In the third and sixth years of the shemita cycle, the additional tithe is given to the poor instead of being separated as ma’aser sheni. As it says: “At the end of three years, you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce in that year and leave it within your gates. Then the Levite – meaning a poor levi – for he has no portion or inheritance with you, and the stranger, the orphan, and the widow within your gates, shall come, eat, and be satisfied, so that the Lord your God will bless you in all the work of your hands that you do” (Devarim 14:28–29; see also Devarim 26:12). Thus, the additional tithe follows a three-year rhythm: in the first two years it is ma’aser sheni, and in the third year it is ma’aser ani. Ma’aser ani has no sanctity; the poor person may eat it wherever he wishes and may also sell it.
The ma’aser is distributed in the field after the produce has been fully gathered, as explained above, section 4. Ideally, each poor person receives enough for one day’s food – the value of two meals – as it says, “They shall eat within your gates and be satisfied.” A married recipient receives enough for his wife and young children as well. If there is not enough ma’aser for everyone to receive that amount, the produce is placed before the poor, who then divide it among themselves.
If some of the ma’aser remains after the owner has already given each poor person who came to his field enough to satisfy him, he may either continue giving them more until all of it has been distributed or save the remainder for his poor relatives, provided he does not reserve more than half of the ma’aser for them (Mishna, Pe’a 8:5; Yerushalmi, Pe’a 8:5). However, if no poor people come to the field, thereby requiring the owner to bring the ma’aser to them, he has tovat hana’a – the personal benefit of choosing which poor person will receive it. In that situation, if he has poor relatives, he may give them the entire ma’aser (Nedarim 84b; MT, Laws of Gifts to the Poor 6:7–13).
This raises a basic question. If the Torah wants both to draw people to Jerusalem and to support the poor, why structure the cycle this way – with ma’aser sheni in the first, second, fourth, and fifth years, and ma’aser ani only in the third and sixth? Why not divide the additional tithe every year, with two-thirds set aside for pilgrimage and one-third for the poor? And if the poor need this added support, why provide it only two years out of seven?
It appears that the Torah intends the poor to receive their basic support through leket, shikḥa, and pe’a, together with additional tzedaka as needed. Ma’aser ani serves a different purpose: it gives them good years in which they can enjoy a measure of comfort and abundance. This experience of relief and plenty may also encourage the poor, or their children, where possible, to work with greater energy and effectiveness in the other years, perhaps helping them escape the cycle of poverty and achieve independence. Had they instead received a modest allotment every year, they might have grown accustomed to getting by on it, without the special joy produced by years of abundance and without the desire, born in leaner years, to change their circumstances.
