Congregation Kol Tefillah was packed for Simchas Torah. In order to raise money for the shul, the honorary roles of the days were being auctioned off. The heaviest bidding was for Chassan Torah. It started at $100 and quickly escalated to $1,000, then $1,800, followed by $2,000, and even $2,500.

“Chassan Torah going once, Chassan Torah going twice…,” announced the gabbai.

“$3,000!” someone shouted out.

The gabbai began counting again: “Chassan Torah going once, Chassan Torah going twice…”

“$3,600!” someone shouted.

Once more, the gabbai began: “Chassan Torah going once, Chassan Torah going twice…”

“Five thousand dollars!” Mr. Fisher called out.

The gabbai looked toward Mr. Fisher with a pleased look. “Five thousand for Chassan Torah,” he announced. “Chassan Torah going once … Chassan Torah going twice ... Chassan … Torah … going … three … times … Chassan Torah sold to Mr. Fisher for five thousand dollars!”

When Mr. Fisher returned home, his wife greeted him. “I’m honored that you received Chassan Torah,” she said. “But where are we getting five thousand dollars to pay for it?”

“I looked over the tzedakah records from this past year and saw that we were falling behind,” Mr. Fisher said. “We have been building up money from maaser kesafim that we owe to tzedakah, so I thought I’d use it to cover Chassan Torah.”

“Is that fair?” asked Mrs. Fisher. “You used tzedakah money to buy yourself an aliyah? Shouldn’t that come out of your pocket?”

“Why not?” asked Mr. Fisher. “It’s a donation to the shul!”

“It’s not quite a donation,” said his wife. “You bought yourself an aliyah with that money. If the money is set aside as tzedakah, it should have been given to the poor, not used for your own gain.”

“I really don’t see the problem,” said Mr. Fisher. “But I’ll double-check with Rabbi Dayan.”

Mr. Fisher contacted Rabbi Dayan. “Am I allowed to use money of maaser kesafim to pay the shul for an aliyah that I bought?” he asked.

“There are two parts to this question,” answered Rabbi Dayan. “One, can maaser kesafim can be used to support shul expenditures? Two, can it be used to buy an aliyah?”

“What’s the question about donating to support the shul?” asked Mr. Fisher. “Isn’t that also tzedakah?”

“The primary purpose of maaser kesafim is to provide for the needy,” explained Rabbi Dayan. “In fact the Rema (Y.D. 249:1) writes that it should not be used for other mitzvah purposes, e.g., candles for the shul. However, other authorities allow using it also for other mitzvos that the person is not obligated in and would not do otherwise. The generally prevalent practice nowadays is to use maaser money also for other mitzvah purposes, but it is preferable that a person stipulate so explicitly when designating the maaser. Therefore it is permissible to use maaser money for the shul, although the bulk should still be dedicated to the needy” (Shach, Y.D. 249:3; Pischei Teshuvah, Y.D. 249:2).

“What about buying the aliyah?” asked Mr. Fisher. “Is that OK?”

“The Taz (Y.D. 249:1) writes that it is permissible to purchase aliyos with maaser money, since the money is going to tzedakah anyway,” answered Rabbi Dayan. “One is allowed to get the incidental benefit of the aliyah, just as he always has the incidental benefit (tovas hanaah) from distributing the tzedakah to whomever he wants.

“Some maintain, however, that one can only use maaser money if the aliyah would not have been bought otherwise, or only for the amount added over the previous bidder,” continued Rabbi Dayan. “However, others reject these distinctions, especially if the previous bidder would also likely pay from his maaser kesafim” (see Hilchos Maaser Kesafim 14:29-32).

“The Taz stipulates, though, that the person must have intended to use the maaser money when he purchased the aliyah,” concluded Rabbi Dayan. “However, if the person did not consider using maaser money at the time of the aliyah, he may not later use maaser money. In this case, the pledge becomes an obligatory debt, and a person may certainly not pay his outstanding debts with maaser money.”