Devarim 26:13 Then you shall say (אמר) before the Lord, your God, “I have removed the holy [portion] from the house, and I have also given it to the Levite, the stranger, the orphan, and the widow, according to all Your commandment that You commanded me; I have not transgressed Your commandments, nor have I forgotten [them].

Gemora Sotah 32b: The text of the “confession for maaser (tithing)” is said in any language.

Torah Temimah Colloquial Translation on Note #51:

The requirement that one understands what one is saying is deduced from a “gezerat sheva” (textual similarity). Since in the case of the confession for Sotah and in the case of the confession for tithing the word “אמר” is used, we deduce that just as in the case of Sotah, there is a requirement that the woman understands what she is saying, so too in our verse where the word “אמר” is used; they both indicate that the speaker must understand what they are saying. Therefore, it can be said in any language that the speaker understands.

The reason why it makes sense in this case for a requirement that the speaker understands, while in many other cases and prayers that are said in Hebrew we do not have this requirement can be understood from a statement of the Abarbanel (September 23, 1437 – September 23, 1508)

The Abarbanel explains that the issue of tithing involves monetary issues and, as such, represents an area where people are likely to stumble. Therefore, God required that this statement that “I have given to the Levite, the stranger…” must be said in a language that the speaker understands. Therefore, all year long, while the person is working, he will keep in mind that at the end of the year he must travel to the holy Temple and state “before God” that he has kept these laws appropriately – clearly it makes sense to require that this statement be made in a language that the speaker understands.

However, it is worthwhile to delve into this matter further. Just a few verses ago (Devarim 26,1) the laws of the “confession of first-fruits” is explained. Even though there are many similarities between these laws, why is it that First Fruits statement is said in Hebrew? It seems to me that the reason is because the purpose of the First Fruits declaration is to announce and declare to the public that “We were enslaved in Egypt, God took us out of there, brought us to this land, brought us here and we have worked the land, and now I am bringing the First Fruits to the Temple to express my gratitude.”

For this reason, the declaration of the First Fruits is done in the communal language of the Jewish People. The main purpose of the declaration is for the listeners not for the speaker. If there are some amongst the listeners who do not speak Hebrew, we don’t change the law from the requirement that the declaration be said in the general language of the Jewish people.

This same reasoning is also applied to the laws of marriage. We are making a public declaration during a wedding that the bride and groom are married. That is the primary purpose of the declarations at a wedding.   

Editor’s Note: This note felt inspiring to me. I think, for example, of the Passsover Seder and how much effort we put into ensuring that we do it in Hebrew and also ensuring that we educate our kids to understand Hebrew. I like to think that the reason why we do this is because we are doing the Passover Seder not just for ourselves but also for the Jewish people as a whole. It is really the Jewish people who are our intended audience.