Tithing Flocks Beyond the Borders of Israel

How the Talmud parses Deuteronomy 12:6 to balance the sacred status of diaspora herds with the altar's restrictions.

וַהֲבֵאתֶ֣ם שָׁ֗מָּה עֹלֹֽתֵיכֶם֙ וְזִבְחֵיכֶ֔ם וְאֵת֙ מַעְשְׂרֹ֣תֵיכֶ֔ם וְאֵ֖ת תְּרוּמַ֣ת יֶדְכֶ֑ם וְנִדְרֵיכֶם֙ וְנִדְבֹ֣תֵיכֶ֔ם וּבְכֹרֹ֥ת בְּקַרְכֶ֖ם וְצֹאנְכֶֽם׃

and there you are to bring your burnt offerings and other sacrifices, your tithes and contributions,cyour…contributions Lit. “the contribution(s) of your hands.” your votive and freewill offerings, and the firstlings of your herds and flocks. (Deuteronomy 12:6)

The Central Sanctuary and Its Tithes

In the Book of Deuteronomy, Moshe instructs the Jewish people regarding their imminent entry into the Promised Land and the central place of worship that God would choose. The Torah forbids offering sacrifices in private local settings, commanding the nation instead to bring their sacred gifts exclusively to the Sanctuary.

According to the plain meaning of the text, as Ramban explains, the verse lists the burnt offerings, feast sacrifices, and agricultural tithes that must be brought before God at the Sanctuary to be consumed there or distributed to the priests and Levites. Ralbag adds that this command obligated every pilgrim to bring forward their accumulated offerings during the pilgrimage festivals.

וַהֲבֵאתֶ֣ם שָׁ֗מָּה עֹלֹֽתֵיכֶם֙ וְזִבְחֵיכֶ֔ם וְאֵת֙ מַעְשְׂרֹ֣תֵיכֶ֔ם

and there you are to bring your burnt offerings and other sacrifices, your tithes (Deuteronomy 12:6)

A Contradiction in the Diaspora

The Mishnah sets out the jurisdictional scope of מעשר בהמה (animal tithe). It rules unequivocally that the obligation to tithe newborn herd animals applies both inside the Land of Israel and בחוצה לארץ (outside the Land).

The Gemara immediately challenges this ruling with a baraita taught by Rabbi Akiva. Rabbi Akiva cites our verse to establish that an animal tithe originating outside the Land may not be brought up to the Temple. As Rashi notes, this appears to indicate that animal tithe does not apply outside the Land at all, directly contradicting the opening premise of the Mishnah.

Rabbi Akiva’s Dual-Tithe Derashah

Rabbi Akiva derives his restriction by reading a specific textual anomaly in the verse. Instead of using the singular form for tithe, Scripture employs the plural noun וְאֵת מַעְשְׂרֹתֵיכֶם ("and your tithes").

Ramban points out that rabbinic tradition interprets this plural as encompassing two distinct tithes: מעשר בהמה (animal tithe) and מעשר שני (the second tithe of produce). The Gemara explains that the Torah deliberately places both tithes in a single phrase to establish an analogy between them. Just as grain tithes are brought to Jerusalem only from the territory where the agricultural obligation applies—namely, inside the Land—so too animal tithe applies only to native animals when it comes to bringing them to the Temple altar.

מִמָּקוֹם שֶׁאַתָּה מַעֲלֶה מַעְשַׂר דָּגָן אַתָּה מַעֲלֶה מַעְשַׂר בְּהֵמָה

from the place where you bring up the tithe of grain, you also bring up the animal tithe (Bekhorot 53a:4)

Sanctified but Excluded from the Altar

The Gemara resolves the tension between the Mishnah and the baraita by focusing on the precise wording of the verse’s opening command: וַהֲבֵאתֶם שָׁמָּה ("and you shall bring there").

The verse only excludes animals born outside the Land from the command of bringing them to Jerusalem to be sacrificed upon the altar. By contrast, the Mishnah was referring to personal consecration: when a owner counts his flock in the diaspora, the tenth animal becomes consecrated automatically.

The Gemara asks what value this sanctity holds if the animal can never be brought to the altar. It responds that the animal remains sacred, meaning it cannot be shorn or worked, until it naturally sustains a מום (blemish); only then it is eaten by the owner.

כָּאן לִיקְרַב, כָּאן לִיקְדַּשׁ

here it is regarding being sacrificed, there it is regarding becoming consecrated (Bekhorot 53a:5)

The Halakhic Principle of Diaspora Consecrations

Tosafot explains that Rabbi Akiva's derivation extends to other consecrated animals originating outside the Land of Israel. In Tractate Temurah, Rabbi Akiva similarly rules that a בכור (firstborn animal) brought from abroad cannot be offered on the Temple altar, reflecting the consistent limitation derived from Deuteronomy.

The resulting halacha maintains a dual status for the diaspora animal tithe: the animal receives biblical sanctity, but it cannot be transported to the sanctuary and can only be eaten when blemished.

Animal tithe outside the Land becomes fully consecrated, but the words 'and you shall bring there' exclude it from ever being sacrificed on the altar.

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