Chapter I

והריקותי לכם ברכה עד בלי די

"I shall fill you with more than sufficient blessings."1

This is to be understood according to the Ibn Ezra, who explains that the blessings will be so plentiful that they will be more than sufficient, in line with the [Gemara's] statement:2 "Until your lips will become tired of saying, 'enough.' " These blessings are promised to those individuals who observe the mitzvah of ma'aser , tithing. Our patriarchs, Avraham, Yitzchok and Yaakov observed this mitzvah3 and merited great wealth and success.

To better understand the matter: The verse states:4 "He [Yitzchok] moved away from there (the place where he had already dug two wells)5 and dug another well. This time it was not disputed, so he named it Wide Spaces (Rechovos). 'Now G‑d will grant us wide open spaces,' he said. 'We can be fruitful in the land.' "

Yitzchok lived in the land of Canaan. When a great famine arose, he decided to go to Egypt, just as his father had done6 during a famine.7 Traveling from Canaan to Egypt, he stopped off in Plishtim,8 which lies on the shortest route. This is indicated by the verse:9 "And He did not lead them [the Jewish people upon their exodus from Egypt] through the land of Plishtim, though it was the closest route."10

Yitzchok thought that he would surely receive aid from Avimelech, king of Plishtim, during this period of great hunger,11 since Avimelech had forged a strong bond with Yitzchok's father, Avraham.12 When Yitzchok arrived in Plishtim he settled in Grar, where he realized his great error in thinking that Avimelech would greet him with open arms, for as stated in the Mishnah of Avos :13 "Be wary of those in power, for they befriend a person only for their own benefit; they seem to be a friend when it is to their advantage, but they do not stand by a person in his hour of need."

Suffering from hunger in Grar , Yitzchok decided to [continue his] journey to Egypt. But G‑d appeared to him and told him to stay in Plishtim.14 Yitzchok therefore remained in Grar, where he suffered persecution at the hands of the local inhabitants until the king commanded that he and his family should cease being tormented.15

Yitzchok planted fields and G‑d provided His blessing. Though the land was parched (it being a time of famine, with hardly any rain and much wind), his parched land produced with G‑d's blessings over one hundred times more than was considered possible.16

In summary: G‑d gives His bountiful blessings to those who observe the mitzvah of tithing. When a great famine gripped Canaan, Yitzchok decided to go to Egypt. Stopping off in Plishtim, he was astonished by Avimelech's indifference to his hunger, notwithstanding the treaty of friendship the king had made with his father Avraham. G‑d then gave a wondrous blessing of bounty to Yitzchok's fields.

Chapter II

Rashi comments on the verse:17 "Yitzchok farmed the area and reaped one hundred times [as much as he sowed], for G‑d had blessed him," and says that the "one hundred times" refers to the portion which he gave for tithes, or ma'aser, i.e., the amount of ma'aser was one hundred times more than originally estimated. Pirkei d'Rebbe Eliezer18 comments that "Yitzchok planted tzedakah; he gave ma'aser from all that he possessed, just as Avraham gave [Shem] ma'aser from all that he had."19

When Avraham returned from his war with the kings [who captured his nephew Lot], he was greeted by Noah's son, Shem,20 king of Shalem later to be known as Yerushalayim21 with bread and wine. Avraham gave Shem ma'aser from all that he had. Yaakov, too, gave ma'aser from all his possessions, as the verse says22 [Yaakov said to G‑d]: "Of all that You will give me, I will set aside a tenth to You." Yitzchok maintained this practice.

Concerning the mitzvah of ma'aser the verse says:23 "You shall tithe [lit. ma'aser shall you ma'aser, or, tithe shall you tithe] all the produce of your seed...." The Gemara24 quotes Rabbi Yochanan, who asks: "Why is it that concerning the mitzvah of ma'aser we find the expression, 'Tithe shall you tithe,' " when it would have sufficed for the verse to say, "You shall tithe"? Rabbi Yochanan answers that the word ma'aser is repeated to indicate that by tithing, a person will become rich [the word ma'aser is etymologically related to the word osher, wealth].

The verse should be understood thus: "Give ma'aser so that you shall be wealthy." This is in accordance with the following Talmudic25 discussion: "Rebbe asked R. Yishmael the son of R. Yosi: 'In what merit have the rich citizens of Eretz Yisroel attained their wealth?' R. Yishmael responded: 'Because they scrupulously observed the mitzvah of ma'aser.'"

The Gemara26 relates that Rabbi Yochanan met the young son of his brother-in-law Resh Lakish and said to him: "Recite to me the verse you have learned [today]."

The child answered: "Tithe shall you tithe," and then asked: "What do these words mean?"

Rabbi Yochanan answered: "Give tithes so that you shall be rich."

The boy then asked: "How do you know that this is so?"

Rabbi Yochanan replied: "Go ahead and try it!"

The boy thereupon asked: "But how is it permissible to test G‑d, when it is written27 'You shall not put G‑d to a test'?"

Rabbi Yochanan replied: "G‑d may never be put to a test except in this instance, concerning which G‑d says through the prophet Malachi:28 'Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse [of the Temple], that there may be food in My house, [i.e. so that all the needs of the Temple, which were provided for by ma'aser money, will be taken care of], and test Me now with this, if I will not open the windows of heaven, and fill you with blessings that will be more than sufficient.' "

All this is achieved through giving ma'aser.

In summary: Rashi says that the blessing of a hundred-fold equaled the amount of ma'aser. Pirkei d'Rebbe Eliezer states that Yitzchok gave ma'aser from all he possessed, as did Avraham and Yaakov. Giving ma'aser makes one wealthy. The incident with Resh Lakish's son is described, in which the boy is informed that G‑d invites man to test Him in this matter.

Chapter III

Tosefos and Sifri29 quote the verse: "You shall tithe all the produce of your seed which the field yields year by year," and ask: " 'You shall tithe all the produce of your seed' only indicates that ma'aser is to be given from one's produce. How do we know that it is necessary to give ma'aser from other things?"

They answer: "We know this from the word 'all.' The verse could have simply stated: 'You shall tithe the produce of your field.' The extra word 'all' comes to teach us that ma'aser is to be given from all of one's earnings."

The [above-mentioned verse concludes with the] words, "which the field yields year by year." When a person gives ma'aser , G‑d blesses that from which ma'aser was given. However, when ma'aser is not given, then a field will only produce the amount that should have been given as ma'aser during the previous year. "Which the field yields year by year" thus means to say that the amount a field yields in one year depends on the amount of ma'aser given during the previous year.

There once was an individual30 who scrupulously observed the mitzvah of ma'aser. This person had a field that yielded one thousand measures of grain annually, one hundred of which he would give for ma'aser. He conducted himself in this fashion all his life, and was very wealthy. Before his death he called his son and said to him: "This particular field yields one thousand measures of grain annually." He further told his son that he should be sure to give one hundred measures for ma'aser each year.

The first year after his father's passing the son gave the one hundred measures. The following year, however, he decided that one hundred measures was too much, and gave no ma'aser at all.

The following year his field produced only one hundred measures of grain.

His relatives said to him: "When you conducted yourself in the manner your father commanded, the field gave one thousand measures of grain and you gave one hundred of them for ma'aser. At that time you were the owner and G‑d was the Kohain, the priestly recipient. However, when you decided not to give ma'aser, only one hundred measures of grain grew, for then G‑d was the owner, and you were the priestly recipient."

This is also implied by the verse: "The sacred offerings of each individual remain his property."31 In other words, the manner in which a person conducts himself with regard to his "sacred offerings" [his gifts of ma'aser and the like], affect his property. He who does not give ma'aser properly is left with only the amount he should have given. He that gives ma'aser unstintingly receives a multitude of blessings. This is why G‑d blessed Yitzchok; Yitzchok's giving of ma'aser resulted in his becoming exceedingly wealthy.

In summary: Ma'aser is to be given from all of one's possessions. A wondrous story is told concerning ma'aser. Ma'aser is given by a landowner to a priest. When ma'aser is given, the person is the landowner and G‑d is the priest. When ma'aser is not given, G‑d becomes the landowner and the person becomes the priest, who receives only a tenth of what he would have had if he had given ma'aser.