Remembering the Levi in Your Celebrations

Parshat Re'eh

by Rabbi Avi Billet

In chapter 12 we are introduced to the idea of celebrating with God in the holy place He will choose – which we identify as Jerusalem – through bringing sacrifices and offerings to Him. The first time we are told of this, the celebration is to include “you and your households” (12:7). 

Every other time after that, the instruction gets far more specific as to who is to rejoice, you (plural - which could mean the parents of a household, or all of the adults in the nation), as well your sons, daughters, male servants and female servants… and THE LEVI (12:12). Chizkuni notes that the Levi isn’t mentioned in 12:7 because that instruction precedes the people being informed that they will cross the Jordan, settle the land, and thus celebrate in that holy place. It is only once the settling takes place that it will be discovered that the Levi does not have a portion in the land, and therefore his joy and the need to include him in your celebration becomes incumbent upon you only after you will have settled the land.

The Levi is mentioned again in 12:18 followed by a warning not to abandon him in 12:19. And again in chapter 14 we find the instruction of how to utilize your Maaser Sheni funds that you bring to Jerusalem, and how you are to be sure to include the Levi (though this may refer to Maaser Rishon – a tithing that is designated to be given to a Levi). In the verses that follow – which more clearly reference Maaser Rishon – the Levi once again is to be included (14:29). 

The Torah’s inclusion of the Levi extends to the holidays – as noted in 16:11 in the context of how to celebrate Shavuos, and now the list of celebrants is expanded to include (beyond the family and servants as noted earlier) the “stranger, orphan, and widow.” This same list is repeated again 3 verses later when describing what the holiday of Sukkos is to look like. 

 Later on, in Devarim 26:11, we are told of how one is to bring one’s bikkurim, and how to note one’s apportioning of Maaser Ani – the tithe for the poor – which takes place in the 3rd and 6th years. Once again, the Levi is specifically liste, this time with the “stranger” (who, like the Levi, does not have a portion in the land). The tithe of the 3rd year is mentioned in 26:12, and the recipients are to be the “Levi, the stranger, the widow and the orphan.” This is followed by a declaration of Biur Maasros, in which the person is to note that all the tithes are out of my house, and I have given them to their intended recipients, namely the Levi, the stranger, the orphan and the widow. 

 While the Torah makes very clear that the inclusion of the Levi is because “he does not have a portion and inheritance” in the land, the Midrash Tanaim is less subtle and more blunt in saying “Give him from what you have and he doesn’t have.” 

Some of the commentaries point out a subtle distinction in the text in that most times the Levi is mentioned he is described as אשר בשעריך or בשעריכם – "the Levi at your gates." That he should be remembered and gifted food items is one level, and perhaps, as Ibn Ezra noted, is to be expected if he is your neighbor who simply doesn’t own land. But there is another level, offered by Yosef Bechor Shor, that the Levi you know is to accompany you (by your invitation) to Yerushalayim, so he can be a recipient of that which is shared and eaten specifically in Yerushalayim as well! [Sha”kh on the Torah warns, however, not to make the Levi come to Yerushalayim to give him the Maaser Rishon which you can give him where he lives – there is a difference between making him make the trip which inconveniences him, and his accepting an invitation to be at your table in your travels…] Rashbam describes it (14:27) “you should have him rejoice with you, which will be good for you and for him.” 

It should come as no surprise, through reading this, that an obvious jump is made from the Levi to the needy. Rabbi Chaim Paltiel writes “this is a warning that through our own rejoicing we should not forget the poor, and this is why we are told not to abandon the Levi at a time when we are being told of our own desire to eat meat.” This too is important to share with the person who does not have. 

A passage in the Sifrei (recorded by Rabbi Eliyahu Mizrachi) says as follows: “Wherever you find yourself, give him his portion [referring to the Maaser owed to a Levi]. If that portion is gone, give him Maaser Ani [the tithe for the poor]. If that has already been distributed, give him from your shlamim [in other words, share from the korban meat you are eating]. If that has been eaten, provide him from your general charity funds, tzedakah.” 

 Referring to the Levi as being “at your gate” is a notion that requires a little more attention. 

 Netziv asks “Why is the Levi at your gates?” He answers “because the Levi is assigned to be in the cities of Israel to teach Torah, and to be the spiritual guardians of the Bnei Yisrael. He doesn’t have a portion, and so it is upon the people to see that the Levi has the means to purchase what he needs for Shabbos, and to be able to rejoice on the holidays, him along with his family.” Netziv goes on to say that the Levi’s needs should be relatively simple, as the life they live is dedicated to the Kahal and their needs are defined more as within “reason” than in the realm of the kinds of “wants” that people with greater means might see as “needs.” 

Rabbi Baruch HaLevi Epstein, in his Tosefes Bracha has two entries on the “Levi that is at your gates.” 

His first suggestion is that the Levi at your gates refers to your actual neighbors, and that saving your “gifts for a Levi” to be given to a Levi you don’t know, from outside of your neighborhood or city, is actually inappropriate! We have a concept of Aniyei Irkha Kodem, that we are obligated to help the needy of our town and neighborhood before we help people who are elsewhere. 

 His second suggestion, which is similar to the previous, is that if you are paying attention, you may even be able to see what kinds of Matanos Levi your Levi neighbor is getting, and you will be able to discern if the Levi is well-supplied and stocked, or if he remains with a shortfall. This is where the mitzvah of La taazvenu (don’t abandon him) comes in, because you are keeping tabs on what he receives from the other Israelites who are gifting him from their various Torah level Maaser obligations. 

If there IS a shortfall, then what comes next is also in our parsha, the important verse of Devarim 15:11 

11For there will never cease to be needy within the land. Therefore, I command you, saying, you shall surely open your hand to your brother, to your poor one, and to your needy one in your land.

יאכִּ֛י לֹֽא־יֶחְדַּ֥ל אֶבְי֖וֹן מִקֶּ֣רֶב הָאָ֑רֶץ עַל־כֵּ֞ן אָֽנֹכִ֤י מְצַוְּךָ֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר פָּ֠תֹ֠חַ תִּפְתַּ֨ח אֶת־יָֽדְךָ֜ לְאָחִ֧יךָ לַּֽעֲנִיֶּ֛ךָ וּלְאֶבְיֹֽנְךָ֖ בְּאַרְצֶֽךָ:

This we see that the mitzvah of taking care of the Levi goes beyond Maaser obligations, and is really meant to train a mindset to look out for those who dedicate their lives to teaching Torah, sometimes at great sacrifice, to remember that there are people nearby, whether actual neighbors, people in your community or town, or in neighboring towns or cities, who are to be the recipients of your beneficence. Any kind of generosity should only be a blessing to those who give. While we tend to think about helping those in Israel (Aniyei Eretz Yisrael), the Torah is reminding us that there are different ways that people might feel abandoned – which includes the stranger, orphan, and widow – and that we, as neighbors and as a community must do our part to help those who don’t have the built in non-lonely setup feel included. 

 This is also a reminder that at this time of year, many needy people turn to traditional sources (i.e. synagogue and communal charities) for assistance in making Yom Tov navigable. All donations to our shul’s charity fund (Rabbi’s Discretionary Fund) are greatly appreciated and will go a long way to helping those who would, at other times, be the recipients of Maaser Ani and other forms of Torah-required charity. During the summer I’ve had to turn people away with minimal assistance as the coffer has been basically empty. Thank you for helping to refill it so we as a community can be of assistance to those who truly need!