Tithing and Torah
Torah Living Daily Challenge
My Torah studies brought me to Parashah 47 section 6; a portion of Torah that addresses tithing. Now I must admit that I thought I knew all there was to know about tithing until I came upon this Torah portion. As it turns out, I didn’t know as much as I thought I knew about tithing; or for that matter, I didn’t know as much as I should know about tithing–at least from a Torah perspective. Furthermore, I discovered, regrettably, that my understanding of tithing was based almost entirely upon churchianity’s teaching and practices. That’s not to say, however, that tithing as practiced in churchianity is entirely improper, although the commandment to tithe as recorded in Torah has for the most part been hijacked and used by churchianity to its monetary gain and benefit.
Tithing is not a New Testament concept nor practice as churchianity seems to suggest. There is a slight mention of tithing made by Master, recorded in Matthew 23:23 that reads:
23 “Woe to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you give a tenth (tithe) of your mint and dill and cumin [focusing on minor matters], and have neglected the weightier [more important moral and spiritual] provisions of the Law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the [primary] things you ought to have done without neglecting the others. (AMP)
I can see how some would contend that Jesus encouraged tithing by using this passage as a proof-positive in favor of tithing. However, the biggest problem I find in using this passage as proof-positive that tithing was commanded by Master is that Master was directly addressing Jewish religious leaders who meticulously administered and oversaw the tithing practices of the Jewish citizenry but neglected the important moral and spiritual provisions of the Torah. This passage of Gospel documented one of many examples of Master admonishing or taking the religious authority to task over their tight-gripped administration of Rabbinic Judaism over the Jewish people. Indeed, Master encouraged these Prushim and Scribes to NOT neglect aspects of Torah such as tithing. However, the caveat of this admonishment given by Master was that these individuals should focus on the important moral and spiritual underpinnings of Torah and not focus so much on the minor matters of these and other mitzvot of Torah that Rabbinic Judaism has been renown for. Bottom line, Master instructed the Rabbis to keep up with the tithing, but also give some gray matter to the weightier provisions of Torah, which we all should do as Torah Observant Believers of Y’shua Messiah.
So back to the issue at hand: tithing in accordance with Torah. I found in this Torah passage, as you very well might find when you study this section of Torah, that Father had some specific and special requirements of us when it came to tithing. The passage in reference is Deuteronomy 14:22-29 and reads as follows:
22 “Every year you shall certainly tithe [a tenth] of all the yield of your seed which is produced by your field. 23 [a]You shall eat the tithe (tenth) of your grain, your new wine, your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and your flock before the Lord your God in the place where He chooses to establish His Name (Presence), so that you may learn to fear [and worship] the Lord your God [with awe-filled reverence and profound respect] always. 24 If the place where the Lord your God chooses to set His Name (Presence) is a great distance from you and you are not able to carry your tithe, because the Lord your God has blessed you [with such an abundance], 25 then you shall exchange your tithe for money, and take the money in your hand and go to the place [of worship] which the Lord your God chooses. 26 You may spend the money for [b]anything your heart desires: for oxen, or sheep, or wine, or [other] strong drink, or [c]anything else you want. You shall eat there in the presence of the Lord your God and rejoice, you and your household. 27 Also you shall not neglect the Levite who is within your [city] gates, for he does not have a share [of land] or an inheritance among you.
28 “At the end of every third year you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce for that year, and shall store it up within your [city] gates. 29 The Levite, because he has no share [of land] or an inheritance among you, and the stranger, and the orphan and the widow who are within your [city] gates, shall come and eat and be satisfied, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. (AMP)
Father provides for what appears to be at least two (2) tithes, and one could argue 3 or more tithes. But keeping it as simple as we can, this passage discusses two (2) tithes. These two (2) types of tithes are as follows:
1. A tithe that was to be used by us when we attended the 3-pilgrimage feasts of Yahovah: Unleavened Bread, Pentecost and Sukkot. For it is at these pilgrimage feast that Father provided for us to consume or eat at least a portion of our tithe before Him at the place where he would put His name/His presence. Initially it was Shiloh and the Tent of Meeting, and then it was Yerushalayim and the Mishkan or Temple. Now I say pilgrim feasts as the place(s) where this tithe was to be used because the passage stipulated that this tithe was to be used annually. The primary feast that comes to mind where we were explicitly encouraged to use the tithe for purposes of celebrating before Yahovah on an annual basis was of course Sukkot or Tabernacles. We were instructed to spend this tithe on anything our hearts desired, including meat, strong drink and anything else our hearts desired. (Sort of flies contrary to churchianity’s treatment and perspective on tithing, does it not? In churchianity, the entire tithe always goes to the church and the church administration or pastor decides how it is to be used. Certainly, the greatest portion of these tithes–speaking from personal experience growing up in the Baptist Church–goes to the pastor’s salary and the church building.) There is a mitigating factor with this tithe as it pertains to us today and that is the Mishkan (aka Temple) no longer exist. So the million dollar question that we’re forced to answer is: does Yahovah still require us to provide this type of tithe today? The natural response to this million dollar question then becomes: no, how can we when there is no longer a Temple to worship and celebrate at?
2. A tithe that was to provide for the wellbeing of the Levite, widow, orphan and stranger among us. We were instructed by Father on a number of occasions throughout Torah that we were responsible for providing for the Levite as these did not have any inheritance such as property by which they could accumulate income and wealth. These individuals were full time servants of Yahovah and it was our responsibility to provide for their physical well being. The Levite also had responsibilities as it related to tithing form the tithes provided to them by us. (Reference: Numbers 18:21-28) Additionally, as we can see from this passage, our tithe responsibilities did not end with the Levite, but extended also to the less fortunate of our society to include widows, orphans and the strangers among us. There is a calendric stipulation attached to this type of tithe and that involves this tithe being provided on the 3rd and 6th year of the 7-year shmittah calendar cycle. Clarification of this is found in Deuteronomy 26:12-14 which reads as follows:
12 “When you have finished [a]paying all the tithe of your produce the third year, [which is] the year of tithing, then you shall give it to the Levite, to the stranger, to the orphan, and to the widow, so that they may eat within the gates of your cities and be satisfied. 13 “You shall say before the Lord your God, ‘I have removed the sacred portion (the tithe) from my house and also have given it to the Levite, to the stranger, to the orphan, and to the widow, in accordance with all that You have commanded me. I have not transgressed or forgotten any of Your commandments. 14 I have not eaten from the tithe while mourning, nor have I removed any of it when I was [ceremonially] unclean [making the tithe ceremonially unclean], nor offered any of it to the dead. I have listened to the voice of the Lord my God; I have done everything in accordance with all that You have commanded me. (AMP)
As it relates to the 7th year or the Shmittah year, no tithe amount was specified. Clearly, if our tithe was agriculturally-based, we would not have much in the way of increase and thus no tithe. However, those who raised livestock and had other trading and service provider income would still be required to tithe and provide for the Levite, widow, stranger and orphan.
Of course there were other stipulations surrounding the use of these two-types of tithes, but I won’t get into them as it is irrelevant to the purpose of this Torah Living Daily Challenge. But suffice to say, tithing from the perspective of Torah was important to Father and thus it was important to us. In fact, the tithe was deemed holy by Father (reference Leviticus 27:30, 32). But like everything else in Torah, over time, the Rabbis got their hands on the practice of tithing and attached to it dozens of regulations that instructed us on every conceivable nuance of tithing. This of course flew in opposition to the admonishment that we were not to add to or subtract from Torah (reference Deuteronomy 4:2). Thus, tithing became so complex and burdensome, we began observing and obeying this mitzvah (aka commandment) in ways that were foreign to Torah. Depending on how one was taught or how one read these tithe mitzvot, he or she might tithe just a 10th of their increase each year, or as much as 30% of one’s annual increase or income each year. Which begs the question: are these two-types of tithes two separate tithes or just two aspects of a single annual tithe that is to be apportioned off to the financing of our feasts pilgrimages and the wellbeing of the Levites, widows, orphans and strangers among us.
But let’s not quibble over these nuances and uncertainties, for there is no existing Temple for us to journey to each year and eat of our tithes, nor are there any longer Levites in residence within the gates of our cities–although, many in the Hebraic Roots of the Faith contend that Hebraic Roots teachers and their staff are modern-day versions of the Levite. And personally, to a great extent, I agree with the corresponding analogy.
But for purposes of this Torah Living Daily Challenge, I wish to focus on how we as Torah Observant believers in Y’shua Messiah, honor and observe the tithing mitzvot as addressed and provided for in Torah–that is staying true to Torah as much as we possibly can given the limitation of today with there being no Temple and any other limiting nuances. Furthermore, how do we avoid falling into the trap of tithing in accordance with churchianity principles. I believe given the seriousness of this issue–in that the tithe is seen by Father as holy and thus a requirement of us to fulfill and honor–we must act in accordance and in obedience to the requirements and provisions related to tithing and Torah. In other words, I believe we must obey Torah first and foremost as it relates to tithing and not obey manmade traditions as it relates to Torah.
This will sound controversial and may even put me in hot water with many in our community, but from my reading and understanding of tithing from Torah, we can not tithe in accordance to Torah. Plain and simple. There is no temple for us to implement the annual tithe, nor are there Levites in our community to accept and properly use the tithe that would be due them. Like Passover and Day of Atonement, we can’t tithe in accordance to Torah. We can’t properly tithe or obey the tithe mitzvot today.
Now churchianity traditions and practices, which has in many areas of our Faith, bled over to our Hebraic Roots practices and traditions, would contend that we are to send so-and-so Torah teacher/preacher a 10th of our income or send our tithes to an organization or church. I guess this is part and parcel of “replacement theology” that is prevalent in the Christian Faith. Everything related to Israel and Torah has been superseded by Christians and the Church. So instead of tithes being used by us each year during the feasts and given to the Levites, widows, orphans and strangers among us, we now assign a 10th or more of our income to a church organization. But is this in alignment with what Torah has instructed us to do, again, within the confines of reason, reality and modern constraints? I’d say, for the most part, no. But allow me to qualify that no: there is no instruction or provision or instruction for the Torah Observant Believer in Y’shua Messiah to tithe to an organization. But I am cognizant that, despite the modern constraints preventing us from properly keeping the tithe commandment as provided for in Torah, our requirement to tithe has not necessarily gone the way of Torah commanded animal sacrifices. Typically, everything that Father has removed from our Faith, He has replaced with something better–such as the once for all sacrifice of our Master replacing animal sacrifices to atone for our sins; and Father’s Spirit residing in our bodies, replacing the Mishkan. These replacements have been clearly revealed to us through the writings of Father’s anointed apostles and teachers. But as it relates to the tithe today, for the Torah Observant Believer in Y’shua Messiah, we can only honor and celebrate the tithe commandments through free-will giving to those teachers and charitible organizations that the Spirit directs us to support, just as we honor and celebrate the Feasts of Yahovah–for we can not keep or properly obey the commandments that govern tithing just as we can’t keep and obey the commandments that govern the Feasts days.
So it becomes the spirit of the mitzvah that we are compelled to follow and not the forceful rankerings of teachers and preachers and administrators of various church organizations that tell us that we must tithe to them–that it is a biblical commandment. Coming from churchianity, that’s absolutely crazy. Churchianity in general outright rejects Torah; yet churchianity has adopted a Torah commandment and applied it to her members as a requirement for participation in their organizations to some lesser and greater extent. How dare you: reject the commandments of our God, but where it suits you in terms of your purse and pocketbook and in terms of your personal aspirations and endeavors–Mr. Christian preacher/reverend/prophet etc., etc., etc., you’re willing to hijack a mitzvah from Torah and guilt and force your members to comply.
As Torah Observant Believers in Y’shua Messiah, we must not give in to guilt, pressure or misunderstandings as it relates to our responsibilities to tithe–or under Torah Yeshua style, freely give of our resources-physical, talents and financial resources. Tithing is a Torah principle that we can not fully appreciate and practice today. However, the spirit behind the commandment to tithe that is contained in Torah still remains in effect today as a forever and in all your generations commandment from Yahovah. We have an obligation to provide for the ministries that spiritually sustain us. We have an obligation to provide for the less fortunate in our society. We have an obligation to fellowship in celebration of Yahovah’s Feasts. All these obligations and others that I’ve not mentioned commonsensibly would come from portions of our income that we intentionally set aside for these very purposes. Thus, keeping the spirit of the tithing mitzvot makes spiritual sense. But we must not allow ourselves to be guilted or coerced into giving a 10th of our income to sustais ministries and preachers and teachers and organizations. We should give out of our resources with a giving heart and not give in accordance with simple rote obedience to commandments that come from pulpits and other platforms. Master revealed that we are to give. And as a result of our giving, we will receive abundant blessings. Indeed, our modern day Levites–those who deliver to us the truth that is contained in the true Faith once delivered, must receive income in order to live and continue their God-ordained ministries to us. Those in our societies who are suffering and are the less fortunate among us must be taken care of–we are not to turn a blind eye to them. When we go to Sukkot to fellowship with like-minded believers in Y’shua Messiah, we should separate out, well in advance, funds to provide for our transit, our lodging, our sustenance and gifts to the ministries supporting the fellowship gathering.
Thus, the Torah Living Challenge for today is tithing in accordance with the principles taught in Torah. More so, “giving…,” giving over and above simple tithing or a simple 10% of our increase. And, not being coerced or guilted into giving to anyone through a misappropriation of Scripture to support a financial agenda.
Let’s stay prayed up. Let’s stay fasted up. Let’s get studied up…and live Torah Y’shua-style. Until next time, Shalom and may you be most blessed fellow saints in training.
- The Jewish Encyclopedia
- The Refiner’s Fire
- One Torah for All
Music by Dan O Music
Deu. 14:22-29
Lev. 18:21-28