Is Everyone Required to Donate 10% of their Income to Tzedakah?
Many people donate 10% of their income to Tzedakah. This is known as Maaser Kesafim - tithing of money. Is everyone required to do so?
The Sifra (a midrash halacha of the tannaim) equates the requirement of tithing produce grown in Israel to tithing one’s earnings (quoted in Tosofos, Ta’anis, 9a). For centuries, halachic authorities have debated whether this is an obligatory Biblical or Rabbinic requirement, or whether it is only a minhag, a custom. Among the most famous disputants were two of the greatest poskim in 16th and 17th century Poland–interestingly, they were also father-in-law and son-in-law. Rav David Halevi Segal (1586-1667), commonly known as the Taz (an acronym for Turei Zahav, his commentary on Shulchan Aruch) considers Maaser Kesafim to be an obligation (Taz, Shulchan Aruch YD 331:32). On the other hand, the father-in-law of the Taz, Rav Yoel Sirkis (1561-1640), commonly referred to as the Bach (an acronym for Bayis Chodosh, his commentary on the Tur) maintains there is no obligation to separate Maaser Kesafim (Bach, Tur 331). Many great authorities such as Rav Yaakov Emden (She’eilas Yaavetz 6) and the Chasam Sofer (YD 231) concur with the lenient view of the Bach. Nonetheless, many people throughout Jewish history have meticulously separated Maaser Kesafim as a non-obligatory minhag, and all agree that it is praiseworthy to do so.
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