Kabbalah for Ketubot 99:2
א"ר אילעא באושא התקינו המבזבז אל יבזבז יותר מחומש תניא נמי הכי המבזבז אל יבזבז יותר מחומש שמא יצטרך לבריות ומעשה באחד שבקש לבזבז [יותר מחומש] ולא הניח לו חבירו ומנו רבי ישבב ואמרי לה רבי ישבב ולא הניחו חבירו ומנו רבי עקיבא
R. Elai stated: It was enacted at Usha that if a man wishes to spend liberally he should not spend more than a fifth. It was also taught: If a man desires to spend liberally he should not spend more than a fifth, lest he come to need the help of people. And it once happened that a man wished to spend more than a fifth but his friend did not allow him. Who was it? R. Yeshevav. Others say [that the man who wished to spend was] R. Yeshevav, but his friend did not allow him. And who was it? R. Akiva.
Maaseh Rokeach on Mishnah
It appears to me, once we know that the previous tractate [ed. see introduction to Tractate Terumot above] corresponds to the 12 tribes, and also since it is well known that in all the Midrashim the Tribe of Levi is called "maaser" from the tribes (being as Jacob swore an oath to "give maaser from all that [God] gives me", he therefore separated Levi as "maaser"). Based on this, I feel forced to ask a question: In the Talmud, Tractate Ketubot (50a) teaches that a person should not give more than a fifth of his wealth to charity and brings a proof from Jacob who said "Aser Eh'asreinu" which the Talmud interprets to mean a fifth [ed. as opposed to merely a tenth as the simple reading implies]. If this is so, how could Jacob have fulfilled his oath by only sanctifying Levi [ed. which would be one tenth of his sons] when he vowed to sanctify one fifth [ed. ie. two children out of ten]?
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