Negative Commandment 154 (Digest)
Following the Prescribed Order of Tithes
"The fullness of your [harvest] and of the outflow of your [presses] you shall not delay"—Exodus 22:28.
It is forbidden to deviate from the order of the harvest's tithes prescribed by the Torah.
Bikkurim [the first fruits taken to Jerusalem and given to the priest] is the first gift that is given from the harvest. Afterwards one separates 1/50 of the remaining crop for Terumah. Then one separates 1/10 of the remainder, the First Tithe. Then one separates 1/10 of the remainder, the Second Tithe. The Terumah is given to the priest, the First Tithe to the Levite, and the Second Tithe is eaten by the owners in Jerusalem.
If this order was not followed, i.e., if one separated a later tithe before one that should have preceded it – though the action is valid – he has transgressed this prohibition.
The
154th prohibition is that we are forbidden from giving the agricultural gifts
out of order; rather, we must give them in the proper order.
The
explanation of this is as follows: wheat, for example, which was threshed and
piled up has the status of tevel. One must set aside 1/50th for terumah gedolah. Then, one must set
aside 1/10th of the remainder for ma'aser
rishon. After that, one must set aside 1/10th of the remainder for ma'aser sheni. One gives the terumah gedolah to a Kohen; the ma'aser rishon to a Levite; and eats the
ma'aser sheni himself in Jerusalem.
This
law prohibits either giving earlier that which should come later or delaying
that which should come earlier.
The
source of this prohibition is G‑d's statement, "Do not delay your offerings of newly ripened
produce (m'lei'as'cha) and your
agricultural offerings (dimas'cha)," i.e.,
do not delay that which should come earlier.
The
Mishneh in tractate Terumos says, "One who gave terumah before bikkurim,
or ma'aser rishon before terumah, or ma'aser sheni before ma'aser
rishon—although he transgressed a negative commandment, as it says, 'Do
not delay your offerings of newly ripened produce and your agricultural
offerings,' his act is still valid."
The
Mechilta says, "The word 'm'lei'ascha' refers to bikkurim, which are picked only when
ripe (m'lai); 'dimas'cha' refers to terumah;
'do not delay' means that one may not give ma'aser
sheni before ma'aser rishon, ma'aser rishon before terumah, or terumah before bikkurim." It
also says in that passage, "This verse is the source for the law that
although one who gave terumah before bikkurim or ma'aser sheni before ma'aser
rishon transgressed a negative commandment, his act is still valid."
In
the beginning of tractate Temurah it is explained that one who violates this
commandment does not receive lashes.
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