Communities

Writing
Writing
Codidact Meta
Codidact Meta
The Great Outdoors
The Great Outdoors
Photography & Video
Photography & Video
Scientific Speculation
Scientific Speculation
Cooking
Cooking
Electrical Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Judaism
Judaism
Languages & Linguistics
Languages & Linguistics
Software Development
Software Development
Mathematics
Mathematics
Christianity
Christianity
Code Golf
Code Golf
Music
Music
Physics
Physics
Linux Systems
Linux Systems
Power Users
Power Users
Tabletop RPGs
Tabletop RPGs
Community Proposals
Community Proposals
tag:snake search within a tag
answers:0 unanswered questions
user:xxxx search by author id
score:0.5 posts with 0.5+ score
"snake oil" exact phrase
votes:4 posts with 4+ votes
created:<1w created < 1 week ago
post_type:xxxx type of post
Search help
Notifications
Mark all as read See all your notifications »
Q&A

Welcome to the Judaism community on Codidact!

Will you help us build our community of learners? Drop into our study hall, ask questions, help others with answers to their questions, share a d'var torah if you're so inclined, invite your friends, and join us in building this community together. Not an ask-the-rabbi service, just people at all levels learning together.

Comments on Why does the verse state that one should "destroy" Maaser Sheni and Neta Reva'i?

Post

Why does the verse state that one should "destroy" Maaser Sheni and Neta Reva'i?

+1
−0

Devarim 26:13:

וְאָמַרְתָּ֡ לִפְנֵי֩ יְהוָ֨ה אֱלֹהֶ֜יךָ בִּעַ֧רְתִּי הַקֹּ֣דֶשׁ מִן־הַבַּ֗יִת וְגַ֨ם נְתַתִּ֤יו לַלֵּוִי֙ וְלַגֵּר֙ לַיָּת֣וֹם וְלָאַלְמָנָ֔ה כְּכָל־מִצְוָתְךָ֖ אֲשֶׁ֣ר צִוִּיתָ֑נִי לֹֽא־עָבַ֥רְתִּי מִמִּצְוֺתֶ֖יךָ וְלֹ֥א שָׁכָֽחְתִּי

And you will say before Hashem, your G-d, "I have destroyed the holy [produce] from the house, and I have also given it to the Levi, the convert, the orphan, and the widow, according to all of Your commandments which You have commanded me. I have not strayed from Your commandments, nor have I forgotten."

Mishnah Maaser Sheni 5:10:

בִּעַרְתִּי הַקֹּדֶשׁ מִן הַבַּיִת, זֶה מַעֲשֵׂר שֵׁנִי וְנֶטַע רְבָעִי

"I have destroyed the holy [produce] from the house" — this refers to Maaser Sheni and Neta Reva'i.

Why does the verse use the unusual (in this context) language of "I have destroyed" (בערתי), rather than "I have removed" (פניתי)? As it is worded, the passuk implies that one must destroy Maaser Sheni and Neta Reva'i, when one instead is required to bring it to Jerusalem (or transfer its sanctity onto coins with which he will buy other produce to be eaten in Jerusalem). If by this point he still hasn't eaten it, sure it has to be destroyed; why doesn't the passuk then use the terminology of אכלתי, which carries the dual connotations of "I have eaten" and "I have destroyed"?

History
Why does this post require attention from curators or moderators?
You might want to add some details to your flag.
Why should this post be closed?

1 comment thread

General comments (6 comments)
General comments
robev‭ wrote about 4 years ago · edited about 4 years ago

Are you similarly bothered by biur sheviis? Or biur chametz? Both of those are fulfilled by making them hekfer. Or you're specifically bothered with the verse, and I don't think my examples come from a verse with that term.

DonielF‭ wrote about 4 years ago

@robev By Chametz the phrase used is תשביתו את שעור, and ביעור שביעית is an inference and never explicitly stated (Rambam Shemittah 7:1). Perhaps Mishnaic Hebrew adopts a different translation; certainly on a Biblical level the word is consistently used to mean absolute destruction.

robev‭ wrote about 4 years ago

I'm not sure if that's true. In I Kings 23:47 the Metzudas Tzion says it means cleared out, like here. Same with II Kings 23:24.

AA ‭ wrote about 4 years ago · edited about 4 years ago

https://judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/15590/best-way-to-destroy-maaser-sheni-coins Destruction is indeed required if you haven't eaten it yet. I'm not sure what the issue is.

DonielF‭ wrote about 4 years ago

@AA אכלתי might carry the proper connotation then: if you literally ate it when you were supposed to, great, and if not, the word carries the secondary meaning of general "destruction."

AA ‭ wrote about 4 years ago

Maybe that could have also worked, but the current wording is hardly odd