Maaser
Maaser refers to a level of attainment that needs to be achieved during the preparation period prior to entering spirituality. Entering spirituality depends on the development of the desire to attain the qualities of the Creator—the ability to love—to such a degree that it becomes more important than all other desires. How can we reach this level of importance? On our own, it is impossible, but our friends who share this same goal each possess a small amount of this importance as well. The more we connect with those friends so that we each feel the overall importance as our own, the closer I come to the goal. In addition, we need to help discover new friends whose points in the heart are just beginning to light up, because we can reach our spiritual goal through our combined level of importance.
So where does payment of Maaser (a monthly financial contribution of 10% of income) fit into the picture? Gradually, the importance reaches a level where we are willing to trade whatever we can to obtain the “cure” for this spiritual illness called “egoism.” The cure lies in those points in the heart in the world that are still asleep. Our mutual effort to develop those points through passive means is called “dissemination.” We support this effort in two ways: with our time and with our contribution of what is given to us by the Creator (our financial contribution—Maaser).
No one is ever forced to pay Maaser. The online classes, the website, the materials, everything that is available at no charge today will continue to be available whether we pay Maaser or not. However, when we reach this level of importance (or have the desire to reach it and thus try to act as if I already feel it), we begin to perceive the payment of Maaser as a vital necessity for our spiritual life rather than a burden. The will to receive will never agree to it, however, and finds many perfectly valid reasons to object. This is where we have an opportunity for spiritual work, as we rise above what the will to receive tells us and choose to pursue our spiritual goal instead.
Take an active role in the world’s correction by spreading the wisdom of Kabbalah
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Maaser and how is it used?
What is Maaser and what is its purpose?
Maaser is the payment of a tenth of one’s total income, which a person sets aside in order to correct oneself and the entire world.
Paying Maaser is a spiritual act, unrelated to the payment of taxes or other financial obligations. Maaser is paid against the part of the soul that we are unable to correct. By our own efforts, we are able to correct what is called “the first nine,” and the tenth part, called Malchut, we are unable to correct. We therefore contribute this to the correction of the world through the payment of Maaser. This payment is of the utmost importance – one who does not pay Maaser is detached from spiritual correction. Therefore, throughout the generations, Kabbalists would set aside Maaser.
How are Maaser funds used and which activities are funded by Maaser?
Maaser funds are directed only towards the correction of the world – the dissemination of the wisdom of Kabbalah to humanity. Maaser funds are used ONLY for this purpose, and not to fund any type of social activities.
What is the spiritual root of Maaser?
What is the spiritual root of Maaser?
The soul of Adam HaRishon is made up of ten Sefirot. During the breaking of the vessels, this soul broke into tiny pieces that fell into our world. My individual Kli (vessel) is partial, meaning that the Masach (screen) covers only a portion of my desires in which I am able to receive for the sake of bestowal. These are the first nine Sefirot that we can correct through our own efforts. The desires of the tenth part, the Sefira Malchut, cannot be corrected directly. Instead, I receive the light for that part and transfer the desire to receive pleasure along with the received Light to an outside Kli. Thereby I prepare it for correction, which will be done by the light at Gmar Tikkun (Final Correction).
Maaser represents the tenth part of Malchut that cannot be corrected. Instead, this part is set aside and used for the correction of the world.
What does this spiritual root mean to me?
Our goal is to attain the qualities of the Creator – pure bestowal. For this purpose, we are placed in this world where we see some of our desires internally (“me”) and others as external (everything else around me). A portion of our correction is in our control through our efforts to draw the Light during the study, group activities and dissemination. There is another portion, however, that is not in our power to correct and can only be corrected through the general society. Maaser is dedicated to this latter portion. I seemingly transfer it for external usage, but then it becomes my internality and returns to me with the desires I did not previously consider my own. These desires will be corrected by the Light at the end of correction.
Who pays Maaser?
Who pays Maaser?
Maaser is paid by students of Kabbalah who understand that paying Maaser is a necessary act for correction. This correction is not only for oneself, but also for the correction of the world.
Everyone who receives financial income from any source has a spiritual obligation to pay Maaser, but no one is ever forced to do so. A person who deepens their identification with the goal and method of Kabbalah, however, begins to feel a responsibility (or has the desire to feel it) not just for their own correction, but for the correction of the whole of humanity. Such people, who take the study seriously, begin to perceive the payment of Maaser as vital for spiritual life.
At what age does one begin to pay Maaser?
It is customary to pay Maaser at the age of 18 (the age of majority) and when earning some income of their own.
Does a woman have to pay Maaser?
A woman who studies Kabbalah also has a spiritual obligation to pay Maaser, and should set aside a tenth of her personal income. Shared income can be used to pay Maaser provided that the family agrees to this arrangement. The only case a woman is exempted from this spiritual obligation is when paying Maaser may cause a major disruption in the family.
How do you calculate Maaser?
How do you calculate how much Maaser to pay?
Maaser is 10% of one’s income, paid each month. Income, including income from any and all sources, is totaled and 10% of that is for Maaser.
Is payment of Maaser based on gross or net income?
It is customary to pay Maaser on gross income; however, within Bnei Baruch it is acceptable and common for Maaser to be paid on net income, meaning net of federal and state income tax.
Does it matter if I pay the exact amount or can I round off the number?
What counts as income when calculating Maaser?
Should I pay Maaser on inheritance?
Should I pay Maaser on disability pension?
If I find money on the street, should I pay Maaser from it?
Who checks the amount of my Maaser?
Can a person give Maaser of more than 10%?
How do business owners calculate Maaser?
If income is only sufficient to meet true necessities (rent, food, medicine, etc.), must 10% of the income be paid for Maaser?
Can I deduct individual or group dissemination expenses from my Maaser transfer?
What is the benefit of paying Maaser?
Is there any personal gain from giving Maaser?
The payment of Maaser provides spiritual gain, which is a spiritual correction – the correction of the soul. Actually, the correction does not come from the payment of money, but by your rejection of using it for your own benefit. This correction is against the “still” part of the desire.
The correction of the soul is to attain the state of “love thy friend as thyself,” to become connected to others, and through them, build a system of connection to the Creator, which is the bestowing and loving force of Nature. We are used to paying in order to receive, but here the payment is in order to give, to bestow. Maaser is not just a ‘tenth part,’ but rather, by the payment of Maaser, a person also commits that he will make the other 90% effort required to correct his soul, since one can only make that effort on his own. But against the tenth part, Malchut, which he cannot correct by himself, he gives of what he has earned in this world.
Through the payment of Maaser, a person receives spiritual support in order to do the work with the other nine Sefirot of his soul. This is also a way to tell whether you are simply satisfying your curiosity or seriously desiring to participate in your private correction and the general correction of the world.
Is Maaser money that does not belong to a person?
In our corporeal world, when we receive payment for our work, we feel that we have earned it – it is ours. This comes from the lack of sensation of what actually occurred. In truth, the whole thing was a gift from Above – “there is none else besides Him.” We are given 90% for our own needs, but 10% belongs to someone else.
Can a person who does not pay Maaser advance spiritually?
Why is it so hard for a person to pay Maaser?
As long as we do not feel this same type of responsibility to the world, Maaser will be viewed as a burden. Once we begin to feel it in the smallest degree, obstacles will appear: all kinds of reasons why I should not pay Maaser. The spiritual goal is no longer imaginary, but quite tangible. This is where we have the opportunity for spiritual work, where the will to receive sees no benefit in the act.
How do you pay Maaser?
Where to Pay Maaser?
Maaser payments can be made directly to Bnei Baruch Association, RA in Israel here.
Maaser is also collected in the United States through Bnei Baruch America, Inc., a public charitable, 501(c)3 nonprofit organization qualified to accept tax-exempt donations by the IRS. Acknowledgments of Maaser payments made through Bnei Baruch America will be sent for US tax records. Go here to give Maaser in the United States.
How Often to Pay Maaser?
Maaser is paid monthly at the beginning of the month for the previous month’s income.
If a month’s Maaser payment is missed, it can be made up in the following month.
If an individual does not have a regular monthly income, Maaser should be paid according to the schedule that income is received.
KABBALISTIC SOURCES ON MAASER
Where in the sources is the obligation to pay Maaser mentioned?
And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.
Genesis 28:22
You shall tithe all the yield of your seed that comes from the field year by year.
Deuteronomy 14:22
Every tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is the Lord’s; it is holy to the Lord.
Leviticus 27:30
By tithing [giving ten percent of one’s earnings], which is doing without knowledge, and saying that this tithing is holy, thanks to this he has wealth elsewhere, meaning he receives knowledge, called “wealth,” from things.
For this reason, he will have nine qualities, meaning that in these nine qualities he receives knowledge, and the tenth will be dedicated to the Creator. In other words, he is entirely for the Creator, and he has no attainment in it. This is why it is called “to the Lord.” The quality that the landlord receives, called “will be for him,” is what the owner can attain.
This is the meaning of “‘Test Me please by this,’ said the Lord of Hosts, ‘if I do not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you an endless blessing.’” “This” means the above-mentioned wealth. If you accept this above reason, will not all the wealth in the world flow to you?
Kabbalist Baruch Shalom HaLevi Ashlag (Rabash), Assorted Notes. Article No. 817, “The Meaning of ‘Poor'”
Concerning donations and tithing, these are given specifically from possessions, from what man has acquired and possessed, and then he gives a tithing from this. Hence, there is a tithing of the beast, which is given from the quality of “beast,” which is the soul, and there is one from the fruits of the tree, which is the quality of “man.”
The time of the giving of tithing begins once ripening or planting is visible, when it is certain that he has gained.
Kabbalist Baruch Shalom HaLevi Ashlag (Rabash), Assorted Notes. Article No. 904, “Man Is the Tree of the Field”
“You shall tithe.” It was interpreted, “Give tithing so you will grow rich.” But how did our sages explain the commandment in the verse in a way that is Lo Lishma [not for Her sake], meaning that the intention is that he would give charity so as to get? It should be said, as was said, “We will do and we will hear,” meaning that through the act they will achieve the state of “We will hear,” meaning the act affects the intention.
It follows that when a person gives tithing, meaning an act of giving, he should aim “to get rich,” meaning to be rewarded with a desire and yearning to give. That is, as the act is giving and not receiving, so he will be rewarded with the thought and intention being only to give and to receive anything in return.
We should also say, “You shall tithe,” meaning “tithe” on the action, where if he performs an act of giving, “You will get rich,” for then he will be rewarded with his intention also being that of bestowal and not that of reception.
And what happens afterwards? “So you will grow rich,” since it is impossible to receive from the Creator the delight and pleasure, called “wealth,” before one has equivalence of form. At that time, when he is rewarded with his aim being to bestow, as well, he will be rewarded with the wealth called “so you will grow rich.”
Kabbalist Baruch Shalom HaLevi Ashlag (Rabash), Assorted Notes. Article No. 536, “You Shall Tithe”
Through the commandment of Maaser [tithing], you will be rewarded with not diminishing the quality of being content with one’s share, and it will always appear to you that you are not devoid of any abundance. This is the power of the Maaser, and then you will truly be called “rich,” as it is written, “Who is rich? He who is happy with his share.” This is where one should aim when giving the Maaser in order to become rich, meaning in order to come to the quality of being content with one’s share through the sanctity of this commandment. It is not a plea, but on the contrary, it is to be rewarded with the degree of being happy with one’s share and to be called “rich.”
Ma’or Eynaim, Portion Re’eh
One must not cease tithing. He should give them properly – from the field and from the household, and from everything that comes into one’s hand in any matter in the world.
The Menorah of Light
One should set aside a tenth of any profit that comes into one’s hand.
Rabbi Moses ben Jacob Cordovero (Ramak), The Conducts of the Righteous, “Good Conducts”
Rabbi Akiva says … “Tithing, a prerequisite for wealth.”
Mishnah, Masechet Avot, 3:13
One who observes tithing is guaranteed not to come into harm’s way.
Vilna Gaon
When was the directive to pay Maaser given for the first time?
Prior to the Exodus from Egypt, the people of Israel were not a free nation that could be corrected; therefore, they weren’t given the obligation of tithing (paying Maaser). After the Exodus, the people of Israel became a spiritual nation and were free in their actions, and immediately the order was given regarding the payment of Maaser, as it is written: “Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year” (Deuteronomy 14:22).
What was Maaser used for in the times of our forefathers?
Moses and Aaron used the funds from Maaser to establish the Temple, which was the people’s educational center, the center of correction.