What is the poor tithe?

Deuteronomy 14:28-29: in years 3 and 6, the second tithe is given to the Levite, stranger, fatherless, and widow within the local community.

Deuteronomy 14:29: the Levite, stranger, fatherless, and widow — the four most vulnerable categories.

How did Amos apply it?

Amos 4:1 and 8:4-6 condemned merchants who oppressed the poor — the violations the poor tithe prevented.

What is the connection to fasting?

Isaiah 58:6-7: feeding the hungry is the fast God approves. The same covenant that commanded fasting commanded provision for the poor.

What blessing comes from giving it?

Deuteronomy 14:29: "that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand."

Commandment #72 · Positive · Social & Ethical Laws

Give the Poor Tithe — Maaser Ani

מַעֲשַׂר עָנִי

Source: Deuteronomy 14:28 · Maimonides, Sefer HaMitzvot, Positive #72

Every third year the second tithe was redirected from Jerusalem feasts to the poor in the local community — the covenant economy built poverty relief into the agricultural calendar as scheduled redistribution.

וְאָכְלוּ בִשְׁעָרֶיךָ וְשָׂבֵעוּ

"And they shall eat and be satisfied."

Deuteronomy 14:29 — Open in Torah Reader

The Agricultural Poverty Calendar

The seven-year Shemitah cycle had three tiers: years 1,2,4,5 = Jerusalem feast; years 3,6 = poor tithe; year 7 = Shemitah. No Israelite could sustain affluence while the poor in his community starved for more than two years without a tithe year intervening. Scheduled redistribution, not discretionary charity.

Amos: When the Poor Tithe Was Ignored

שֹׁמְעוּ הַדָּבָר הַזֶּה

"Hear this word, ye kine of Bashan, that oppress the poor."

Amos 4:1

Amos 4:1: 'Hear this word, ye kine of Bashan...which oppress the poor.' Amos 8:6: merchants 'buy the poor for silver.' The northern kingdom had built its prosperity on the violations the poor tithe prevented. Amos was applying specific covenant obligations.

Isaiah: The Fast That Feeds the Poor

Isaiah 58:6-7: 'Is not this the fast I have chosen?...deal thy bread to the hungry.' The same God who commanded the fast commanded the feeding. Fasting while withholding the poor tithe was ritual deprivation alongside structural deprivation for others.

Key Figures

Amos — The Prosecuting Prophet

His condemnation applied specific covenant obligations the poor tithe required.

Isaiah — The Fast-and-Feed Connector

His identification of feeding the hungry as the true fast connected ritual and social obligation.

Study Questions

For reflection and group study

Building poverty provision into the agricultural calendar as scheduled redistribution — what does this say about the Torah's understanding of economic justice?

See Deut 14:28–29; 15:11

Amos condemned oppression the poor tithe was designed to prevent. What does the gap between command and practice reveal?

See Amos 4:1; 8:4–6

Deuteronomy 14:29 promises blessing for the poor tithe. What does the co-presentation of obligation and promise say?

See Deut 14:29; 26:12–15

Isaiah says feeding the hungry is the fast God approves. How does the convergence of fasting and poor-tithe commands reveal integration of worship and ethics?

See Isa 58:6–7; Lev 23:27–29

The poor tithe went to those 'within thy gates.' What does localization say about community responsibility?

See Deut 14:29; Lev 19:9–10; Luke 10:36–37

Read this commandment in the original Hebrew.

Open Deuteronomy 14:28 in Torah Reader

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