The Patriarchs Who First Set Aside the Tithes of Israel

[6] "Keep, my son, the commandment of your father, and do not forsake the teaching of your mother" (Proverbs 6:20). Rabbi Chuna said: the first fathers set aside terumah and tithes. Abraham set aside the great terumah, "I have lifted up my hand to the LORD" (Genesis 14:22), and "lifting up" means nothing other than terumah, as you say, "and you shall lift up [set aside] from it the terumah of the LORD" (Numbers 18:26). Isaac set aside the second tithe, "And Isaac sowed in that land" and so forth (Genesis 26:12). Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: but does the blessing not rest upon what is measured, nor upon what is weighed, nor upon what is counted? Then why did he measure it? In order to tithe it. This is what is written, "and the LORD blessed him" (ibid.). Jacob set aside the first tithe. This is what is written, "and of all that You give me I will surely tithe to You" (Genesis 28:22). A certain Samaritan came and asked Rabbi Meir, saying to him, "Do you not say that this Jacob, your father, was truthful?" He said to him, "Yes, for it is written, 'You shall give truth to Jacob' (Micah 7:20)." He said to him, "He set aside the tribe of Levi, one out of ten of the tribes; should he not have set aside also from the second [group]?" He said to him, "You say they were twelve, but I say they were fourteen, 'Ephraim and Manasseh shall be to me like Reuben and Simeon' (Genesis 48:5)." He said to him, "And here is the trouble, that you give me no help: when you add flour, you add water." He said to him, "Do you not concede to me that there were four matriarchs?" He said to him, "Yes." He said to him, "Take out from them the four firstborn of the four matriarchs, for the firstborn is not tithed. Why? Because he is already holy, and the holy does not bring forth holy [a holy one cannot serve as the tenth]." He said to him, "Happy is your nation; what is within it!" "And do not forsake the teaching of your mother" (Proverbs 6:20): your nation. This is what David says, "To do Your will, my God, I desire, and Your Torah is within my innermost parts" (Psalms 40:9). Rabbi Acha bar Ulla said: is there Torah within the innermost parts? Is it not written, "upon their heart I will write it" (Jeremiah 31:32)? Rather David said, "Let it come upon me if any thing went down into my innermost parts before I had tithed it." This is what is written, "and over the king's storehouses was Azmaveth son of Adiel, and over the storehouses in the field, in the cities, and in the villages" and so forth (1 Chronicles 27:25). Therefore Moses warns Israel: "You shall surely tithe" (Deuteronomy 14:22).