Contemporary Practice
Orthodox Judaism regards the tithe as still being required for any produce grown within the historic boundaries of the ancient Kingdoms of Israel and of Judah, covering the modern territories of the state of Israel, West Bank, Gaza Strip, Golan Heights, and portions of western Jordan. However, because Maaser Rishon has no inherent sanctity, consistent with Numbers 18:31 (Levite tithes are wages), after Terumat Maaser has been removed, it is governed by the monetary civil laws which put the proof of a claim for monetary compensation on the person making the demand (the plaintiff). Since the lineage of the Levites is currently uncertain, there is no obligation to provide Maaser Rishon to a questionable Levi, whereas there is no rabbinic prohibition by doing so.
Contemporary practice, after designating and setting aside Terumah, is to make a formal declaration that the portion set aside is Maaser Rishon. Afterwards, Terumat Maaser is designated and set aside. Finally, depending on the year, Maaser Sheni or Maaser Ani are designated and tithed in the appropriate manner.
While tithes from produce may not be given to a Kohen or Levite, they may be fed to their animals.
Read more about this topic: First Tithe
Famous quotes containing the words contemporary and/or practice:
“The attraction of horror is a mental, or even an intellectual, excitement, but the fascination of the repulsive, so noticeable in contemporary writing, can spring openly from some rotted substance within our civilization ...”
—Ellen Glasgow (1873–1945)
“Fine art, that exists for itself alone, is art in a final state of impotence. If nobody, including the artist, acknowledges art as a means of knowing the world, then art is relegated to a kind of rumpus room of the mind and the irresponsibility of the artist and the irrelevance of art to actual living becomes part and parcel of the practice of art.”
—Angela Carter (1940–1992)