{"id":12066,"date":"2026-07-07T00:11:51","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T21:11:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/?p=12066"},"modified":"2026-08-03T17:02:01","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T14:02:01","slug":"17-07-11","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/17-07-11\/","title":{"rendered":"11. Ma\u2019aser Ani"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"direction: ltr\">In the third and sixth years of the <em>shemita<\/em> cycle, the additional tithe is given to the poor instead of being separated as <em>ma\u2019aser sheni<\/em>. As it says: \u201cAt 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 \u2013 meaning a poor levi \u2013 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\u201d (Devarim 14:28\u201329; see also Devarim 26:12). Thus, the additional tithe follows a three-year rhythm: in the first two years it is <em>ma\u2019aser sheni<\/em>, and in the third year it is <em>ma\u2019aser ani<\/em>. <em>Ma\u2019aser ani<\/em> has no sanctity; the poor person may eat it wherever he wishes and may also sell it.<\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr\">The <em>ma\u2019aser<\/em> 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\u2019s food \u2013 the value of two meals \u2013 as it says, \u201cThey shall eat within your gates and be satisfied.\u201d A married recipient receives enough for his wife and young children as well. If there is not enough <em>ma\u2019aser<\/em> for everyone to receive that amount, the produce is placed before the poor, who then divide it among themselves.<\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr\">If some of the <em>ma\u2019aser<\/em> 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 <em>ma\u2019aser<\/em> for them (<em>Mishna<\/em>, <em>Pe\u2019a<\/em> 8:5; <em>Yerushalmi<\/em>, <em>Pe\u2019a<\/em> 8:5). However, if no poor people come to the field, thereby requiring the owner to bring the <em>ma\u2019aser<\/em> to them, he has <em>tovat hana\u2019a<\/em> \u2013 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 <em>ma\u2019aser<\/em> (<em>Nedarim<\/em> 84b; MT, Laws of Gifts to the Poor 6:7\u201313).<\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr\">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 \u2013 with <em>ma\u2019aser sheni<\/em> in the first, second, fourth, and fifth years, and <em>ma\u2019aser ani<\/em> 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?<\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr\">It appears that the Torah intends the poor to receive their basic support through <em>leket<\/em>, <em>shik\u1e25a<\/em>, and <em>pe\u2019a<\/em>, together with additional tzedaka as needed. <em>Ma\u2019aser ani<\/em> 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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the third and sixth years of the shemita cycle, the additional tithe is given to the poor instead of being separated as ma\u2019aser sheni. As it says: \u201cAt 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 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[228],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12066","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-17-07"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>11. Ma\u2019aser Ani - Peninei Halakha<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/17-07-11\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"11. 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