YOUR TITHES — "the tithe of cattle and the Second Tithe which are to be eaten within the wall [of Jerusalem]. AND HEAVE-OFFERING OF YOUR HAND — these are the first-fruits of which it is said, And the priest shall take the basket out of thy hand. "¹ This is Rashi's language quoting the words of our Rabbis.⁠²
In line with the plain meaning of Scripture the verse mentions the burnt-offerings, and the sacrifices that he is obligated to eat there within the boundary [of Jerusalem] before the Eternal.⁠³ It mentions also that he is to bring there the tithe and the heave-offering to give them to the priests and Levites who are the ministers of the Sanctuary so that they too, rejoice with you and your families, as it says, Bring ye the whole tithe into the store-house, that there be food in My house, and try Me now herewith, saith the Eternal of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall be more than enough.⁠⁴ And so indeed [the prophets and leaders] established an ordinance during the Second Temple concerning the heave-offering and the heave-offering of the tithe⁵ that the people bring them to the Sanctuary, as it is said, and that we should bring the first of our dough, and our heave-offerings, and the fruit of all manner of trees, the wine and the oil, unto the priests, to the chambers of the House of our G-d,⁠⁶ and it is further said, [and the Levites shall bring up the tithe of the tithes] unto the House of our G-d, to the chambers, into the treasure-house.⁠⁷
And the meaning of the expression and heave-offering of your hand is [in line with the simple meaning of Scripture a reference to the heave-offering and not to the first-fruits] because the Torah has set no fixed measure for the heave-offering [which the Israelite gives to the priest]; rather it consists of whatever his hand sets aside [for the priest]. Similarly, that which is said, Thou mayest not eat within thy gates the tithe of thy corn etc. or the heave-offering of thine hand⁸ reminds the Israelite that he is not to eat in his own city the tithe, the firstlings, the vow-offerings, or the heave-offering. And then the verse proceeds to distinguish between them, but thou shalt eat them before the Eternal thy G-d etc. thou, and thy son, and thy daughter⁹ whatever may be eaten by you [i.e., the Second Tithe]; and the Levite that is within thy gates¹⁰ shall eat there in your gates [i.e., outside Jerusalem] what is due him [i.e., the First Tithe] as it is stated concerning them, And ye may eat in every place.⁠¹¹ Scripture thus abbreviates concerning matters that are explained elsewhere.
And I am further of the opinion regarding the plain meaning of this verse that the expression [in the verse before us] heave-offering of your hand denotes that which a person lifts up to the Eternal of his silver and gold to buy with it a burnt-offering or a [peace-]offering. And [the verse before us] mentions three kinds of offerings: the vow-offerings which are [assumed as obligations when a person says], "I pledge myself to bring an offering of a bullock, or a sheep, or a goat: "¹² the freewill-offering when he says of a bullock or sheep, "This shall be a burnt-offering and I will bring it to the Sanctuary,⁠" and terumah (the donation) which he lifts up, silver or gold from anything he has, or when he brings his unconsecrated animal to the Sanctuary Court and says to the priests, "This is [given] from my possession to G-d,⁠" similar in expression to the verse, Every one that 'meirim terumath' (did lift up an offering) of silver and brass, brought the Eternal's offering.⁠¹³ So also, All 'terumoth' of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer unto the Eternal¹⁴ denotes "the offerings" [as explained above rather than, the heave-offering]. Similarly He states with reference to the shekels, half a shekel after the shekel of the Sanctuary etc. half a shekel for 'terumah' (an offering) to the Eternal,⁠¹⁵ these to be used for buying the communal offerings,⁠¹⁶ for whatever a person lifts up to G-d from whatever is his own — whether for offerings or for Temple maintenance, as it is stated, and they take for Me 'terumah' (an offering);⁠¹⁷ or for the priests, the ministers of the Eternal¹⁸ — it is all called terumah. This is similar to what is written concerning the tax, and thou shalt give it unto Eleazar the priest as 'terumath Hashem' (a portion set apart for the Eternal),⁠¹⁹ which remained entirely unconsecrated in Eleazar's possession [thus proving that terumah need not refer exclusively to the priestly tithe]. A similar usage [of the term terumah is found in the following verse]: And I weighed unto them the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, even 'terumath' (the donation for) the House of our G-d, which the king, and his counsellors had offered.⁠²⁰ Now Scripture [here in the verse before us] does not state "your heave-offerings,⁠" so that we should not mistake it to mean the heave-offering given to the priests [from the produce of the field]; instead it says, the heave-offering of your hand, what you set aside as a freewill offering from what has become your property. Now all things mentioned here must be consumed within a certain location,⁠²¹ for the expression your tithes denotes the tithe of cattle and the Second Tithe which are eaten before the Eternal [i.e., within the wall of the city of Jerusalem]. However, the First Tithe is the tithe of the Levites, and the Poorman's Tithe belongs to them [the poor; and are the personal property of the recipients and may be eaten anywhere].