I have been giving Chomesh, but now my salary barely covers the rent & bills

 

Question:

I have been giving chomesh from my earnings ever since I got married.

I just moved and my rent went up a lot. Now my salary barely covers the rent, bills and basic expenses. If I continue to give chomesh my salary will not cover my rent. If I give just maaser, my salary will cover my rent and maybe my basic bills. I do have some money put aside for now, and I am working on getting some side jobs too. Also, periodically a relative likes to cover our rent, but it is not anything set up or reliable.

I want to continue giving chomesh, even if my bank account will be going down for now.

My boss suggested to pay me some of my paycheck directly to my landlord, for reasons of taxes mainly. (He is actually legally allowed to do this because of some law regarding religious institutions etc., I believe he said it’s called parsonage). On the other hand, he does not really care to make the checks out to me, because he is not so careful to watch where the money is going in and out from.

I liked the above idea because then I would be paying chomesh only of what he made out directly to me (which is the money which is going on the books).

However, I was doubtful if it is the correct thing to do. I feel like it is a bit of haarama against maaser.

 

My question is:

1) Do I need to give maaser from the money if he puts it out to the rent, because I requested it, while he doesn’t mind putting it out to me instead (although I believe he prefers the first option)?

– Yes.

 

2) Would it be better for me to give maaser from the full amount instead of giving chomesh from only the amount I am receiving on the books?

– Yes.

 

3) Any other suggestion of the best way to go about this situation, in a spirit of midas chassidus?

 

Answer:

I would suggest for you to do hataras nedarim and only give מעשר the whole amount.

At the same time, you should give a small percentage of chomesh and record the rest as a debt to pay back im yirtze Hashem when you have the financial ability. You can also continue afterwards to give complete chomesh but calculate chomesh after deducting all home needs and expenses. Also, you may be lenient with chomesh to use it for obligatory mitzvos, taxes and even if necessary tzorechei habayis.

 

Sources:

דמי שכירות – עיין בספר אהבת חסד (להחפץ חיים) חלק ב סימן יח סק״ב שמותר לנכות דמי שכירות מחשבון מעשר. אבל הרבה חולקים עליו.

צרכי הבית – ובשם הגרש”ז אוירבך והגרי”י פישר שאין להפריש “חומש” אלא אם כן יש כל צרכי ביתו, והיינו ״כולל הוילונות והנברשות”. וראה צדקה ומשפט א, ו ובהערה טו. מעשר כספים ד, ד.

ניכוי צרכי ביתו – בשו״ת אבקת רוכל ג אפילו למעשר. וראה שו״ת שואל ונשאל ב, קס. יחו״ד ג, עו. צי״א ט, א. י, ו.

להפריש לעצמו – מעשר כספים ו.

להפריש חלק מהחובה – שלחן מנחם ה ע׳ פח.

 

 

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