The months of Adar and Nissan are a time when Klal Yisroel excels in the mitzva of tzedaka in a wonderful way. Hundreds of millions of dollars exchange hands, whether toward matanos l’evyonim, kimcha d’Pischa, institutions, various organizations, or the like. It is also an opportune time for the mitzva of tzedaka because it is a time of geula, and the mitzva of tzedaka brings the Geula closer. Since much of the money given is maaser money, we will explain some principles about the chiyuv of giving maaser money.
Level of the Chiyuv
2. D’oraisa. Some poskim hold the chiyuv to set aside maaser from income is d’oraisa (ט''ז יו''ד סי' של''א סקל''ב והערוך השלחן סי' רמ''ט ס''ה בדעת הט''ז ).
3. D’rabanan. Other poskim hold the chiyuv is only d’rabanan (מהרי''ל סי' נ''ד ובשו''ת החדשות סי' ק''ח וק''ט, שו''ת חות יאיר סי' רכ''ד בדעת הט''ז הנ''ל ).
4. Minhag. Most poskim hold taking maaser from income is just a minhag (מהר''ם מרוטנברג דפוס פראג סי' ע'''ד, ב''ח יו''ד סי' של''א אות י''ט, שו''ת חת''ס יו''ד סי' רל''א ) that we learn from Avrohom Avinu, who took maaser off everything. This is the approach most poskim take in practice.
5. Since it is a minhag, if someone takes off maaser, he should not stop without a pressing need, as it is like a minhag to do a mitzva (פתח' ת' סי' של''א סקי''ב בשם משנת חכמים ). Thus, if someone who does not normally set aside maaser wants to do so one day, he should say that although he is setting aside maaser, he is not taking it upon himself to always do this (אהבת חסד פי''ח ס''ב ).
6. Some say that taking off maaser once is already like a neder (שאילת יעב''ץ ח''א סי' ו '); others say it is only like a neder after three times (שו''ת חת''ס יו''ד סי' רל''א, חשב האפוד ח''ג סי' ל''ג ).
7. Taking maaser off profits retroactively. If someone is not accustomed to taking off maaser but wants to start now, he does not need to separate maaser from his past profits; it is enough to take it upon himself to separate maaser from now on (שו''ת שבט הלוי ח''ט סי' ר''א ). However, if someone took it upon himself to set aside maaser and after some time started slacking off, he must make up for the period that he was not taking off maaser (קצוה''ח סי' רי''ב סק''ו ).
Testing Hashem’s Guarantee that One Will Not Lose
8. Chazal interpret the posuk “עשר תעשר ” (דברים י"ד, כ"ב ) as “Take off maaser so that you will get rich,” (גמ' תענית דף ט' ע''א ), i.e., it is worth it for a person to take off maaser in order to get rich. In all other areas, it is assur to test Hashem, so to speak, but one may do this with regards to giving maaser (רמ''א סי' רמ''ט ס''ד ) because the reward will definitely come (ש"ך סק"ג ). Some say since the posuk refers to maaser from produce, one may not test Hashem about maaser from money (פתח''ת שם סק''ב ), but the Chofetz Chaim follows the Rama, who allows testing Hashem in this area (אהבת חסד פי''ח אות א '). If one sees he is not getting richer, he should realize that Hashem knows it is better for him not to get rich (הגר''ח קנייבסקי, דרך אמונה פ''ז מתנ''ע ציון ההלכה סקס''ח ).
How Much to Give
9. The average amount to give is 10% of one’s capital (שו"ע יו"ד סי' רמ"ט ס"א ). The best way to do the mitzva is to give up to a fifth [20% - “chomesh”]; one should not give more than a fifth so that he does not end up needing tzedaka himself, ch”v (רמ''א שם ).
10. More than a fifth. One may give more than a fifth of his money to support Torah since he receives a share of the reward – this does not have a limit (שיטה מקובצת כתובות דף נ', אהבת חסד פ''כ ס''ד, חי' תורה למהריט''ב פ' ויצא, כ''ק מרן גאבד ירושלים ).
11. Someone who is extremely wealthy may give more than a fifth (שו''ת שאילת יעב''ץ ח''א סוף סי' נ ', אהבת חסד פי''ט בהג "ה, שו''ת מנח "י ח''ה סי' ל "ד אות ב ').
12. One may also give more than a fifth for pikuach nefesh as long as he keeps what he needs to live (כתבי חפץ חיים מכתב א', שו''ת אג''מ יו''ד א' סוף סי' קמ''ג, מו''ר בספרו צדקה ומשפט פ''א הערה כ''ג ). This is also the ruling with regards to pidyon shevuyim (ערוה''ש סי' רמ''ט ס''ה ).
Keeping Exact Records
13. To properly fulfill the mitzva to take off maaser, one should keep exact records of all his income and profits, business expenses, and losses ch”v for a specific period, as well as whatever he gives to tzedaka during that period (שו''ת חו''י סי' רכ''ד, נוד ב''י קמא יו''ד סי' ע''ג הו''ד בפתח''ת סי' רמ''ט סק''א ).
14. It is advantageous for a person to keep an exact account of his affairs in order to take off maaser or chomesh. This is better than the regular mitzva of giving tzedaka since when one gives maaser or chomesh, his own dealings become partnered with Hashem in a sense, thereby becoming a mitzva entity (אהבת חסד פ''כ אות ו ').
Determining a Time Period for Calculating Maaser
15. Every person should set a specific time to calculate his maaser account – i.e., income, expenses, and tzedaka – based on what is convenient for his occupation. Some people prefer to do this every month, e.g., in Eretz Yisroel, where salaries are paid monthly; others prefer to do it every three months (חו''י סי' רכ''ד ), e.g., in places where rent is collected quarterly; yet others do it every half a year (שו''ת אבקת רוכל סי' ג ').
16. This can also be done once a year (אהבת חסד פי''ח ס''ב ), e.g., at the end of the tax year or every Rosh Hashana, when the level of a person’s sustenance is determined (ערוה''ש סי' רמ''ט ס''ז ).
17. At the end of the predetermined period, one should calculate his income versus his expenses to figure out his profits. With that number, he should calculate how much his maaser or chomesh comes out to. For example, if someone made a profit of 10,000, his maaser is 1,000, and if he gives chomesh, the total of what he gives comes out to 2,000.
18. He should then calculate how much tzedaka he gave in that time period. If it is less than his maaser or chomesh, he should set aside the difference as the rest of his maaser money and distribute it to the needy.
Giving Maaser in Advance
19. Some poskim hold one may not set aside maaser for his future profits (שו''ת בנין ציון החדשות סי' י''ג ).
20. However, most poskim hold one may set aside maaser for his future maaser account (נודב''י קמא יו''ד סי' ע''ג הובא בפתח''ת שם, לבושי שרד חי' דינים ליו''ד סי' ק''ד, חשב האפוד ח''א סי' ק''ה, שו''ת שבט הלוי ח''ב סי' קל''ג אות ט '), and the prevalent minhag follows these poskim. Still, it is best for one to stipulate when he takes on the mitzva that he will be allowed to give money to tzedaka and ultimately deduct it from maaser for future income (אהבת חסד פי''ח ס''ב ).
21. Therefore, if one knows he gave more tzedaka than he needed to based on his profits from his set time period, he may deduct the money in excess of maaser from the next period.
