One of the best ways to give the tithes in the present era is to make a standing arrangement in advance with a Torah scholar who is a levi. The owner of the produce designates this levi as the regular recipient of his ma’aser rishon and gives him a monetary loan against the tithes he will separate during the coming year. Through this arrangement, the levi becomes his makir leviya – the recognized levi who receives his tithes.
Once this relationship has been established, each time the owner separates ma’aser rishon, the tithe produce enters the levi’s possession automatically, without the need for a new act of acquisition. The owner then calculates the value of that produce and deducts it from the amount the levi owes him. In effect, the levi repays part of the loan with the ma’aser rishon that has now become his, and the produce remains with the owner. When the value of the tithes reaches the amount of the loan, the loan is canceled. The owner may then give the levi another loan and continue the same arrangement. The same can be done with a poor person for ma’aser ani (MT, Laws of Ma’aser 7:5–6).
When valuing the produce for purposes of repaying the loan, the lower market price is used. Thus, if the fruit is expensive at the beginning of the season but cheaper in the middle of the season, it is valued throughout the season according to the lower price. This is not considered interest, because the arrangement is not an ordinary loan. It functions as an advance payment for future tithe produce, and repayment depends entirely on whether such produce is actually separated. If no tithe produce is separated against the loan, the loan is canceled (Gittin 30a; MT, Laws of Ma’aser 7:7).[13]
[13]. Just as the advance loan may be given to a levi or to a poor person, it may also be given to a yeshiva that provides stipends to students who are levi’im or poor, or that employs rabbis who are levi’im.
When the farmer buys back the tithe produce, the price is calculated according to its value in the field when the harvest is complete, before any further handling. The owner of the produce is not obligated to market the levi’s tithe produce for the levi. Therefore, if the farmer receives between 1,000 and 3,000 shekels from a wholesaler for a ton of fruit, the value of a ton of tithe produce may be only about 700 shekels. First, the produce is valued according to the lower market price, which in this case is 1,000 shekels. Second, the farmer is not required to care for the levi’s produce, arrange its sale, or find a buyer. The levi is the one who would have to come to the field and take it. Even if the farmer, because of his connections and experience, can sell the fruit for 1,000 shekels, another person might be able to obtain only 700 shekels. That lower amount may therefore be the true value of the produce in the field.
This calculation is complex and must be made honestly and with fear of Heaven, so that the levi and the poor person are not deprived of what is due to them. When the farmer is uncertain, he should consult a rabbi or an expert who can calculate the price impartially. In the merit of the tithes, he will be blessed with wealth.
The ma’aser rishon and ma’aser ani may be counted toward one’s ma’aser kesafim and ḥomesh, since ma’aser kesafim and ḥomesh were instituted as a substitute for terumot and ma’asrot from a person’s other earnings. At first glance, these agricultural tithes may seem more demanding than ordinary ma’aser kesafim, because they are taken from the total produce before deducting the costs of planting, irrigation, fertilizing, and labor, whereas ma’aser kesafim is given only from net profit.
In practice, however, the burden is usually smaller than it appears. As explained above, the tithe produce is valued according to its lower field price. The amount given to the levi may therefore be only a tenth of roughly one-third of the price the farmer ultimately receives for the crop, or even less. Even in the third and sixth years, when he must also give ma’aser ani, the total may still not exceed one-fifth of his profits, which is the ideal measure for giving toward mitzvot (SA YD 249:1). If the tithes are given to a yeshiva, the farmer may also receive tax benefits.
Strictly speaking, the obligation of terumot and ma’asrot remains in force even if fulfilling it costs more than one-fifth of the farmer’s profits. If all farmers observe the mitzva properly, the cost becomes part of the ordinary cost of production, and no farmer is placed at a competitive disadvantage. The problem begins when some farmers do not observe the mitzva properly. Farmers who observe the mitzva properly must then compete with farmers who can sell at a cheaper price because they are not fulfilling the mitzva as required. For that reason, one should not demand that these farmers give more than one-fifth of their profits. In pressing circumstances, they should not be required to give more than one-tenth of their net profits, comparable to ma’aser kesafim. If the required tithes exceed that amount, the levi and poor person should be asked to act generously toward the farmer by returning part of what they received. In extreme hardship, authorities were lenient enough to ask the levi and poor person to forgo almost the entire tithe, as explained above, note 11.
A makir is not merely a preferred recipient. He is the kohen, levi, or poor person who has become the owner’s established recipient for these gifts. Once that relationship exists, the gift becomes his automatically when it is separated, without the need for a new act of acquisition each time. The question is when that relationship is strong enough to have this effect. If the owner gave the levi only a small loan, it may be unclear whether that is enough to establish him as the owner’s makir (Mishpetei Eretz 17:10). But if the owner gives the levi a substantial loan at the beginning of the season against the ma’aser rishon he expects to separate, the arrangement clearly identifies that levi as his regular recipient. He thereby becomes the owner’s makir, and from then on acquires the ma’aser rishon automatically when it is separated. This automatic acquisition can be understood in two ways. According to Rashi, once this levi is established as the regular recipient, the other levi’im relinquish their claim to that tithe (Rashi to Gittin 30a). According to Tosafot, the owner has committed himself to give the tithe to this levi, and he may not violate his word (Tosafot, Bava Batra 123b, s.v. hakha).
Even if the owner later forgot to give his established levi recipient a new loan, the arrangement does not immediately lapse. Since the owner has already established this levi as his regular recipient, the ma’aser rishon still becomes the levi’s when it is separated, even without a new act of acquisition. The owner should then promptly pay the levi the value of that tithe and give him a new loan, so that future tithes can continue to be handled through the loan arrangement.
A farmer privileged to give large amounts of ma’aser may designate several levi’im as regular recipients. Ideally, this should be arranged through a yeshiva or charity administrator. See the Herḥavot.
