The poor tithe, or poor man's tithe (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: ''ma'sar ani''), also referred to as the pauper's tithe or the third tithe, is a triennial tithe of one's produce, required in

Jewish law ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical comman ...

. It requires that one tenth of produce grown in the third and sixth years of the seven-year

sabbatical A sabbatical (from the Hebrew: (i.e., Sabbath); in Latin ; Greek: ) is a rest or break from work. The concept of the sabbatical is based on the Biblical practice of '' shmita'' (sabbatical year), which is related to agriculture. According ...

cycle be given to the

Levites Levites (or Levi) (, he, ''Lǝvīyyīm'') are Jewish males who claim patrilineal descent from the Tribe of Levi. The Tribe of Levi descended from Levi, the third son of Jacob and Leah. The surname ''Halevi'', which consists of the Hebrew de ...

and the poor. The law applies during the days of the

Temple in Jerusalem The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two now-destroyed religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jeru ...

, and after the Temple's destruction. It applies only to crops that are harvested in the

Land of Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine (see also Isr ...

, but during the Seventh Year, also applies to crops harvested in Jordan and Egypt, so that the poor of Israel would be supported in the Seventh Year. Grapes and barley

In the Hebrew Bible

The poor tithe is discussed in the

Book of Deuteronomy Deuteronomy ( grc, Δευτερονόμιον, Deuteronómion, second law) is the fifth and last book of the Torah (in Judaism), where it is called (Hebrew: hbo, , Dəḇārīm, hewords Moses.html"_;"title="f_Moses">f_Moseslabel=none)_and_ ...

: :At the end of three years you shall bring forth all the tithe of your produce in that year, and shall lay it up inside your gates. And the Levite, because he has no part nor inheritance with you, and the stranger, and the orphan, and the widow, who are inside your gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do. () :When you have finished tithing all the tithes of your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, you shall give them to the Levite, the stranger, the orphan, and the widow, so that they can eat to satiety in your cities. () Thus, this tithe is separated from homegrown crops during the 3rd and 6th year of the seven-year cycle. The early rabbis, the

Tannaim ''Tannaim'' ( Amoraic Hebrew: תנאים , singular , ''Tanna'' "repeaters", "teachers") were the rabbinic sages whose views are recorded in the Mishnah, from approximately 10–220 CE. The period of the ''Tannaim'', also referred to as the Mis ...

and

Amoraim ''Amoraim'' (Aramaic: plural or , singular ''Amora'' or ''Amoray''; "those who say" or "those who speak over the people", or "spokesmen") refers to Jewish scholars of the period from about 200 to 500 CE, who "said" or "told over" the teachi ...

, understood these texts as describing two separate tithes: the

first tithe The first tithe (Hebrew: ''ma'aser rishon'' מעשר ראשון) is a positive commandment in the Torah requiring the giving of one tenth of agricultural produce to charity, after the giving of the standard ''terumah,'' to the Levite (or Kohen) ...

(Hebrew: ''ma'aser rishon'') to be given to the Levites and the

second tithe The second tithe (Hebrew: ''ma'aser sheni'' מעשר שני) is a tithe mentioned in the Hebrew Bible and practised within Orthodox Judaism. It is distinguished from the first tithe (Hebrew: ''ma'aser rishon'' מעשר ראשון), the third or ...

(Hebrew: ''ma'aser sheni'') in Leviticus to be kept by its owner and to be eaten in Jerusalem, except in the third and sixth years of the sabbatical cycle, when instead of separating the second tithe, the poor tithe (''ma'sar ani'') was separated and given to the poor. The medieval commentator

Rashi Shlomo Yitzchaki ( he, רבי שלמה יצחקי; la, Salomon Isaacides; french: Salomon de Troyes, 22 February 1040 – 13 July 1105), today generally known by the acronym Rashi (see below), was a medieval French rabbi and author of a compre ...

also interprets Deuteronomy 26:12 as referring to the third year, when the first tithe was given to the Levite and the poor tithe was given to "the stranger, the orphan, and the widow".

In Josephus

Jewish-Roman historian

Flavius Josephus Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for '' The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly ...

refers to the first, second, and third (or poor) tithe. The third tithe was to be brought to the

, every third and sixth year of the seven year Sabbath cycle. The distribution of which to be given to those in need or want, especially widowed women and orphan children.

In the Talmud

The

Babylonian Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cent ...

ruled that the amount of poor tithe one gives to a single poor person must be enough to provide for two meals. The Babylonian Talmud also states that while ''ma'sar ani'' technically could be used to feed one's poor father, one should not do so, so as not to embarrass one's father. Rather, a son should try his best to care for his father out of his other property. The

Jerusalem Talmud The Jerusalem Talmud ( he, תַּלְמוּד יְרוּשַׁלְמִי, translit=Talmud Yerushalmi, often for short), also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century ...

Pe'ah Pe'ah ( he, פֵּאָה, lit. "Corner") is the second tractate of ''Seder Zeraim'' ("Order of Seeds") of the Mishnah and of the Talmud. This tractate begins the discussion of topics related to agriculture, the main focus of this ''seder'' (order) ...

1:1 discusses the maximum amount of one's income/money one can give to the poor and determines that one should not give more than one-fifth of his possessions so he does not become poor himself. This Gemara and a discussion in Sifrei are quoted extensively by later Jewish sages who discussed an ancient custom of tithing 10% of one's income for charity. This tithe, known as ''ma'sar kesafim'', has become a universal practice.

In Orthodox Judaism

There has been no organized mechanism for collection of the poor tithe since 135 CE,Imperialism and Jewish society, 200 B.C.E. to 640 C.E. p228 Seth Schwartz - 2004 "That there was any mechanism for the collection and distribution of the poor tithe after 135, for instance," but

Orthodox Judaism Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses o ...

still regards tithe obligations as residing in produce grown in the Land of Israel. Contemporary practice is to set aside ''

terumah A ''terumah'' ( he, תְּרוּמָה) or heave offering is a type of sacrifice in Judaism. The word is generally used for an offering to God, although it is also sometimes used as in ''ish teramot'', a "judge who loves gifts". The word ''teru ...

'', separate

(''ma'aser rishon''), separate ''

terumat ma'aser In the Hebrew Bible, the tithe of the tithes (Hebrew: ) is a mitzvah (biblical requirement) for the recipient Levite to give to the priest a tenth (10%) of the tithe of produce that the former received from the Israelites. It applies only to agr ...

'', separate either the

(''ma'aser sheni'') or the poor tithe (depending on the year), then (if applicable) redeem the second tithe with a coin. Orthodox Judaism regards it as meritorious to discharge one's poor tithe obligation additionally by giving a portion of one's income, ideally a tenth, to charity.

References

External links