Question: I have seen Seforim that are inscribed,
‘bought with maaser money’. Is it okay to do that?
Answer: Ideally one should give one’s maaser
to the poor (Rema YD 249:1; Minchas Yitzchak 8:83). Today, this includes
donations to Torah institutions which will help those who can’t otherwise
afford a Torah education.
The Taz (YD 249:1) quotes R’ Menachem of Merseburg that
allows one to use one’s maaser to buy Seforim if they cannot otherwise afford
to buy them. One doing so must make them available for others to use and write
in them that they were bought with maaser funds (See Chafetz Chaim, Ahavas
Chesed 2:19:2). R’ Eliezer Waldenberg (Tzitz Eliezer 9:1:2) explains that one
who borrows Seforim that they don’t have is considered poor. Such lending is
akin to distributing spiritual food, and thus considered a form of Tzedaka.
Most
contemporary Poskim hold that as nowadays Seforim are far more accessible, one
should not rely on this leniency.
The Aruch
Hashulchan (YD 249:10) asks what the difference is between using maaser
money for Seforim and other Mitzvos (which is clearly forbidden).
Furthermore, what is stopping others from demanding that these Seforim are kept
in a Beis Hamedrash so that they are available for all? He thus advises one not
to rely on this leniency.
R’ Shmuel Wosner (Shevet Halevi 7:194) writes that
rather than using one’s maaser money to buy Seforim for oneself, one
should buy them and donate them to a Shul or other Torah institution (See
Chasam Sofer YD 245).
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