Rabbi Yosef Greenwald - Hilchos Tzedakah and Maaser – Dinim, Minhagim and Meaning at Scheiner's

Okay, just to stand here with talk a little bit. I'm going to do something with's permission that I don't generally do by a normally the is you say a we start with the we go to the end it a little bit different [clears throat] if doesn't mind I'd like to do because I think it'll be a good introduction to the so we'll take it the other way open up a a ram Rambam is in hulic test. There's no exact husk. Most of it is in is in of Louis B. that there's a very important gave me over here in the Rambam. The Rambam brings a history of mitzvo that were around before and the Rambam says like this he says there was before that. Okay. Then the Ramb brings the Ramb brings that there was that was everybody was the mentioned mitzvah including those was everybody was alo who his shak So the Ramba brings that we know from the Gmorra that the one who is comes from nobody says by the way that it didn't only be if it comes from the times of the second BD there is the come from but it's not in the per se the is not is certainly not the but now serious. He doesn't list off one. So Rambam has over here an evolution of different mitzvah and the Rambam sticks in that the one who is Messer was none other than what he's referring to is in the beginning told us that this that it says that was over there that he was they had to be exact because Mser has to be to an exact amount which is an important by the way when we learn Mser as opposed two different areas of this and is whatever you pull out of your pocket [clears throat] is an exact amount. It has to be so to be with a with an accounting with a reckoning how much in how much out etc. Why does the say who is and was a concept that we find we find his first why does it say that why does it say that was Ms and Ma the one who was Msakim was B This is in the end by the with the withd says over there with it says over there that was he was so why does it say so explain that clearly what we're talking about over here is even though it says and says we're talking about something else. Now let's add really what I wanted to get to the punch line that really you have the same thing that Jacob was do we have a instituted mess inst what's going on so clearly the Rambam is putting a dogish by it he means to bring out a point but really each one of the was a different level of miser And would be a again I'm saying would be a that each one of the was the m that his path his mid and hashem let's explain was mid as we know is so when was the mid in which the was expressing itself means that you realize that everything from the alone is pure So when was put into a situation where he should have been killed in the and wanted to give expression to the overwhelming that he had for the revener on something which was pure feel pure when you say it from a car crash you say from that's an expression of oh Let's recognize okay that's one as we know is midsk's mid is about hard work say that the bdash in mid is called har is a place you climb you see a view it's an adventure there's a vista there you climb is about seeing about vision is about hard work is about hard worker was the produce from the field. That's what is talking about. That means there is recognize how when you're working hard, it's not you. You think you planted, you plowed, you're the one who makes the money is the one who makes it grow. You you have nothing. You have no it's all. So everything that grows. Now we get to the punch line. Jacob says in the beginning of Pay when he's on the way after he sees the with he's on the way to B and he says what was Jacob was makin doesn't say the produce of the field didn't have fields he didn't plant was a shepherd there's no ra there's no miserish my sheni oni [snorts] trum there's no den to be mafish there's maybe to give to a kan I guess but that's not when yank says he's going on the bank account what he earns a tenth of it is going to go to the we have a after learning the in the whole discussion about whether brings us that seems to say that comes from your and others want to know that the reason why there could be from is because it predates the it's a like we said from myon it's not one of the none other and that's why I could have an apostle even if it's purely that's the I saw this many many years I remember one of the brings this but I ask you if there's one called giving when you're when you're from short death and you give from what you came out with that's about being from the field from from the hard work. So what is yankinu? So yanku what that's saying is messer is a concept the concept of messer is is not that what grows in a person's bank account is what is and this is what you see is that is called that's everything he has is given over to the rebum What that really means and this is say is very important when you learn my is saying a person thinks that he has the world of the bdes okay when you learn hus the world of the bdish and the office get a little bit close to each other right all the shas you bring into the bdish you have to what means is that it's not that a person has the of his life that's and then he has of his life. That's every single part of a person's life is and whatever a person earns in a day's work which is it's not true that it's means that it's all that's the same way could have about sheep and is really it's the right is so with of what I want to pull out in the lumb is that is about a realization that whatever a person has he's partnering with. It's not about that it's [clears throat] on his money that he's to give from the money is something that a person it grows in the field and when it grows it has it has denim and those to be to give it but as soon says as soon as he is it belongs to a kay to the extent where there isn't even a mitzvah the raam says there isn't a mitzvah to take true to give it to a kaya as soon as you mish you want to you want to be able to eat from what you produce from the field right so you have to be mafishw as soon as you're mish it belongs to the k belongs to the lady it belongs to your job is just to be mafish And then it belongs to them. Your job by is that everything you earn is you're a partner with if when a person is on what he's doing is he's he has a partner. He has a silent partner in the office. He has a silent partner in the office. The name of that partner is when a person keeps him. What he's doing is he's like he's partnering with. Now what does that mean? What is that? Uh what what is that? What does that mean? What that means to say is is and here I think is theim is not even though the straightforward address of what you're doing with is you're giving it to you're giving it to you're giving it to worthy causes. It's not a mitzvah of supporting and it's not a mitzvah where the purpose of the mitzvah is that the fellow on the other side should get the money. The name of that mitzvah of getting money to somebody who's called sodoka is a m and a dynamic and a a whole different mitz of its own. The the of is there's somebody standing here. There's somebody who's needy and to give him somebody sticks out his hand to give him say somebody was already somebody already gave away a tenth of his money. Aid comes by and he sticks out his hand to give doesn't make whether he gave or not is not about the miserus is about the one who has the money. The way to bring into your pocket, into your bank account, into your office, into your financial world is by giving my who are you going to give to is already a secondary that somebody asked me here's here's where it gets I'm talking a little bit in the Somebody asked me this is a sh that constantly come up but somebody asked me this morning that's why I was thinking about it. Somebody asked me uh a a case where he has a sister-in-law where the sister-in-law was always from the best mention. Again, I'm not going to get into uh into more less Kashmir. That's not the subject of tonight's sh. It's maybe good to hack about, but it's not for tonight's sher standards and less lesser daggers and vin. He had a sister-in-law that was used to standard aisa brother-in-law is struggling the last few years. the market down and sister-in-law suffering. What he wants to do is he wants to go to a mak and have the mak give her a special call her up and say she's going to give her a special for a third of the price for a for a highend. Can you take that off my money? Okay. And the person came to me with the person said there's learn so when you learn one of the golden rules of right if somebody's used to driving a high-end car then that's what he needs if somebody's used to wearing a highend again I'm not getting into the whether you should be driving the driving that car and wearing that will set yourself up for that type of scenario I'm not getting involved in that We're talking in a person is suffering because they can't keep up with their standard. What >> for how long? >> That's a very very good question. That's a very good question. Obviously, it's not that that should be a permanent status, right? You so there has to be some type of landing. We're talking about somebody's emotional pain and we're talking about somebody's vulnerability. And the is saying that you have to be sensitive. But here's the point that I wanted to make that is a the same way there's a if somebody comes over to you comes over and he says he's collecting you have to give him the only why you don't necessarily have to give everybody because you don't know the says right. So we don't know there could be one there could be one uh one phony out there similarly you could say that maybe everybody maybe you don't have to give to everybody but that the is not because you have money it's because there's somebody who needs now you're not to borrow money to cover somebody else's needs you're also not to buy groceries for your family you're not to be a in order to fill somebody else but the same way there's When somebody sticks out his hand to stick out when somebody's crying out from an emotional place means to cover his emotional needs and that means that is not my is a different and my is not has a share of a shekel whatever it is and even that if somebody walk that's a minimum right if somebody walks over. In fact, I was just by a shocking I just heard over that said recently by convention. He said he said that the of when a person is and there's a is only we're talking about something that could reasonably be considered a person's needs. What's a person's needs? When somebody lives and he's living the life. Yeah. He has a home and a home there and a the plane, the car, the the whole thing, right? How much could a person spend? How much could spend? Spend $50 million, $100 million, right? And that he wants to cover within reason all his children. Once a person gets past a certain amount, I don't know, 150 million. I don't want to give that by the way, $200 million, whatever it is, those people that are worth more than that. What >> very well? Yeah. You know, I don't want to make more pressure. Once he was speaking to and what he said is he said once that's not the amount of money you need even outside he says then there's there's a whole cl out there that's sticking their hands out what's your not to give and give and give and give and give what's the the is only in income of what you have for your needs. There's a the same way a person has from a field there's of being mafish. So there's a of being also from what you're going to have even outside. But what's past that? So there's a whole cloud, right? There's hundreds of thousands that don't know how to make. What's what's not to give? There's that aren't being paid. There's needs. There's there's there's there's there's there's there's this there this there's what's not to give what he meant to say is that and sedoka are two different fields. Sudoka is about understanding that there are other people in this world. Mser is not about understanding other people in this world. It happens to be what's called partnering with the is where we started from. is it's about bringing the into your life is about bringing into your life. You hear the one is one is right that you give to is not because of a sensitivity. It's because what gives kadusha to the mitzvah to the boys. It's that that's why it's daf and peris that grows as well because they have kadusha and the kadusha is that you have to bring the reben into what grows in the field. So if you bring the rebel you have to give to the rebel people you have to give to and if you have two right this is one of the that says that the idea of aish is patterned on one/10enth if you give if you're giving a you should separate two and how much money you have with all the had one/10enth is for that's patterned on on my And the other mess is patterned on on which goes to which goes to right. So says as quoted in the pisk I think no I think it's quoted in the pisk that when if you if a person is giving what he's doing is he's giving two micers to two groups of people but that's not that it's the is for the person himself to bring into his bank account is something else. So going back to the shila with the I told him like this he wanted to know if he could take it off my I said it's not so positive by me not so by me if his sister-in-law asked him for it and there's a day so if there's a pure mro so then you could say you're giving can you take stock off your mus but you had already given msus and now is a shah of next year's mus is that automatically that paying for somebody's sh is misus. I don't know >> what >> it's doing every [snorts] year next year. So I don't know about the years, right? That's that's that's an old chall from one year to another. My point is only that the the misus is something that's defined definitively as either a mitzvah or an oni. Is this an oni in the proper sense of the word? Not so partial by me. >> Is it >> is it going? So I I I agree with you. I told him the if somebody's hurting so it's day but the day is not that means it's what is it it's a mitzvah so let's say you want to be and you want to give ms so forish you could do with all the mitzvah but let's say if it's oneish let's say you're giving one mis not that's so partial that you could do other mitzvah is this called giving I'm not 100% sure I'm not 100% sure But is it called giving? I'm not sure. >> What? >> No, that's I'm saying the is the is to give to what's called giving is called giving to is this called proper giving. Yeah. I'm just thinking out loud. the is a sensitive is an extra sensitivity but it's not a it's not an >> what defies >> what >> so you could say so what what you're arguing is which I'm not disagreeing with I'm just giving food for thought is that it's what we're saying that what you're saying is an is a relative term is a relative term right today remember many many years ago talking to my and He said there's no anem in America there's no anem in Europe there were children without shoes said do you see anybody without shoes America everybody's rich [snorts] he was saying it as a mita that's a true point right the standard of what's called somebody's hurting so anus is a different standard I'm just giving an example and just saying that that of is unique to me is a of being maf We'll say it like this. This is a a I heard many many years ago from Burkwood. He always says it over like this is a that a person is that you're partnering with the revenge. You're partnering with the revenge. Then there's a to then spend the money wisely. Treat yourself like a stalker. People very often people have sh me you have the money it's sitting you have a mis account yeah it's very good to have a a separate account with m money person has $5,000 could he spend it on something whatever he's in the mood I say imagine that you're a gab yeah and you're it's your it's not the money he's not burning a hole in your pocket you have to spend the money on the behalf is that where you would spend it I'm not judging but if that's where you would spend it then fine Fine. But if that's not where you would spend it, that's not the that's not what mus is. Misus doesn't mean that the money should be thrown away. Misus means that you have an to spend the money on's behalf. Okay, good. That's a that's a a general a general concept. Going back to what we said before, the mus the taken is not in the money itself. Yeah. Theim is a vert of bringing the rebel into your bottom line. But it's not that the money itself is a ton of and that's not on money. That's only on produce on things that grow from the ground. But money that a person has your you have a certain trusted you to spend wisely. Is that is that is there a concept is there a mo how understand after learning is there a mo to say that there's some type of that when a person earns money not to spend money until not to spend money until you you is there a concept of mus I'll tell them something interesting but I think that this amid this from many many years ago was to be on a Friday morning in the house of and he got the officially was he was a young man learning even when the whole was knocking by his door all he was was just a young man learning so he got a kettle check every week and he gave it over to the rebbitson and he didn't use the word tea I don't remember exactly what the nusuk was but basically what he that is not to spend the money but you know until being mafish until putting aside money so again I I only overheard the conversation I wasn't there for that I'm not I wasn't his account I was there for something with somebody who needed for aim it it was very interesting he used the kilu not to spend the money until there was until money was connected the value of the check okay but there's no such there's and is a major when a person is being mafish micer from produce mafish a tenth of the potatoes that grow in the field of the wheat that grows in the field doesn't make a difference what his were the person plants a field of wheat and there's $1,000 a week wheat he's being mish $100 he didn't make $1,000 right he had to pay workers and he had to pay for the seed and he had to pay for the plowing and And so at the end of everything there's $200 worth. Why is he being of that is in the produce. So the only way to is by being the thing itself but the money never has kadusha. What has kadusha is the mental the the is not in the money. It's on the person. It's on the person to take to partner with the revenge by taking off that amount of money. There's no den in the money. So therefore, we have a concept which is not so doesn't even discuss it, right? That's a long and there's a sh I think it's the clares that maybe there isn't even a if somebody gets a $1,000 paycheck but he had $500 worth of expenses, how much does he owe for me? We ask that the amount of money that you take off my from is the amount of money your bottom line how much you earned right that's what >> net >> net not gross >> including expenses >> now what's included in that is a subject of a lot of place we could go through a few details quickly because very very important my exam is a lot to talk about let's talk focus on this for a few minutes if tail wants to go through a few without a person makes let's say we'll start with an even number this way it's easy $100,000 a year the $100,000 a year is profit that he earns for a business so let's assume let's assume that really what came in in terms of sales is really $200,000 he had to pay for he had to pay for wholesale he had to pay for workers he had to pay for rent he had to pay for utilities vulle vulle His bottom line is he made $100,000. That's Kamad Bor again. We just said there's a sad not I understand from the when you look inside I saw it years ago is that the Yavitz understands that the money that comes into his bank account is like from the money itself. I don't know if in the Yavitz's days they had zel and they had quick pay and Bitcoin. I think not. In today's world, it's hard to say that there's a trumus on money. What's money? Nobody makes money anymore. There's no money there, right? All it is is just wire transfers. So, what exactly is the what is the clear in today's world for sure that the money that we're talking about is the bottom line. So, somebody had $200,000 of payables that goes out of his bank account. At the end of the day, what he's left is $100,000. What the end of the day is a good question also. So is it inad that you're allowed to be from is you're allowed to be from as to as that means it would be a mo to say that the same way to from potatoes and from wheat and from oranges a person has a bunch of things growing in a field each thing is a unto its He takes off miser from each crop. So if he has business A and he has a partnership in B and he has money invested in C and he has stock D each one is a separate mak each one's a separate crap right but if we look at it that's not the crop that's the mench is right the what's in ins is isel gifted you with a certain amount of of panos and that panos is to partner with what's the difference which business is taking it. So why would you not be one business made more, one business made less? Why would you not be able to play one against the other? So the pus says is that you're allowed to take from one against I wrote down a few who says not that way maybe fry right he brings over the shine maybe also there are places that say not that way but the pas is I think kly sold on Amazon that if a person has five different things now again what's included in one business is also a good question right because a person has five different branches of one business. So if it's under one if it's under one uh one one LLC, is that one business or that's five? If a person has a field with one LLC, but there's tomatoes and potatoes and grapes on it. But the says that it's not a din in this business that business that it's a den in him. So everything is together. And that's the seems to be based on the same thing. The says if a person made more money last year and the next year he loses money. So he can't use the losses to offset the the revok last year. Then the year 2024 person turned a net profit of $100,000 $10,000 in in he lost money. So he's not anything. Could he use the losses of 25 of 24 and he's less than $10,000? The says not. Why? What's one year? Now again I don't know. He doesn't say what a year is. Is the yearly in is the year to inh December 31st or is it in April 15th? I don't know. I have no idea. Should be in the financial year. What is it has to do with the on the calendar? Yeah. I don't doesn't say but he has and I understand what he means to say is is that since the is on the person's net worth I don't like to use the term because yed don't talk that way. The net worth of aided is not not financial value but I'll just use the American term is net worth. So we say how much was he worth in 24 and how much was he worth in 25. So there's a that's on him in 24 his value in 24 and there's a that's not if he lost money in 25 and you can't mix the two that's other place can hold not that way it's totally in the business it's not totally in the year obviously they hold that is on the business it's not and his net value >> is saying on the value of a person meaning if I have my assets and they go up in value now the difference. It's on paper. It's not in cash as opposed to income itself. We're talking cash flow. We're talking balance sheet. >> He's talking He's talking cash flow. Now, >> balance. What? >> Not the balance sheet. >> Now, of course, you're going to with last year's expenses versus >> so just income. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Now, again, the discussion about income, you have the same thing, the famous discussion of the whether it could be taxes. It's the loved the are based on the same type of loved famously says that a person is allowed to what? >> Yeah. Yeah. So famously says that a person is a person's misused his when they take income tax he's after taxes on net not gross says however that tax which is not levied k the income of a person but k the property what we call property tax is not it's not others t not that way who is it that one time saw a very interant. Oh, it's from Ruby is aish in the MS day. He wants the tiny that what a person earns. It depends like this. It's not so posh that could he include his taxes. Not it depends like this. If he's working for a company and the company withholds and he's only paid after taxes, he earned $100,000 and uh the IRS takes a big bite out of it and he walks home with he walks home out of 100. He walks home with 70. So if he walked he was paid 70, that's how much he has. That's what the is 70. Let's say he's paid 100 and the IRS sends him a bill and he has to pay. So those are bills. bills. You can't be manaka can't be manaka bills on the 100. Tough luck that you have a bill of 30. >> So withhold more. >> What? >> Withhold more next time. >> Self-employed self-employed. >> If you're self-employed, you it's money that you owe the government. If it's withheld, it's money that you never earned. So if you never even the bottom line is still it's the same, right? You're paying the same IRS. So clearly doesn't make that even that others argue I think it's that argues and he says that taxes are taxes no dividends state taxes federal taxes property tax all the same thing but that's it rather makes sense one is kafid income so kafid income means you earn less right there that's how they're treating your income your 100 shrunk into 70 but property taxes what does the property tax have to do with the money they earned On the other hand, if we look at the person, how much at the end of the day, how much are you walking away with? Okay, so you're walking away, you're walking away after property taxes also. >> But then all expenses, >> huh? >> All expenses. >> So obviously you're going to say taxes. Expenses are not property tax different than regular expenses. >> It's a good question. It's a good question. Why should a property tax be different than your heating bill? That's what you're saying. >> You don't have to. >> That was your what? own a house. >> What do you mean? [snorts] >> So that would be the way to the way to look at it is that the net value of a person how much he's making that year includes his house. Now again expenses are also not right you have a landlord and how much money is he putting in stocks also exactly how this is one of the parts of my is when a person has investments. So investments what the pub say is he's not the year how much it goes up in value. What is his m when he sells the stock but stocks is very relevant. Person buys a stock and then he waits on it and he plays the market and he sells it when it goes up when he thinks it's about to go down right and sometimes you wait a little bit too long. So when he's selling it the money that he earns on that stock he's the of that person flips a house you have the same type of when a person what's the rev the rev is where he bought the house when he sells how much value he has now what a people very many people ask is they buy a house they flip it they make money but the only reason why they're doing that is because they're then buying another house that they would buy. So is the rev on the house that they flipped or they're still really in the middle. the is really on the house that they bought now the house they're going to live on that's that's a good do you look at that as a a and that's the business that's the deal or you look at that that you're only one step in and it's like the stock went up so you're holding still in the middle you have to wait till you sell the real house which you're going to live in for 30 years that's a legitimate sham that's another sh what time is it what time what what time is matter Huh? >> Huh? >> So that that's that's some of the shouts that come up. See here, go look, there's a lot of different y we could discuss. Also, there's a there's a sh major shil when a person is giving on mitzvah, right? The basic rule of thumb is that a person gives me the person could use casper on mitzvah but not mitzvah. saw this uh this Indian you're not allowed to use a mitzvah that you anyways have to a person can't use simple examples a person can't use mimoney to buy himself a little of an they want to know what happens if you buy yourself a $50 and now you're buying yourself a $250 could use that the p does not the p does not the other example of that is that your let's say if somebody wants to support his own kuddle couple children that Now he's allowed to do but what happens if the reason why you have to support them is because by the you made up with the is how much support you're giving. So there the reason why we support our children. No two ways about it. But because that's an agreement you have. So if it's an agreement that you have, you can't use it. That's already can a person make up that he's being himself only with yes, we have a weak and we'll finish with that. When a person had reason to be thankful to so he went to he brought a carbon along with the carbon came the says the Mishna says that if somebody was carbon he can't be the from money can only be used to buy food, it can't be used to buy something that you have to buy anyways. If it's a you can't use it. You can't be a money. If you want to now take money and say this is for Yeah. But if you were previously that's called paying off a debt. So the says once a person was he owes the he can't buy that from any money. But if it before he's he says that I'm going to bring the from money that he can do because there the money is not being used to pay from he created the with that money. So save. So the same thing is true. You could create a mitzvah obligation and have a mind to use for it. But if the previously existed, you can't pay that off with by tuitions. It's with again like we said supporting couples. A lot of different examples, but it's we have to say that for a different time. I listened to Ravi Sheer on the tour on the guitar any time. I enjoyed him very much. >> Okay. So, what's what's in it? >> Double. Okay. I had a shrubing many years ago helping family.