245. “The twelfth commandment, etc.” The twelfth commandment is to bring the first fruit of the tree, as it is stated: “And every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed.” Everything that is suitable for Me is prohibited for you to eat. He permitted to them and gave them all of His tithes and the first fruit of the tree, as it is stated: “I have given you” [Genesis 1:29, which means] to you and not to the generations that come after you.

Explanation: This is referring to the verse with which He ended the eleventh commandment, in which it is stated: “And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s” [Leviticus 27:30]. [The Zohar] is saying that [since] here it is stated: “And every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed,” a verbal analogy can be derived from there: Just as there [the verse is speaking of] the first fruit, so too here [it means] the first fruit.

[The Zohar] says: “Everything that is suitable for Me is prohibited for you to eat,” namely, not [only] specifically the tithe, but also the first fruit, [as derived] from this verse: “Of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s.” “The Lord’s” implies that which is suitable for Me, including the first fruit of the tree. This is the basis for the verbal analogy that the verse here, “and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed,” is also referring to the first fruit. Accordingly, [the Zohar] says that “He permitted to them and gave them all of His tithes and the first fruit of the tree,” for [the Zohar] derived by verbal analogy that the verses are referring only to the tithe and the first fruit, as explained.

Do not be puzzled that the verse: “Of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s,” is stated in the eleventh commandment rather than this commandment. In fact the Zohar mixes them together right at the start of the eleventh commandment, where it states: “There are two commandments here.” However, the printer divided them into two, and he thereby cut them in the middle and left the verse about the first fruit in the eleventh commandment. This is clear.

[The Zohar] also inferred that the verse is referring to the tithe and the first fruit from the fact that it is stated: “I have given you,” which implies: “And not to the generations that come after you.” Only to you have I given [the tithe and the first fruit] to eat, and not to the generations after you. Accordingly, it cannot be said that the verse is speaking of the regular produce of the land, [as that is produce] which we too are permitted to eat. Rather, it is referring only to the produce of the land that we are prohibited to eat, which is necessarily the tithe and the first fruit.