It is possible that this particular Tallis belongs to someone else, and it is also possible that it belongs to the tzibbur.

As such, you would not be permitted to take it unless you were absolutely certain that this Tallis belongs to you.

The general rule is that anything which is obligatory cannot be paid with ma’aser money, whereas voluntary contributions may be given from ma’aser.

When it comes to children’s education, some Poskim hold that for young boys, since their education is an obligation upon their parents, it cannot be paid from ma’aser, whereas for girls and older boys, since the obligation for their education does not fall on the parents, the costs can be paid from ma’aser. Nonetheless, if the child is studying in a yeshivah or such like that has a dormitory, since the costs of food and board are an obligation upon the father, he cannot pay that portion of the tuition from ma’aser money.

However, Rav Moshe Feinstein (Igros Moshe YD 2:113) rules that nowadays since education is government-mandated, tuition becomes an obligatory cost and cannot be paid from ma’aser money. Nonetheless, he writes that any tuition costs above what is expected from a person of his means a person may pay from ma’aser money; furthermore R’ Yaakov Blau (Tzedaka Umishpot 11 footnote 35) writes that it is commendable to gives one’s ma’aser money to an institution in which one’s children study.

It is forbidden to pay any kind of interest on a loan, and this includes even something purely verbal, such as blessing the lender for lending you the money.


To say "Thank you," however, is permitted by some (though not all) authorities, because they regard this not as a favour for the lender but rather as simply good manners.

Saying "I appreciate this" is perhaps similar because it is not so much a blessing to the lender as a statement intended to indicate that I am not so ungrateful as to not acknowledge the loan.

If you yourself use the money in these accounts, even occasionally, for yourself, then in effect you are borrowing money from your family members, and lending that in turn to the bank. It would therefore be forbidden to pass on any interest earned in the bank to your family, because in effect the bank is paying you interest on your loan to them and you are paying interest to your family on the loan that they lent you.

If, however, you do not use this money at all but simply keep it there on their behalf, I have seen it written in the name of Rav Elyashiv that this would be permissible. Although the bank, recognizing only you and not your family, believes that it is paying interest to you, you actually know that the money deposited in the bank really belongs to your family, and when you collect interest from the bank you are actually merely collecting it on their behalf.

The general rule is that a person is considered "poor," and may accept charity (such as ma'aser money) for their expenses even if they have savings, as long as these savings are only for basic requirements.

Someone who has additional savings for things like a car etc would probably not be regarded as an "Oni" – a poor person.

There is a difference of opinion as to whether gambling is permitted or forbidden in Halacha.

The Shulchan Aruch rules that it is a form of stealing and is forbidden. Sefardim, who follow the rulings of the Shulchan Aruch, may therefore not gamble even occasionally, and this includes even buying a lottery ticket. Buying a raffle ticket however, would seem to be permitted even according to this opinion. When one buys a lottery ticket, one is placing money simply to earn the chance of receiving more. Buying a raffle ticket is different, though; you are actually donating money to a worthy cause, with a side benefit being the possibility of winning a prize as well, and this may well be permitted.

The Remoh, however, disagrees with the Shulchan Aruch, and permits gambling, even on a regular basis. One who has no regular source of income other than from his gambling, however, is considered to be not a member of a civil society, and is Possul Le'eydus – invalid to serve as a witness in Halachah.
It is worth noting, however, that the Remoh himself in at least one place (O. C. 322) does not object to the ruling of the Shulchan Aruch who forbids gambling (see Mishnah Berurah, Shaar Tiyon 322:20).
Further, one should note the words of the Rambam, who writes that in this context that it is not fitting for a person to spend his days in practices other than the gaining of wisdom, necessary business affairs and other such matters of societal importance.

Note too, the words of the Rivash who refers to gambling as a "disgusting, repulsive and sordid practice that has caused many casualties," and the Talmud Yerushalmi rules that we should make no effort to annul the vow of one who vowed never to gamble again!

The general rule of thumb with regards to ma'aser kesafim is that all expenses that are directly accrued to enable one's generation of income can be deducted from the reckoning of one's income with regard to ma'aser.

So for example, if one rents an office for one's work, the cost of upkeep of the office, including rent, insurance and so on are all income-associated costs that may be offset against one's income when calculating one's overall income. If one commutes to work, or if one's car is used for work, one can deduct those costs as well. However, if one uses a car for private use not associated with work, one cannot reckon the running costs as a business expense.
In your example, if one earns $100,000 and one has expenses on an investment property of $20,000 the tax office will only assess $80,000 of income. So too with calculations for tzedaka, you need only give 10% of $80,000.

Incidentally, as a general rule with regard to ma'aser kesafim, in order to avoid problems of nedarim, one should declare at the outset that by giving ma'aser one intends not to oblige oneself with any nedarim.