Sefer Hamitzvot - Lesson 139

"And you shall say before G‑d, your G‑d: 'I have removed the holy from the house, and I have also given it to the Levite, the stranger, the orphan, and the widow...'"—Deuteronomy 26:13.

[This mitzvah is observed on the eve of Passover on the fourth and seventh year of the seven-year Shemitah (Sabbatical) cycle.]

We are commanded to declare before G‑d that we have separated the requisite tithes. We must verbally clear ourselves of these tithes, just as we have physically parted with them.

"The first fruits of your land that ripen you shall bring to the house of G‑d, your G‑d"—Exodus 23:19.

We are commanded to separate the first fruit that ripen and bring them to the Holy Temple, where they are given to the priests.

This mitzvah only applies when the Temple is standing, and only to produce of the "Seven Kinds" [wheat, barley, grapes, figs, dates, pomegranates, and olives] that grew in Israel (on the east or west bank of the Jordan) and certain lands that adjoin Israel.