Parshas Lech Lecha
1. The Rambam[1], when he enumerates the mitzvos that existed before the Giving of the Torah — with Adam, Noach, Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov and Amram — writes: “And Yitzchak set aside a tithe.” The Ra’avad disputes him and says that Avraham set aside a tithe. The commentators[2] say that the source for the Rambam’s view is the verse[3] “And he found in that year a hundredfold,” which our Sages[4] interpret to mean that “he measured it on account of the tithes.” And the source for the Ra’avad’s view is the explicit verse[5] “And he gave him a tithe of everything”[6].
The question arises: since we already find a tithe with Avraham, why does the Rambam say “And Yitzchak set aside a tithe”?
[There are commentators who explain that “And he gave him a tithe of everything” does not mean that Avraham gave a tithe to Malki-Tzedek[7], but that Malki-Tzedek gave a tithe to Avraham[8], for at that point Avraham became the kohen[9]. This, however, only answers why the Rambam does not say “Avraham set aside a tithe”; it is no answer to why he says “Yitzchak set aside a tithe”: since a tithe was already set aside before Yitzchak too[10], how can it be counted among the mitzvos that were newly introduced through Yitzchak?]
Other commentators answer[11] that since by Torah law tithes apply only to produce of the soil, it must be that the “tithe of everything” written with regard to Avraham was not given on account of the mitzvah of tithes.
This answer, however, is not smooth, at least in light of the Rambam’s wording: since Avraham our father also fulfilled Rabbinic mitzvos[12], and by Rabbinic law at least[13] there is a full obligation[14] to give a tithe of all earnings[15], it would be reasonable to say that when he gave “a tithe of everything” he did so as the Rabbinic mitzvah of tithes (only not as a mitzvah and obligation for his descendants after him). That being so, it is explicit in the Torah that Avraham set aside a tithe (at least for himself — as above). The Rambam, then, in writing “And Yitzchak set aside a tithe,” should have indicated how Avraham differs in this?
The explanation of this is: “And he gave him a tithe of everything,” which is mentioned only here, means — according to the Rambam[16] — that Avraham gave a tithe of the spoils of war that are being spoken of here. And since, apart from the spoils that he took in the war, we do not find that Avraham gave a tithe, it is reasonable to say that this tithe was similar to the mitzvah of the levy (terumas ha-mechess)[17] from the captives and booty that were taken in the war against Midian, a mitzvah that does not[18] apply for all generations. And therefore the Rambam says “And Yitzchak set aside a tithe,” because Yitzchak is the first of whom we find that he set aside the kind of tithe that became a mitzvah for all generations[19].
And although “Avraham our father fulfilled the entire Torah before it was given”[20] — we see, however, that the Rambam here counts only those mitzvos about which the Torah relates explicitly[21].
2. The distinction and the accomplishment of the services (and mitzvos) that are written explicitly in the Torah with each of the Avos, as against their having fulfilled the entire Torah, can be explained:
a) The matters written explicitly, each of the Avos performed by virtue of his own particular quality. That is, the services explicit with Avraham are of the line of Chessed — the attribute of “Avraham who loved Me”; the services written explicitly with Yitzchak are of the line of Gevurah — the attribute of Yitzchak (“the Fear of Yitzchak”); and the services explicit with Yaakov are of the line of Tiferes — the attribute of Yaakov[22]. Whereas the other mitzvos (which are not written explicitly), the Avos fulfilled by virtue of the interinclusion whereby all the Sefiros are included in one another[23].
b) The mitzvos written explicitly with the Avos are (primarily[24]) the “sign for the children” and the empowerment for the mitzvos that we fulfill after the Giving of the Torah[25]. That is why the Rambam lists with Avraham only the mitzvah of circumcision and the morning prayer — even though he fulfilled the entire Torah, as above — because it is specifically these mitzvos that even now are attributed to Avraham (although we fulfill them because they were given to Moshe at Sinai — not because of Avraham[26]), in that he gave the empowerment for them.
3. From all the above, two opposite points emerge regarding “And he gave him a tithe of everything,” which the Torah relates of Avraham:
a) That the giving of the tithe is of the line of Chessed. In this it differs from our setting aside of tithes, which derives from “Yitzchak set aside a tithe” and which (like all of Yitzchak’s deeds) is of the line of Gevurah.
b) And nevertheless, the tithe that Avraham gave also provides a certain empowerment for the mitzvah of setting aside tithes that we fulfill now, although the main empowerment for the mitzvah comes from Yitzchak’s setting aside of the tithe. (For since all the (mitzvos and) deeds of the Avos that the Torah relates are a “sign for the children,” an empowerment for our mitzvos, and the levy does not apply for all generations, we must say that “And he gave him a tithe of everything” is an empowerment not only for a one-time matter of the war against Midian, concerning which an explicit and detailed command came at the time, but (also) for our tithe — which applies for all generations.)
4. The explanation of all the above:
The general significance of the mitzvah of tithes, which must be given to the Levi (and similarly the tithe of money that one must give to charity), is — “The earth and its fullness are G‑d’s”[27]: everything a Jew possesses belongs to G‑d, and therefore first of all he must give away a tenth — and the tenth must be of the choicest[28] — to the Levi, of whom “G‑d is his inheritance”[29], and only after that does he use the other parts for his own purposes.
This lesson, however, comes not only from the mitzvah of tithes that are given to the Levi, but also from the priestly gifts. As the Chinuch elaborates regarding the mitzvah of the firstborn[30] — the first (written in the Torah) of the twenty-four priestly gifts — that it is “in order to know that everything is His.”
It is self-evident, however, that tithes contain a special lesson that is not found in the priestly gifts. This will be understood from the two opposites present in this mitzvah:
On the one hand, with tithes no specific fruits and the like are designated — that it is specifically they which must be set aside as tithe and given to the Levi (unlike most priestly gifts[31], where from the outset, even before they are given to the kohen, specific things (or portions of things) have already been designated, and it is specifically they which must be given to the kohen). This shows that every fruit — whichever it may be (including those which he later sets aside) — belongs (beforehand) entirely to the owners.
On the other hand: even before the setting aside, a fixed amount has already been established — a tenth, no more and no less; “one does not tithe by estimate”[32] — which must be given to the Levi (unlike terumah, for example[33], which by Torah law has no fixed measure at all — one gives as much as the owners wish — and even by Rabbinic law it is given by estimate[34], as the person assesses it).
From this it is understood that in the mitzvah of tithes the idea of “The earth and its fullness are G‑d’s” is specially emphasized, more than in the priestly gifts[35]: that G‑d’s ownership extends also over the property that seemingly belongs entirely to the person, and this — at the time when it belongs to the person (before the setting aside); and not merely a general ownership (as with terumah and the like), but — in a fixed and measured manner.
5. Accordingly, the connection of tithes specifically to Yitzchak’s service is understood:
The difference between the service of Avraham (the line of Chessed) and the service of Yitzchak (the line of Gevurah) is[36]:
Avraham’s service consisted of drawing down from above to below. That is, he drew the “above” into the “below,” but the existence of the “below” “remained” below, not elevated. Yitzchak’s service, by contrast, was “elevation from below to above”: he raised up the below and made it itself — by virtue of its own nature — into a vessel for G‑dliness. And as was once discussed at length[37], this is the reason that Yitzchak occupied himself with digging wells, for the content of this is: not to pour in, bringing living water from another place, but to uncover and bring up the living water that is found below in the earth, at the site of the well.
And therefore tithes relate primarily to Yitzchak, because the concept of tithes also emphasizes that a person’s property as it is in itself (even before one fulfills with it the mitzvah of setting aside the tithe) relates to G‑d. It is merely that before the setting aside this connection is concealed, and the setting aside reveals[38] (G‑d’s portion in his property) what was there beforehand (similar to the digging of wells, where the digging reveals the living water that was at the site of the well beforehand).
And this is also the reason that the tithe is given to a Levi, for the concept of the Levi too is elevation from below to above, the quality of Yitzchak[39] (unlike the kohen, whose concept is drawing down from above to below).
6. According to the above we will also understand the reason why Avraham’s tithe was only from spoils of war, similar to the levy in the war against Midian:
In a war between two sides, even when one side is much stronger than the other, one can never be certain who will be victorious. That is why it was said to Ben-Hadad, king of Aram, “Let not him who girds on his armor boast like him who takes it off”[40] — although Aram was much stronger (by the natural order) than the Jews (which is why he boasted that he would be victorious) — because sometimes the weaker side can gain strength and be victorious. Therefore, whenever one wins a war, even when it is the stronger side that is victorious, the victor must give special praise and thanks to G‑d.
All the more so in a case where the victory is entirely above nature, as in the war of Avraham our father, when a handful of men (or only two men[41]) defeated four mighty kings[42]; and similarly in the war against Midian, where although “twelve thousand armed for war”[43] took part in it, the war was conducted above the way of nature, for in the natural way it is inevitable that the side which emerges completely victorious should also suffer some harm, and here, in the war against Midian, it is written “not one man of us is missing”[44] — in such a case there is due an altogether special praise and thanks to G‑d[45].
And this is the connection between giving a tithe from spoils of war and the service of Avraham — drawing G‑dliness down from above to below[46]: since he received the spoils through a miracle, they are for him from the outset (not a matter of the world, but) G‑dliness. True, also when one thanks G‑d and praises Him for a miracle, one thereby shows that G‑d is Master also over nature[47] and conducts it[48] [especially when the miracle is enclothed in nature[49] — like the miracle that happened to Avraham our father when he waged war with the kings]; but the revelation comes by virtue of the drawing down of the light that is above nature, not from nature itself. And therefore this accords with the service of Avraham our father, “And he called there in the name of G‑d, the G‑d of the world”: his proclaiming “G‑d of the world” — that the world is G‑dliness[50] — was for him (not from the standpoint of the “world” itself, but) in the manner of from above to below[51].
And therefore the Rambam says that the tithe we set aside, whose concept is that a person’s property in itself belongs to G‑d, derives not from the setting aside of the tithe by Avraham our father, but from “Yitzchak set aside a tithe” — for his measuring the grain in order to know how much tithe to give took place before he knew of the miracle that it had grown a hundred times more than had been estimated.
Nevertheless the Torah also tells us of Avraham’s “And he gave him a tithe of everything,” because from it we derive a special lesson and empowerment for our giving of tithes, which cannot be learned from Yitzchak’s giving of the tithe.
7. This will be understood by first noting what is written in Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer[52] on the verse “And Yitzchak sowed”: “Did Yitzchak sow grain, G‑d forbid? Rather, he took the tithe of all his wealth and sowed charity for the poor, as it is said, ‘Sow for yourselves charity.’”
What is so astonishing, that it says “Did Yitzchak sow grain, G‑d forbid?” It is explained[53]: since the Avos were shepherds and wandered from one place to another, while sowing grain is possible only when one is settled permanently in one place, Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer therefore concludes that “And Yitzchak sowed” does not mean “sowed grain,” but “sowed charity.”
According to this explanation, however, it is not understood:
a) There is indeed a compelling reason that Yitzchak did not sow grain; but why is this such an outrage that one should say about it “G‑d forbid”[54]?
b) In the Midrash and in Rashi’s commentary it is stated that Yitzchak did sow grain. That in itself is no wonder, for we find in many places in the Midrashim of our Sages several differing views. There is, however, a rule that there cannot be completely opposite opinions[55]. How then is it possible that according to the Midrash and Rashi Yitzchak did sow grain, while according to Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer this is so far removed as to say “Did Yitzchak sow grain, G‑d forbid?”
The explanation of this, however, is: also according to Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer the meaning of “And Yitzchak sowed” is, in its plain sense, that Yitzchak sowed grain (for “a verse does not depart from its plain meaning”[56]). And by saying “Did Yitzchak sow grain, G‑d forbid? Rather etc. he sowed charity,” it means to bring out the content and inner dimension of that “sowing”:
Of the Avos it is said “the Avos are the Chariot”[57]: “for all their limbs were holy and separated from the matters of this world… all their days”[58].
It is therefore unthinkable to say that Yitzchak’s “sowing” was in its content a matter of sowing grain[59]. That is why Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer says that “And Yitzchak sowed” — though outwardly he did indeed sow grain, inwardly it was “sowing charity”: Yitzchak needed to set aside his tithes, and since the Torah mitzvah of tithes applies specifically to produce, and specifically to one’s own produce[60], he therefore sowed grain in order to set aside his tithe. It is thus not a matter of “sowing grain” but of “sowing charity”[61] — “and they became a chariot only for the Supreme Will alone”[58].
8. According to the above, the advantage of the tithe that Avraham gave over the tithe that Yitzchak gave is understood:
The property that Avraham captured during the war was in its content as well (openly[62]) physical property. Therefore, when Avraham gave a tithe of that property to Shem, who was “a priest of the Most High G‑d”[63], he thereby demonstrated that physical matters too belong to G‑d. Whereas with Yitzchak, since from the outset his sowing was not a matter of “sowing grain,” the giving of a tithe from that kind of grain does not express that physical matters too belong to G‑d.
[Similar to the advantage of “All your deeds shall be for the sake of Heaven” and “In all your ways know Him”[64] over the fulfillment of mitzvos with physical things: the physical object with which one fulfills a mitzvah is used by the person from the outset for the sake of fulfilling the mitzvah, and therefore it does not express that physicality itself is G‑dliness. Whereas the service of “All your deeds shall be for the sake of Heaven” and “In all your ways know Him” shows that even his private deeds and ways become “for the sake of Heaven” and are in the manner of “know Him.”]
And this does not contradict what was said above (sections 5–6), that it is specifically Yitzchak’s tithe which expresses that the world too is G‑dliness — for on the contrary: this is the concept of “elevation from below to above,” the service of Yitzchak, as will be explained.
9. In “elevation from below to above,” it is the below itself that is elevated; this, however, is in a movement of elevation: it is raised up and goes out of its lowliness. Whereas in “drawing down from above to below,” although the drawing of G‑dliness into the “below” is from above — not from the below itself — the drawing comes into it as it is found below[65].
And therefore, although the property from which Yitzchak gave a tithe was natural property (in Yitzchak’s awareness), and out of that “below” he made a mitzvah, he did so in a manner of elevation: the property went out of its “below” and was raised up to the mitzvah, until this became its entire content[66].
Whereas with the tithe that Avraham gave, although the spoils came by way of drawing down from above — through the miracle that occurred in the process — the mitzvah was drawn into the property as it remained in its content — below.
10. And this is also the reason why the mitzvah of tithes, as it was given to us after the Giving of the Torah, requires an empowerment (not only from Yitzchak’s setting aside of the tithe, but) also from Avraham’s setting aside of the tithe[67]:
The mitzvah of tithes signifies that even a person’s private matters, which he does by virtue of his nature[68] — which even after the service of “for the sake of Heaven” and “know Him” remain “your deeds” and “your ways”[69] — must be permeated with G‑dliness (as is plainly understood from the fact that from every possession a Jew has, even when he is after its “physicality,” he must give a tenth of it to G‑d).
One must therefore draw the power for this from Avraham, who gave a tithe from property whose “content” is “physicality.”
11. In addition: about the mitzvah of tithes it is said[70] “Tithe, so that you will become wealthy.” The intent in giving a tithe is to show how through the mitzvah one becomes rich. And G‑d asks, “Test Me now with this” (despite the prohibition “You shall not[71] test”)[72], because the intent of the mitzvah of tithes is to reveal the wealth that one receives through the mitzvah.
And since the intent of tithes is to demonstrate the bounty that is drawn down from Above through the fulfillment of the mitzvos, it is therefore connected with Avraham, whose concept was “And he called there in the name of G‑d, the G‑d of the world,” as above — to proclaim and make known that G‑d is the One who conducts the entire world and gives each one all his needs with kindness[73].
(From talks of Shabbos Parshas Toldos, 19 Kislev, and Shabbos Parshas Mikeitz, 5725)
Key Lesson
Yitzchak’s tithe, measured from grain he sowed purely in order to give it, teaches that a person’s property, as it is in itself, already belongs to G‑d, and that setting aside the tithe reveals G‑d’s share hidden within it, like digging a well to uncover water already there. Avraham’s tithe, given from the spoils of a war won by a miracle, adds that even what is plainly physical, and stays physical, must carry G‑dliness. A Jew draws on both: he lifts his ordinary affairs toward holiness, and even when he is pursuing material gain, he gives a tenth of it to G‑d. This shows the world that G‑d conducts everything and that the mitzvah itself brings blessing and wealth.