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| Priesthood in Judaism |
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| Kohen · Recognition of priestly descent Priestly covenant |
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Aaron · Eleazar · Phinehas
· Eli · Ahimelech · Abiathar (First Temple) · Zadok · Shallum · Hilkiah · Jehoiada (Second Temple) Joshua the High Priest Simeon the Just Elazar Ben Charsum Yishmael Ben Elisha Yehoshua ben Gamla Pinchus Ben Shmuel |
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The ten gifts given in the Temple
1. Sin offering · 2. Guilt offering 3. Communal peace offering 4. Fowl sin offering · 5. Leftovers from the suspensive guilt offering 6. Oil from the offering for the leper 7. Bread from First Fruits · 8. Showbread 9. Leftovers of the meal offering 10. Leftovers of the First Sheaf.
Four gifts given in Jerusalem 15. Heave offering 16. Heave offering of the Levite's tithe 17. Dough offering 18. First shearing of the sheep 19. Shoulder, cheeks and maw 20. Coins for redemption of the first born son · 21. Redemption of a donkey · 22. Dedication of property to a priest · 23. Field not redeemed in a Jubilee year · 24. The property of the foreigner with no heir. |
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Clothing
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The tithe offering (Hebrew terumat ha-maaser תרומת המעשר) is a rabbinical Hebrew term based on the commandment in the Hebrew Bible to give a tithe maaser of 10% to the Levites. The first term, terumah, means offering. The term "tithe offering" terumat ha-maaser, does not occur in the Hebrew Bible text.
In the Hebrew Bible the tithe of the tithes is a further requirement requiring the Levites to then give a tenth of a tenth (0.01%) of agricultural produce grown in the Land of Israel to the priests.
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The term "tithe" maaser occurs 10 times in the Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Bible, in addition to the term "tithe of the tithe" which occurs once only in Nehemiah 10:38 maaser ha maaser (מַעֲשַׂר הַֽמַּעֲשֵׂר , in the Septuagint Greek dekate tes dekates δεκάτῃ τῆς δεκάτης ).[1]
This offering is to be distinguished from the "offering tribute" (terumat ha-mekes תרומת המכס) which Moses gave to God in Numbers 31:41.
The gift of terumat ha-maaser was generally not given by the Israelite directly to the priest. But it was given to a Levite, as the recipient of maaser rishon ("first tithe"; מעשר ראשון), and then the Levite gave of ten percent of his maaser rishon gift directly to the kohen. After the edict of Ezra, which directed maaser rishon to be given to the priest, it became the Kohen's responsibility to give one tenth of his maaser rishon gift to another priest of his choice.
In the Hebrew Bible the terumah ("offering") was regarded as a kind of sacred korban (also "offering"). It could be eaten only by Jewish priests and their families, had to be ritually pure, had to be eaten while in a state of ritual purity, and could not be taken out of the Land of Israel.
Orthodox Judaism requires taking terumah from produce grown in Israel, although in the absence of a Temple it is no longer given to the priests. In contemporary practice, most of the Terumah and various other biblical tithes (including first tithe and second tithe are first set aside. The "second tithe" (maaser sheni) is then redeemed upon a coin of nominal value (not generally equal to the value of the produce). The coin and the unredeemable portion of the produce are then discarded in a manner that prevents their use. The reason for discarding in such a manner is that taking these tithes are sacred and must be preserved in a state of "purity" (tahara טהרה) and eaten by a priest in a state of purity. In contemporary times, all people are considered to be defiled by a type of "impurity" (tumah טומאה) which can only be purified through the ritual of the red heifer (parah adumah אדום פרה). It has not been possible to perform this sacrifice since the destruction of the Second Temple. Since it is forbidden to defile terumah, the produce must be discarded in a manner comensurate with its holiness.