Who did the Avos give maaser to?

Question

Rashi in parshas Toldos (25:27) tells us about Esav:

יודע ציד: לצוד ולרמות את אביו בפיו, ושואלו אבא היאך מעשרין את המלח ואת התבן, כסבור אביו שהוא מדקדק במצות׃

who understood hunting: [He knew how] to trap and to deceive his father with his mouth and ask him,“Father, how do we tithe salt and straw?” His father thereby thought that he was scrupulous in his observance of the commandments (Tanchuma, Toeldoth 8). (emphasis mine)

Apparently, the Avos were careful to separate maaser. But who did they give their maaser to? Though we find Avraham giving a tithe to Shem who was a Kohen of sorts (see Beraishis 13:20 with Rashi there), that was in a situation of dividing war spoils.

Since the separating being discussed here is the regular tithes of all crop yields--if it was for Shem, then it should've been referred as "Teruma." Were there Leviim at that time too?

I would be intrigued to hear an answer.

Answer 1

The one Av we find mentioning maaser outright was Yaakov in parshas Vayeitzei chapter 28 verse 22. That Maaser is explaned by Rashbam to be Korbanos. Radak, Seichel Tov and Pirkei diRabi Eliazar all explain it was a separating of one of his children for heavenly servitude, a job detail Levi filled. Only Rashi in chapter 32 verse 14 seems to learn it was an actual maaser on animals. The Meshech Chochmah explains Rashi opinion to mean that the animals were sacrificed.

Chazal explained that the מאה שערים mentioned in in chapter 26 verse 12 was hinting to Yitzchok giving מעשר, see Bereishis Rabba 64 6, mentioned in Rashi and Ibn Ezra on the passuk. This Maaser was given as Tzedaka to the poor see Pirkei DiRabi Eliezer in the begining of chapter 33 & the first chapter of Tanna DiBei Eiliyahu Zuta.

This is all besides the fact that it is quite possible that until the establishment of the Levite class post the sin of the Eigel, no such position existed. There were Kohanim, who were the firstborn, and perhaps the entire tribe of Levi after the firstborns lost their status at the Eigel, but no such idea of Leviim in the sense that we know them.

Answer 2

How could Avraham feed his guests tongue? I point out that technically, Avraham Yitzchak and Yaakov were kohanim themselves. Thus, they could have separated ma'aser and "given" it to themselves for Hashem. Also, since they funded their own Yeshivos, they could have used their ma'aser kesafim for that purpose.

Another point is that since it was before matan torah, ma'aser in general would have been similar to ma'aser kesafim nowadays. That is, a midus chassidus and not a davar kedushah (sacred). As a result, it could all have gone to poor people.

The analogy is brought because even if the avos kept the mitzvos, they were not required to do so. Thus, Eisav's questions (about salt and straw) were designed to make it look as if he had already accepted and carried out all other aspects of ma'aser.

Since it was before matan torah, the equivalent of kohanim and leviyim were not really "officially" appointed. While Shem was the initial kohen in the family of Noach, he would have passed it down through the line. Apparently Hashem appointed the Avos as kohanim by giving them the bracha.

Eisav by selling the bechorah showed that he did not want to have the kehunah come to him, which meant that Hashem appointed Yaakov. Levi and his descendants took on that role in Mitzrayim.