I Gave at the Office
                           By Rabbi Joshua ( spartanly known as The Hoffer) Hoffman
                 
                 
                 
                  In this week's parsha,we are again told of the laws of forbidden foods.This section is followed by the verse, " Tithe you shall tithe( 'aser te'aser') the entire  crop of your planting,year by year" ( Devorim, 14:22).This verse refers to ma'aser sheni,or the second tithe,which must be brought to Yerushalayim and eaten there by its owners,or redeemed for money which is then taken up to Yerushalayim and spent on food to be eaten there.The Torah then tells us that this procedure of eating ma'aser sheni in Yerushalayim is followed "so that you will learn to fear your God all the days"( Devorim,14: 23). We have discussed, in the past, how one learns to fear God through this process.Some explain that the general holy atmosphere of Yerushalayim will bring one to fear God,while others say that the eating of the ma'aser sheni itself has the intrinsic quality of bringing one to fear God. Rav Shimshon Raphael Hirsch,in his commentary,follows the second view,and,based on that approach, explains the connection between this section and the preceding section regarding forbidden foods.The prohibitions against certain foods, he says, teach us that abstaining from eating these foods guards us from lowering our spiritual level.This view is supported by the Zohar,which says that the forbidden foods are somehow harmful to the soul.The section on eating ma'aser sheni,says Rav Hirsch,teaches us that the eating of permitted foods can actually elevate us spiritually.  I would like to suggest a different connection between these two sections of the Torah,based on a beautiful explanation of the verse we began with,offered by Rav Shimon Schwab in his Ma'ayan Beis HaShoeivah.
                 
                 
                 
                  Rav Schwab mentions the explanation of the Talmud ( Shabbos 119a) to the double expression in our verse- 'tithe you shall tithe'- aser t'aser. The Talmud explains it as a divine promise- tithe so that you shall become rich.Some medieval commentators understand that this promise applies not only to the second tithe, given from one's crops, but also to the tithe of charity that one must give from his earnings each year. However,notes Rav Schwab, this explanation of the Talmud is difficult. Since when,asks Rav Schwab,  is wealth considered to be such a great blessing? Doesn't King Solomon,in Mishlei and Koheles, repeatedly  speak of its pitfalls? Rather,says Rav Schwab,  the wealth referred to in the Talmud should be understood in the sense of the mishnah in Avos,which says,"who is rich? He who is happy with his lot." This is,in fact,the way the Rambam understands the statement in the Talmud( Nedarim, 38a)  that,to be a  prophet,one must, among other things, be rich. While Rabbeinu Nissim, among others,takes this literally,and explain that the prophet needs to be rich so that he will command the people's respect, the Rambam, however,explains it to mean that a prophet must be a person who is satisfied with his lot.This is in line with the Rambam's general opinion,as developed in his Shemoneh Perakim,  that a prophet needs to possess most of the proper ethical traits in addition to all of the intellectual traits.. Based on this understanding of the term 'wealth,'says Rav Schwab,we can explain the statement,'tithe so that you shall become rich' to mean that the very act of tithing will bring a person to this trait of being satisfied with his lot.The act of tithing, he explains,consists of placing a limit on one's desires,and giving of his wealth to others.  Rav Schwab's  explanation, of course,   follows the  opinion among medieval  commentators  that the Talmud in Shabbos also refers to the tithe of charity,so that the  giving of   charity  has the effect of placing a curb on one's indulgences,sharing one's wealth with others,and realizing what true wealth is.  
                 
                 
                  Following Rav Schwab's explanation of the verse in regard to ma'aser sheni,we can now offer another explanation of its connection to the section on forbidden foods which precedes it. Rav Kook explains that man,by nature,should really be a vegetarian,and,in fact, Adam was forbidden to eat meat.Only after the flood was man allowed to eat meat,because,given the lowered  state of man's relations with his fellow man,it would be absurd to concentrate on one's relations with the animal kingdom,as if to say that all is well as far as man's relations with other people. Still, there is a need to remind ourselves that animals are also creations of God,and,although man is allowed to use them for his own  purposes,he should not unduly exploit them. Therefore,a certain limit must be placed on his use of animals. The verse that immediately precedes our  verse about ma'aser sheni,in fact,commands us not to cook a young tender animal  in its mother's milk ( Devorim, 14:21)..Such a practice,says Rav Kook,would be the ultimate form of exploitation, using the very milk which the mother usually  uses to sustain its child to cook it for our own consumption! Thus,the laws of forbidden foods,which teach us to place a limit on  our use of the animal kingdom, are followed by the laws of ma'aser sheni and charity,which teach us the general importance of placing limits on our indulgences.

Please address all correspondence to the author (Rabbi Hoffman) with the following address - JoshHoff @ AOL.com.

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