Few commandments promote such a salubrious effect on a man’s fear of the Maker as the Torah’s
agricultural laws. Deuteronomy 14 deals with one type of tithing – the second tithe. Abravanel notes
that the topic of tithing has been broached earlier in the Torah. Here, the treatment is different, he
writes. How? Elsewhere the Torah discusses the different types of tithes together. Yet here, this chapter
leaves out Teruma and the first tithe, and proceeds directly to a third category – the second tithe.
“You shall surely tithe all the increase of your seed, that which is brought
forth in the year by year. And you shall eat before God your Almighty, in
the place He shall choose to cause His name to dwell there…that you
will learn to fear God your Almighty all your days.”
Herein does our verse supply an answer for allocating agricultural alms. Namely, even though a grower,
together with his son, daughter, servant and maidservant shall partake of the second tithe, no
differently than his other crops, notwithstanding, a Jew shall not misconstrue its import. He should not
doubt the fundamental distinction between both products (second tithe and non-tithes) nor given the
identical outward result (the farmer partakes of both), he should not question why a separate second
tithe is set apart in the first place.
In fact, Abravanel puts forth, an observant farmer's deed accomplishes wonders. The acts of designating
the second tithe and transporting it to Jerusalem in order to eat it there – for the sake of a
commandment before God – fosters fear of the Creator. Moreover, it instills that desirable trait within
him. Fear follows from faithfully fulfilling the injunction of the second tithe. Similarly, and in a more
general sense, fear is instilled when Jews observe divine directives. Religious routine works marvelously
to subjugate a soul to the Maker, leading to fear of the One Above.
How apropos, then, that the second tithe takes place in the warm embrace of the holy Tabernacle, in
the company of the priests! Could there be a more inspiring ensemble of mind and spirit, awe-inspiring
infusion of heart and soul to tap into fear of Heaven!
"And if the way be too long for you that you will not be able to carry it on account of the place being too
distant which God your Almighty has designated to set His name there, when God your Almighty blesses
you." The verse contains four repetitions of the word we translate as "if" or "when". What do they all
convey?
For starters, we learn about two dispensations so far as the second tithe is concerned. An arduous
journey serves as a practical deterrent or obstacle. Second, a Jew opts out of the undertaking if he
cannot manage the ponderous load of the gifts. God's blessing, Heaven's boon may have increased the
grower's output exponentially. A lumbering wagon drawn by overburdened animals reeling under an
unruly mountain of fruit douses a man's aspiration. Alas, he deems it impractical to ascend the Holy
Mountain. Essentially, the verse describes a confluence of factors (distance plus bumper crop) that
frustrate even the best of intentions.
The Torah relays a ready remedy in the second tithe cases involving ginormous agricultural yields, as we
have been describing. "Then you shall turn it into money and bundle the money in your hand…." A quid
pro quo redemption – market value of the produce for money – is arranged. Duly valued crops get
converted into their cash equivalent, which is then brought to Jerusalem, "...unto the place which God
your Almighty shall designate."
