Your Daily Pesuk Aug. 27, 2018

Parashat Ki Tavo / פרשת כי־תבוא

• Mon, 27 August 2018 = 16th of Elul, 5778
• ט״ז בֶּאֱלוּל תשע״ח

Deuteronomy 26:12-15 (4 p'sukim)

Deuteronomy 26:12-15 Tree of Life Version (TLV)

12 “When you finish tithing the full tenth of your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, you are to give it to the Levite, to the outsider, to the orphan and to the widow, so that they may eat within your town gates and be satisfied. 13 Then you are to say before Adonai your God, ‘I have removed the holy tithe from my house and also have given it to the Levite and to the outsider, to the orphan and to the widow, according to all Your mitzvah that You have commanded me. I have not transgressed or forgotten any of Your mitzvot. 14 I have not eaten from the tithe in my mourning, or removed any of it while unclean, or given any of it to the dead. I have obeyed the voice of Adonai my God; I have done all just as You commanded me. 15 Look down from Your holy dwelling place, from the heavens and bless Your people Israel and the soil You have given us, as You swore to our fathers—a land flowing with milk and honey.’

12 כִּ֣י תְכַלֶּ֞ה לַ֠עְשֵׂר אֶת־כָּל־מַעְשַׂ֧ר תְּבוּאָתְךָ֛ בַּשָּׁנָ֥ה הַשְּׁלִישִׁ֖ת שְׁנַ֣ת הַֽמַּעֲשֵׂ֑ר וְנָתַתָּ֣ה לַלֵּוִ֗י לַגֵּר֙ לַיָּת֣וֹם וְלָֽאַלְמָנָ֔ה וְאָכְל֥וּ בִשְׁעָרֶ֖יךָ וְשָׂבֵֽעוּ׃

13 וְאָמַרְתָּ֡ לִפְנֵי֩ יְהוָ֨ה אֱלֹהֶ֜יךָ בִּעַ֧רְתִּי הַקֹּ֣דֶשׁ מִן־הַבַּ֗יִת וְגַ֨ם נְתַתִּ֤יו לַלֵּוִי֙ וְלַגֵּר֙ לַיָּת֣וֹם וְלָאַלְמָנָ֔ה כְּכָל־מִצְוָתְךָ֖ אֲשֶׁ֣ר צִוִּיתָ֑נִי לֹֽא־עָבַ֥רְתִּי מִמִּצְוֺתֶ֖יךָ וְלֹ֥א שָׁכָֽחְתִּי׃

14 לֹא־אָכַ֨לְתִּי בְאֹנִ֜י מִמֶּ֗נּוּ וְלֹא־בִעַ֤רְתִּי מִמֶּ֙נּוּ֙ בְּטָמֵ֔א וְלֹא־נָתַ֥תִּי מִמֶּ֖נּוּ לְמֵ֑ת שָׁמַ֗עְתִּי בְּקוֹל֙ יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהָ֔י עָשִׂ֕יתִי כְּכֹ֖ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר צִוִּיתָֽנִי׃

15 הַשְׁקִיפָה֩ מִמְּע֨וֹן קָדְשְׁךָ֜ מִן־הַשָּׁמַ֗יִם וּבָרֵ֤ךְ אֶֽת־עַמְּךָ֙ אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וְאֵת֙ הָאֲדָמָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר נָתַ֖תָּה לָ֑נוּ כַּאֲשֶׁ֤ר נִשְׁבַּ֙עְתָּ֙ לַאֲבֹתֵ֔ינוּ אֶ֛רֶץ זָבַ֥ת חָלָ֖ב וּדְבָֽשׁ׃ ס

Within these short 4 pesukim, there is alot of refreences to the different tithes and years of tithes.  Yesterday, I shared about the First, Second and Third tithes.  Rashi comments on these 4 pesukim as follows:

I have removed the holy [portions] from the house: This refers to: a) “the second tithe,” and b) נֶטַע רְבָעִי, the fruit yielded by a tree in its fourth year of growth [both of which are termed קֹדֶשׁ, holy (portions)], they must be brought up to Jerusalem and eaten there in purity. [Accordingly,] the verse here teaches us that if one has delayed bringing these tithes up to Jerusalem for two years, he must take them up now [in the third year].

 

בערתי הקדש מן הבית: זה מעשר שני ונטע רבעי, ולמדך שאם שהה מעשרותיו של שתי שנים ולא העלם לירושלים, שצריך להעלותם עכשיו:

and I have also given it to the Levite: This refers to “the first tithe.” - [ibid.] [The seemingly superfluous word “also”] comes to include terumah, [the part given to the kohen] and the firstfruits [which are also given to the kohen. Since Kohanim stem from the tribe of Levi, they are referred to here as Levites]. — [Yerushalmi Ma’aser Sheni 5:5]
 

וגם נתתיו ללוי: זה מעשר ראשון. וגם לרבות תרומה ובכורים:

the stranger, the orphan and the widow: This refers to “the tithe for the poor.” - [Sifrei 26:13]

 

ולגר ליתום ולאלמנה: זה מעשר עני:

according to all Your commandment: I have given them [the tithes] in their proper sequence (ibid). I did not give terumah before the firstfruits; I did not give tithes before terumah; I did not give the second tithe before the first tithe. For terumah is termed רֵאשִׁית, “the first one,” because it is the first portion to be separated when the produce has become [matured] “grain,” and it is written [regarding the separation of tithes]: מְלֵאָתְךָ וְדִמְעֲךָ לֹא תְאַחֵר (Exod. 22:28), which means that one must not change the order [set out in Scripture for separating tithes]. - [Mechilta , Exod. 22:28]

 

ככל מצותך: נתתים כסדרן ולא הקדמתי תרומה לבכורים, ולא מעשר לתרומה ולא שני לראשון, שהתרומה קרויה ראשית, שהיא ראשונה משנעשה דגן, וכתיב (שמות כב כח) מלאתך ודמעך לא תאחר, לא תשנה את הסדר:

I have not transgressed Your commandments: I did not separate tithes from one species [of produce to fulfill the obligation of tithe-separation due] from another species [of produce], and I did not separate tithes from the new crop [of the year to fulfill the obligation of tithe-separation due] from the old crop. — [Sifrei, Ma’aser Sheni 5:11]
 

לא עברתי ממצותיך: לא הפרשתי ממין על שאינו מינו ומן החדש על הישן:

nor have I forgotten: to bless You [on the performance of the mitzvah] of separating tithes. — [ibid.]

As you can see, during the Biblical period, when the Temple stood and while most people were living in an agricultural society; tithing was not as "simple" as it is today, to simply write a check for 10% of your income on a weekly basis!  It was much more complicated than that!

But I would like you to notice this second "liturgy" that the Torah requires you to recite "after" you are finished giving your tithes.  Notice how the worshiper is to recite the following... "I have done this... and I have done that... and I have not failed to... etc... etc...  This liturgy which was intended to remind the worshiper of the proper order and procedure for giving and bringing in the First, Second and Third Tithes; actually later became used as a source of pride and arrogance for some Jews who were very scrupulous to fulfill all of these laws and all of their particulars down to the very minutia of each of the kinds of tithes and how they are seperated; but at the same time, they failed to simply "love their neighbor" as the Torah commanded.

This was what Yeshua of Nazareth brought up when He scolded the P'rushim for their hypocrisy.  He was not against "Tithing".  Nor was it wrong to perform all of these details when someone tithes; but what is the point of becoming a master at tithing but forgetting the simpler but more weightier matters of the Torah?

Matthew 23:23 “Woe to you hypocritical Torah-teachers and P’rushim! You pay your tithes of mint, dill and cumin; but you have neglected the weightier matters of the Torah — justice, mercy, trust. These are the things you should have attended to — without neglecting the others! 24 Blind guides! — straining out a gnat, meanwhile swallowing a camel!

Our Messiah warned us against the Chometz of the P'rushim, which is "Pride".  We often take pride in being Jewish, and having the Torah given to us and being the "Chosen".  Shabbat is a beautiful heritage and as we say in the Siddur, Ashreinu!  How beautiful our portion and pleasant is our lot, and how beautiful is our heritage!

Nonetheless, if we become arrogant and begin to look down on others, especially Gentiles who do not have the Torah, and other Jewish believers who do not live to our level of Torah observance; and forget that we are supposed to be a light to the Gentiles... then the yeast of the P'rushim begins to ferment in our nefesh...

Just as Yeshua pointed out...

Luke 18:9 Also, to some who were relying on their own righteousness and looking down on everyone else, he told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Parush and the other a tax-collector. 11 The Parush stood and prayed to himself, ‘O God! I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity — greedy, dishonest, immoral, or like this tax-collector! 12 I fast twice a week, I pay tithes on my entire income, . . . ’ 13 But the tax-collector, standing far off, would not even raise his eyes toward heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God! Have mercy on me, sinner that I am!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his home right with God rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but everyone who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Instead of reciting b'ruchas thanking God that He did not create us to be slaves, Gentiles, or women, let us beat our breasts and thank Him that despite our grave sins and errors and all of our wanton rebellion against Him, He who is merciful and compassionate is "slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness and truth, showing mercy to a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, yet by no means leaving the guilty unpunished, but bringing the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, to the third and fourth generation.” (Exodus 34:6-7)

Especially now at this season of Elul and prepare our hearts for the day of the trumpet blast and when the Books are opened on Yom Kippur.

B'rachot