- Halacha
- Cohanim
Question
I was taught growing up in church that we must tithe 10% of our gross income to avoid a curse. The real blessing comes when you give above that. They quote Malachi a lot. It goes to the pastor and the expenses of the building. Does this scripture apply when we are not Levites?
Answer
This is a Jewish site and we don't deal with questions regarding other religions. It's true that the tithing of 10% comes from Judaism, where 10% used to be given to Levites in addition to 10% given to the poor. Today, Levites work for a living just like everyone, and the 10% we give to charity, mainly to poor people, yeshivahs for Torah study and synagogues, but definitely not to churches. The Levites were among the receivers of the 10% and not of the givers, as you inferred, but they do give 10% of their 10% (altogether 1%) to the Cohens (priests), and this is still done today in the Land of Israel.