The Anthropologist Deconstructing Antizionism
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I am a retiree and did not study Torah when I was young. Could I use my ma’aser money (the tithe of our income we give to charity) to join a learning program which I would benefit from?
Much success in your studies first of all! In general, ma’aser must be given to others, not spent on ourselves, even for a worthy cause. However, there is room for leniency in a situation where you would not have attended the program at all because of the cost. The same is true of any non-obligatory mitzvah you would not otherwise be able to perform. The reasoning is because we may not use ma’aser for our obligations, but a program you would not have joined is viewed as an extra mitzvah rather than a basic obligation. However, even if you rely on this leniency, you may only give up to 50% of your ma’aser for your own mitzvos. The rest should be given directly to the poor.
If the money you are paying for this program is additionally helping support the poor (i.e., the teacher of your program is needy and depends on the income it generates), then you can certainly pay for it from ma’aser (if you can’t afford to attend otherwise).
(Sources: Shulchan Aruch Y.D. 249:1; Tzitz Eliezer IX 1:1-5; The Laws of Tzedakah and Maaser (ArtScroll), pp. 153-155.)
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