🎙️ Can You Give Maaser While in Debt? | Rabbi Tzvi Yaakov Stein | Middle Class Podcast #4
What’s the halacha if you’re in credit card debt — should you *still* give Maaser? Is Maaser even an obligation? Can you use Maaser for tuition, babysitting, or seminary?
In this practical and surprisingly empowering episode, host Moshe Alpert, CFP®, is joined by noted Posek and Rav, Rabbi Tzvi Yaakov Stein — aka “The Texting Rabbi” — for a deep dive into halacha and real-life decisions around Maaser and tzedaka in the frum middle class.
Whether you earn $60K or $600K, this episode helps you make smarter, clearer decisions rooted in Torah and financial reality.
📌 What you’ll learn:
– Do you need to give Maaser while in credit card debt?
– Can tuition discounts affect where your tzedaka *must* go?
– What counts as income — and what’s deducted before Maaser?
– Is it mutar to invest Maaser in a donor-advised fund?
– What’s the order of priority in giving tzedaka?
⏱️ CHAPTERS:
00:00 – Should you give Maaser if you took student loans?
01:00 – Meet “The Texting Rabbi”
03:55 – Halacha if you’re in credit card debt
06:31 – Tuition discounts & Maaser priority
08:15 – Shul dues & community obligations
13:37 – What counts as “not making ends meet”
15:06 – Standard vs non-standard debt in halacha
17:34 – Can you Maaser *after* paying bills?
20:54 – Should Maaser come before savings or insurance?
25:16 – Gross vs net income – what’s Maasered?
27:03 – Deductions: rent, gas, salaries, babysitting
30:28 – Is your suit or car deductible?
32:03 – Student loans revisited
34:02 – Cleaning help & shalom bayis
38:27 – Stocks, mutual funds & when to Maaser
42:15 – Selling assets vs flipping homes
43:23 – Donor-advised funds: mutar or delay?
46:36 – Can you save Maaser for seminary/weddings?
50:57 – Investing Maaser conservatively
55:21 – “No meat in the cholent” stories
59:49 – Giving without knowing where it’s going
1:01:35 – Halachic order of tzedaka: who comes first
🧠 Quote of the Episode:
“If you’re in credit card debt, you should *not* be giving Maaser.”
👤 About the Guest:
Rabbi Tzvi Yaakov Stein is a noted Posek and Rav, widely respected for his clarity in halacha and practical guidance. Though now known as “The Texting Rabbi” for his WhatsApp halachic responses, his decades of rabbinic leadership speak for themselves.
📄 Download his Halacha PDFs on Maaser and Tzedaka:
https://www.tystein.com/halacha-pdf
💼 About the Host:
Moshe Alpert, CLU®, CFP®, ChFC®, RICP®, AEP®
Founder & CEO of Ceremian Financial. Moshe helps families turn complex financial decisions into clear, actionable plans built on values, goals, and real numbers.
📧 Contact: middleclassalpert@gmail.com
🎧 Listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts
🌐 Watch more episodes: [insert playlist link]
🛠️ Produced by: BIG Productions (Gidon Orman) | gi@bigprod.net
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#Maaser #Halacha #FrumFinance #Tzedaka #JewishMoney #DonorAdvisedFund #MiddleClassPodcast #JewishEconomics #RabbiStein