The animal tithe ( he, מַעְשַׂר בְּהֵמָה, "Ma'sar Behemah") is a
commandment
Commandment may refer to:
* The Ten Commandments
* One of the 613 mitzvot of Judaism
* The Great Commandment
* The New Commandment
* ''Commandment'' (album), a 2007 album by Six Feet Under
* ''Commandments'' (film), a 1997 film starring Aidan Qui ...
in the
Torah requiring the sanctifying a
tithe of
kosher
(also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fro ...
grazing animals (cattle, sheep, and goats) to God, to be sacrificed as a ''
Korban
In Judaism, the korban ( ''qorbān''), also spelled ''qorban'' or ''corban'', is any of a variety of sacrificial offerings described and commanded in the Torah. The plural form is korbanot, korbanoth or korbans.
The term Korban primarily re ...
'' at the
Temple in Jerusalem.
The tithe of animals was not redeemable; and if one animal was exchanged for another both became sanctified. The method of levying the tithe of animals is indicated: they were counted singly; and every tenth one that passed under the rod became the tithe animal.
The
Tannaim inferred from
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_th ...
that each tithe was to be taken of every year's produce separately, whether of crops, of cattle, or of anything else subject to tithing. Also they fixed a particular day to mark the beginning of the year for tithing. The new year's day for the tithing of animals (
Rosh Hashanah L'Ma'sar Behemah) is the first of
Elul according to
Rabbi Meir, or the first of
Tishrei according to
Rabbi Eleazar and
Rabbi Simeon.
The
Sages ordained that animals should not be tithed in the present era when the Temple is not standing.
See also
*
First tithe
*
Poor tithe
The poor tithe, or poor man's tithe ( Hebrew: ''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. It requires that one tenth of produce grown in the third and s ...
*
Second tithe
References
{{Jewish Encyclopedia, inline=1, article=TITHE, author1=J. M. Sel., author2=W. B. M. Sel., url=http://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/14408-tithe, accessdate=June 10, 2013
Positive Mitzvoth
Jewish animal sacrifice
Tithes in Judaism