Aser bishvil shetisasher עשר בשביל שתתעשר

The play on words

The Torah says "aser te'aser" — "you shall surely tithe" (Devarim 14:22). The Gemara (Taanis 9a) reads the doubled word as a promise: aser bishvil shetisasher — give a tenth, so that you will become wealthy. Giving is not presented as loss but as the channel through which blessing flows.

The invited test

Testing Hashem is normally forbidden — except here. "Bring the full tithe to the storehouse... and test Me now with this, says Hashem, Master of Legions — if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you blessing beyond measure" (Malachi 3:10). Tzedaka is the one place where the Torah says: try Me.

How Chassidus reads it

Chassidus explains that tzedaka makes the giver a channel: money that flows through you to others draws more flow through you. The Rebbe returned to this constantly — urging that tzedaka be given before davening, before a journey, before Shabbos and Yom Tov, and encouraging every increase in giving as a vessel for blessing, and as a way to bring the Geulah closer.

Living the promise

The practice this verse built: a fixed measure (maaser or chomesh), given consistently, tracked honestly — and given joyfully, because it is the one investment with a guarantee from the Guarantor Himself.

Common questions

Is it really permitted to test Hashem with maaser?

Yes — uniquely. The Gemara (Taanis 9a) derives from Malachi 3:10 that with tithing one may test the promise; with every other mitzvah such testing is forbidden.

This guide shares sources, not rulings. For your own situation, ask your rav.

Sources: Gemara — Taanis (read the daf) · Rambam — Gifts to the Poor · The Rebbe's letters on tzedaka

Keep learning: What is maaser money? · What is chomesh? · The eight levels of tzedaka

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