terumah of any kind-of all your terumah gifts;” the word ראשית is equivalent to חכמה, compare Psalms 111,10 ראשית חכמה. Thus far the Sefer Habahir. [I believe the intention of the author as well as the author of Sefer Habahir is to read the word לי as ”ל”י “as a tenth.” Ed.]
English Explanation of Mishnah Challah
Nehemiah 10:38 and Ezekiel 44:30 describe this gift was given to the priests, and the rabbinic halakhah follows this assumption.
Sforno
לא תבשל גדי בחלב אמו, do not practice these procedures which the idolaters believe are apt to improve the earth’s productivity. But, on the contrary, ראשית בכורי אדמתך תביא, if you really want to attract G’d’s blessing on your agricultural endeavours you will present G’d with a gift of the very first and finest of your respective crops. (compare Ezekiel 44,30 וראשית בכורי כל, וכל תרומת כל,...להניח ברכה אל ביתך, “all the choice first fruits of every kind, and all the gifts of every kind,- of all your contributions,- shall go to the priests,,,,that a blessing may rest upon your home.”