DEUT1488 Declare having properly separated and given the required tithes. Man is the most sublime creation on earth, and the feature that most clearly sets him apart from animals is his power of speech. By virtue of this God given power, it is obvious that compared to animals, mankind lives on an entirely different plane of existence. Owing to the sublime nature of the power of speech, we find many people who take great pains regarding every word that they say, while they are not so concerned about their sinful actions. Compared to their concern over what they do, they are more concerned about what they say, lest they blemish this holy faculty. Separating tithes is a very important matter in its own right, but its importance is magnified because Levites and Kohanim, Hashem’s servants in the Beis HaMikdash, depend upon tithes for their livelihood. Accordingly, Hashem wants the Jewish nation to take special care to separate tithes properly. He wants us to take no personal benefit from them and give them as required. For these reasons He commands us to come to the Beis HaMikdash and verbally declared before Him that we have allocated the tithes properly and that no produce intended for the Levites or Kohanim was mishandled or remains in our possession. Requiring this verbal declaration ensures that we do everything that we must regarding the tithes, for who is not afraid of uttering a lie in the Beis Hamikdash?