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Tuition as Maaser

Answered by Rabbi Azriel SchreiberFurther responses from Rabbi Daniel Fleksher

Question

Is Yeshiva tuition admissible as a Maaser deduction?

Answer

The consensus of most Poskim is that Maaser funds cannot be used for one’s children’s education.The Chofetz Chaim (Sefer Ahavas Chessed, Ch. 19) writes that it is prohibited because “it is like paying one’s own debts from Maaser funds”. The issue is whether tuition is a Halachic obligation; if so, a person has no right to use Maaser, which is HaShem’s portion, for this purpose, just as he may not use Maaser funds to purchase an Esrog. However, Maaser can definitely be used for the education of other children who may not be able to afford the cost of education. Consequently, if a person is paying full tuition, and knows that a portion of it is used to subsidize the tuition of others who cannot pay, that portion may be taken from Maaser funds. In Halachah (Reference:) there is no obligation to educate girls, or even to educate boys past a certain age. Rav Moshe Feinstein states (Igros Mosheh, Yoreh Deah Vol. 5, No. 113) that nowadays the obligation to educate one’s children extends much further than it did when Jewish society was more insular. However, Rav Yitzchok Blazer (Shaalos U’Teshuvos Pri Yitzchok, Vol. 2, No. 27) states that if a person is in financial need, he may deduct tuition for his daughters, and for his sons that are over six years old.

Follow-up question

Question


Please could you tell me what Maaser is? Thank you.

Answer

Certainly! I’m sorry that it wasn’t explained initially in the post. Maaser literally means a tenth and in biblical terminology can refer to any of a number of tithes which were taken. For example, maaser behemah is the tithe which one would take on his livestock. Every tenth animal amongst the newborn would be taken and given as a gift to a Cohen, or priest, in exchange for their services to the nation. Maaser rishon, literally the first tithe, is taken from produce and given as a gift to someone from the tribe of Levi. Based upon the biblical maaser, a tradition emerged among the Jewish people to take a tenth of one’s profits and give them to charity or tzedakah. The post you refer to was discussing this type of maaser and whether tuition can be counted as part of the 10%. I hope this was a helpful introduction to the subject.
Sincerely,
R’ Daniel Fleksher