Makkot 19 – Can One Fulfill the Law of Second Tithe Nowadays?

Since the Torah directs us to separate the second tithe and to eat it in Jerusalem, one might have thought to fulfill this mitzvah even nowadays.

However, this notion is refuted by comparison with the firstborn animal. Both second tithe and firstborn animals had to be brought to Jerusalem and eaten there. And, just as the firstborn animal can only be offered at the time when the Temple stands – because it needs to be sacrificed at the Altar – so too the second tithe can be eaten in Jerusalem when the Temple stand.

This argument, however, has an internal weakness: firstborn requires that its blood be placed on the Altar, which is a stringency that the second tithe does not have. Then how do we know not to bring the second tithe today? Only from the verse, “In the place where He will choose to rest His name – there you will eat second tithe and the firstborn animals.” Since they are placed next to each other in the same verse, they have the same law.

Art: Eugène Verboeckhoven - Sheep Returning From Pasture