Question: Is giving maaser (a tenth) to charity an obligation, and is it permissible to use that money for other mitzvot?
Answer: Regarding maaser kesafim (tithing of money), the halachic authorities express three different opinions: 1. Maaser kesafim is a Torah obligation. 2. It is a Rabbinic obligation but a full and binding one. 3. It is neither a Torah nor a Rabbinic obligation, but rather a custom of a mitzvah.
According to the view of the Alter Rebbe, maaser kesafim is a Rabbinic mitzvah. Therefore, it is permissible to use maaser funds for a mitzvah that a person is not obligated to fulfill—such as expenses for the education of his older children, if he cannot afford it. Similarly, one may use the money for publishing holy books. This permissibility applies even if the person has already set aside the maaser funds; (for if it were a Torah obligation, the poor would already have legal ownership of the money, and it would be forbidden to redirect it for these purposes). However, for mitzvot that are an absolute obligation upon a person, he must fulfill them from his own funds and not from maaser.
It is best to give charity with joy and a generous heart, and in any case of doubt, use ordinary (non-maaser) funds. Afterward, one may call upon G-d to fulfill His promise (Malachi 3:10): “And test Me therewith...” and the giving will bring increased blessing even in material matters, literally.
Adapted from Rav Yosef Simach Ginzberg, Sichat HaShevua
