“This stone that I have established as a monument will be the House of God and everything that You will give me I will tithe to You” (Genesis 28:22). “This stone that I have established as a monument will be the House of God and everything that You will give me I will tithe to You.” One idolater asked Rabbi Meir, he said to him: ‘The first issue of your donkey, with what is it redeemed?’ He said to him: ‘With a lamb, as it is written: “The first issue of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb [seh]”’ (Exodus 34:20).
He said to him: ‘If he does not have a lamb?’ He said to him: ‘With a goat.’ He said to him: ‘From where do you derive this?’ He said to him: ‘It is as it is written: “You shall take it from the sheep or from the goats”’ (Exodus 12:5).
He said to him: ‘That is for the paschal lamb.’ He said to him: ‘A goat is also called seh.’ [He said:] ‘From where do you derive this?’ He said to him: ‘“These are the animals that you may eat: An ox, a sheep [seh khevasim], and a goat [seh izim]”’ (Deuteronomy 14:4). He stood and kissed him on his head.
Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin said in the name of Rabbi Levi: A certain Samaritan asked Rabbi Meir, he said to him: ‘Do you not say that Jacob is truthful, as the verse says “Give truth to Jacob”?’ (Micah 7:20). He said to him: ‘Yes.’ He said to him: ‘But did he not say: “Everything that You will give me I will tithe to You”?’ He said to him: ‘Yes.’
He said to him: ‘He separated the tribe of Levi as a tithe. Why did he not separate one from the other two tribes?’14There were twelve tribes. One tenth of twelve would be 1.2 tribes, but Jacob set aside only one tribe, which is a tenth of ten, and not a tenth of twelve. He said to him: ‘Were they twelve?
Were they not fourteen? “Ephraim and Manasseh will be for me like Reuben and Simeon”’ (Genesis 48:5). He said to him: ‘All the more so – if you add water, add flour.’15If you add more tribes, you should increase the tithe. He said to him: ‘Do you not concede to me that there were four matriarchs?
The firstborn is sacred, and sacred does not produce sacred.’16Deduct one tribe for the firstborn of each of the matriarchs; therefore, tithes need be taken only from ten. He said to him: ‘Happy are you, and happy is your nation, that you are found in its midst.’