Worksheet I - From the Law of Moses

1. Who was tithe for? (Numbers 18:20-21)
_____________________________________________

2. What were the Levites' jobs? (Numbers 3:5-10) _____________________________________________

3. Tithe was 10% of what? (Leviticus 27:30,32)
a. __________________
b. __________________

4. So did carpenters, craftsmen, midwives, weavers, servants & blacksmiths tithe? Circle answer: YES or NO

5. If tithe was converted to money, how much was added to it? (Leviticus 27:31)
_____________________________________________

6. How often did the Israelites practice tithing?
a. (Deuteronomy 14:22) ____________________
b. (Deuteronomy 14:28) ____________________

7. What was done with the tithe?
a. (Numbers 18:31) ______________________________
b. (Deuteronomy 14:22-26) ______________________________
c. (Deuteronomy 14:28-29) ______________________________


QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION - I

Did you know that Jewish synagogues & rabbis do not receive tithes? [1]

Did you know that Orthodox Jews in Israel who choose to tithe give it only to charity? [2]

Since Orthodox Jews give their tithes only to charity and not to synagogues, does it look good if Christians use tithe primarily to support their own church buildings and staff?

Since tithe in the Law strictly commanded the Israelites to remember and support the needy, which do you think is more in the spirit of the original tithe command—Jews tithing to charity or Christians tithing to the church?

If the Jewish faith does not need to be financed by "tithe" in order to survive, does the Christian gospel need to be financed by "tithe" in order to survive?

Do you think "Christian tithing" helps to show Jews that Jesus Christ is the Messiah?

*******

Footnotes & References

[1] http://www.jewfaq.org/shul.htm, http://www.jewfaq.org/rabbi.htm (retrieved March 2, 2010)

[2] http://www.myjewishlearning.com/israel/Jewish_Thought/Biblical_and_Rabbinic/In_the_Bible/Rights_and_Obligations/Tithing.shtml (retrieved February 26, 2010)

Classical Rabbinical literature actually divides the different types of tithes into at least four categories: Maaser Rishon (the "first tithe" – yearly produce given to Levites), Teruma Gedola or Termat HaMaaser (the best 1% of the produce separated from Maaser Rishon, given to the priests), Maaser Sheni (the "second tithe" – taking 10% of produce to Jerusalem to consume there every year except the third year), Maaser Ani (the "poor tithe" in the third year). Orthodox Jews typically practice all the tithes, redeeming the produce from all of the tithes for money and discarding everything (because there is no temple) except for the poor tithe, which is usually given to charity. (source: http://en.wikipedia.org, retrieved March 9, 2010)

Essentially the Rabbinical view seems to look at each major mention of "tithe" in the Mosaic Law as if each is a separate and specific tithe apart from the others. Yet after prayerfully looking at the Scriptures, I believe that primarily God intended two tithes – one to the Levites and one to the poor. I base that view primarily on the recurring, overlapping themes and recipients in the tithe passages and on how often they were commanded to be given. However, in this study I have not focused on the obviously debatable number of tithes except to establish that (1) there was more than one tithe, (2) none of the tithes were primarily "money", and (3) that their primary purpose was to support the temple and the poor.