It is a widely accepted practice among observant Jews to donate to tzedaka (charity) 10% (or 20%) of all their income/profit. This is called giving "maaser" or "meiser" ("tithe" in English), based on the Hebrew root for 10 or 1/10 ("chomesh" is based on the root of 5 or 1/5).
Besides the tremendous chesed (lovingkindness) involved in giving so much tzedaka, Hashem (G-d) promises that one who gives maaser will be rewarded with financial wealth in this world (in addition to the eternal reward one receives in the Next World).
EZ-Maaser is an app that makes it very easy and convenient to track your income, donations and relevant expenses, so that you can make sure you are consistently giving exactly 10% (or 20%) of your income/profit to tzedaka.
Rabbinic authorities disagree whether giving maaser (10%) of one's monetary earnings to charity is a Torah obligation (as is giving 10% of one's harvested produce), a Rabbinic obligation (based on the Torah maaser law of produce) or a worthy custom that has been widely accepted by the Jewish nation over the generations. Most authorities hold the third opinion: that it is a good and important practice, but not an obligation. (Note that it is a Torah obligation incumbent on all, even a destitute person, to give at least a little tzedaka to the poor every year.)
In any case, all agree that giving maaser is a very praiseworthy practice, with powerful benefits, both in this world and the Next World. The Torah promises explicitly that one who gives maaser will become financially wealthy: "give maaser in order that you shall become wealthy" is the homiletical explanation of the words, "you shall surely tithe" in Devarim (Deuteronomy) 14:22.
The Chafetz Chaim (in Ahavat Chesed) quotes from Sefer Hakarnayim that the heavens are sustained in the merit of maaser, and they shower blessing onto one who donates one tenth of his income.
And, while it is generally prohibited to "test" Hashem by performing a mitzvah (commandment) to await the reward (see Devarim 6:16), testing whether Hashem will give one wealth (financial wealth, specifically) in reward for giving maaser is permitted. (See Malachi 3:10, Talmud Bavli Taanit 8:, and Ahavat Chesed 2:2:7.)
The earliest sources for giving 10% of one's profits to charity are in Bereshit (Genesis): Avraham Avinu (Abraham) donates 10% of the spoils of war (Bereshit 14:20), while Yaakov Avinu (Jacob) declares: "And all that You will give me, I shall surely tithe for You." (Bereshit 28:22). Following this, we see that Yaakov became extremely wealthy: "And the man became exceedingly prosperous, and came to own large flocks, etc." (Bereshit 30:43).
Note: The following brief overview of the halachot (laws) of giving maaser are not necessarily universally accepted by all halachic (Jewish legal) authorities; readers are encouraged to consult their own rabbinic authority if any questions arise.
As opposed to giving maaser of 10%, the word chomesh means giving 20% (from the Hebrew root of five, or one-fifth).
According to Torah law regarding harvested produce, one is actually obligated to give two different maaser contributions: maaser rishon (given to Levi'im) and either maaser sheni (which is either taken to Jerusalem or redeemed) or maaser ani (which is given to the poor in certain years instead of maaser sheni). Since the obligation or custom to give maaser is based on maaser of produce, it is learned that ideally one should actually give maaser twice, which equals 20% of one's net income.
While not obligatory, giving 20% of one's net income (twice maaser) is considered by some authorities the ultimate way to give maaser. Three noteworthy examples are the Rambam (Mishna Torah: Laws of Gifts to the Poor 7:5), the Vilna Gaon (quoted in Sefer Shaarei Rachamim 45), and the Chafetz Chaim (Ahavat Chesed 2:19:3). Many people who are meticulous to give chomesh report open miracles in the Divine financial assistance that they receive.
The first time you start the app, you can choose the currency you use and whether you give maaser (10%) or chomesh (20%) of your net income. You can change these settings at any time in the Settings screen (if you change the maaser/chomesh setting, the calculations will be redone accordingly).
Also, the first time you start the app, you can choose to see some demo data, to help you understand what using the app is like. If you chose this option the first time you started the app, you can erase all that demo data (so that you can begin entering your own activity data) by navigating to the Settings screen (via the main menu at the top left) and selecting Delete All Data (from the three-dots menu at the top right).
The main screen is divided into three sections:
Tap one of the three large buttons on the main screen to record an activity, one of:
Enter the amount you earned, gave or spent, and then tap the blue arrow to the right of the amount.
If you want to enter an activity amount using a currency other than your primary currency, tap the currency symbol next to the amount box and select an alternative currency. If the currency you want to use does not appear in the drop-down list, tap + and then select any additional currencies you would like to use. You can also manage all the currencies you want to use in the Settings screen.
In the next screen, you can:
When you are done, tap Save (or the checkmark at the top-right of the screen) and the activity will be applied to your maaser/chomesh record.
Review the activities you recorded by navigating to the Activity screen via the main menu. Here, you may also:
You can set up activities to automatically recur (repeat) on a monthly or weekly basis. For example, if your salary is the same amount on the 10th date of every month (more or less), you can set it up to be added automatically to your Activities every month on the 10th. Likewise, if you have a recurring donation or expense in a fixed amount every month or every week, you can set those up as automatically recurring activities.
To create a recurring activity, tap on any existing activity (in either the Main screen or Activity screen) and tap Recur. Select your desired recurrence options and tap Save. From now on, the activity will automatically recur accordingly.
You can place a limit on how long a recurring activity will remain active, either by setting an end-by date or by specifying the total number of recurrences. Once the limit is reached, the recurring activity definition will automatically be deleted.
To review the recurring activities that you have defined, tap the Recurring icon at the top of the Activities screen. To change the recurrence pattern of a recurring activity definition, tap it, tap Edit and then make your desired changes. To delete a recurring activity, tap it and then tap Delete.
Notes about recurring activities:
If you earn money and/or make donations in more than one currency, EZ-Maaser makes it easy for you to enter activities in multiple currencies. Your selected primary currency will serve as the basis for tracking your earning and giving; whenever you enter an activity using a different currency, EZ-Maaser will convert the amount in that currency to an equivalent amount in your primary currency. You can change your primary currency in the Settings screen.
When you enter a new activity in an alternative currency, the app will retrieve the relevant exchange rate for the activity's specified date. (EZ-Maaser obtains exchange rates from a third-party financial data provider used by some of the world's largest companies.) If you prefer to use a different exchange rate than the one generated by the app, you may manually adjust the activity amount (which is always in your primary currency) as you wish.
Note that, besides standard fiat currencies, EZ-Maaser also supports using a variety of cryptocurrencies.
If, while editing an existing activity that was initially recorded using an alternative currency, you change the date of the activity, EZ-Maaser will retrieve the correct exchange rate for the new date and recalculate the activity amount for your primary currency.
You can add and remove the additional currencies you want to use at any time, in the Settings screen. You may also do this by tapping the currency symbol next to the amount box on the Main screen and then selecting your desired currency on the Currencies screen.
If you need to change your primary currency (e.g., if you move from one country to another), you can make a note of your current maaser/chomesh balance, delete all activity data in the app (see Delete All Data), select a new primary currency, and then enter an initial "carry-over" activity in the new currency that results in an equivalent value to your old balance.
To see an overview of your activity and how your current maaser/chomesh balance is calculated, use the main menu to navigate to the Summary screen. Depending on the size of your device, you may need to scroll the screen up to see all the information presented here.
Navigate to the Settings & Data screen to adjust the following settings:
You can also manage your activity data in this screen:
All of the core functionality of the EZ-Maaser app is completely free to use (and the app contains no advertising). However, there are a number of advanced features mentioned above that are only available in the Premium version of the app:
You can purchase the premium version through the Google Play Store (in Android) or the Apple App Store (in iOS) using one of the Upgrade to Premium buttons in the app's Premium screen: You can choose to subscribe on an annual basis, or make a one-time "forever" purchase.
Note: Premium version registration is per device. Keep your Google Play Order Number in case you need to contact us to move your premium status to a new device.
The EZ-Maaser app saves all of your activity data on your physical device and does not upload it to the cloud (i.e., to any other device or server). The app does not request or store any personally identifiable information (PII), such as your name or email address. The app generates anonymous usage data for the purposes of improving the product (e.g., usage reporting and analytics). If you use the app's Export to CSV feature, responsibility for the privacy and protection of the exported data is yours alone. If your device is configured to automatically back up your device's apps and/or app data, then the responsibility for the privacy and protection of the backed-up data is solely the responsibility of your back-up service provider. More information can be found in our Privacy Policy.
We would be happy to receive your feedback and suggestions via email to support@ez-maaser.com. If you'd like a custom mobile app for your business or organization, contact us!
Even among those who already give maaser, many people don't realize that an important spiritual aspect of giving maaser on income is to calculate and give exactly 10% of their net income. (And one who gives chomesh should stipulate that he is giving maaser and another maaser, which equals 20%.) It is certainly praiseworthy to give more than 10% (though it is not permitted to give more than 20% in many situations), but in this case one should be careful to give exactly 10% to maaser and explicitly state/intend that what he gives beyond that amount is regular charity, but not maaser.
In terms of EZ-Maaser, the Summary screen of the app shows you exactly what percentage of your net income you have given. So, if you want to give an extra 1% or 2% or 5%, you can use this screen to track that you remain on target over time.
Yes, there are two ways to do this. The first is to define an automatically recurring activity. To do this, tap any existing activity (in the Main or Activity screens) that you would like to automatically repeat on a monthly or weekly basis, tap Recur and set the recurrence frequency. You may optionally set an end-by date or limit the number of recurrences.
If you want a fast way to manually repeat an existing activity only once in a while, tap an existing activity and select Duplicate. All of the new activity's details will be the same as the original one, except that the current date will be set for it.
EZ-Maaser contains a rich set of features to make it easy to track your earning, giving and spending occurring in multiple currencies. The app's approach is to automatically convert all transactions into your primary currency and maintain a single maaser/chomesh balance. Note that the app stores and displays the original currency, original currency amount, and exchange rate used on the activity's date for all such activities recorded in the app.
If you specifically want to keep completely separate records of your earning and giving in two different currencies, your best bet would be to run EZ-Maaser on two different devices (e.g., your phone and your tablet, or your phone and your spouse's phone). In each one, you will choose a different primary currency and then use each device only to record activities in that currency.
The Activities screen displays all your recorded activities, and allows you to sort and filter the list as desired. When the list is filtered, a summary card appears at the top of list with the totals of the currently shown activities.
Generating more advanced reports than this is currently beyond the scope of the app, but here's how you can address this need: use the app to easily record all of your maaser/chomesh-related activity and then use a spreadsheet application (such as Excel or Google Sheets) to create any reports or graphs you wish. To get your data into the spreadsheet, see Export to CSV File.
The current version of EZ-Maaser stores all your data locally (i.e., on your device itself) and therefore one maaser ledger cannot be accessed from multiple devices. The advantages of this approach are better privacy protection (no personal data is stored in the cloud), more reliable performance (no dependency on Internet connectivity for the app's basic functions), and no need for you to log in before using the app. However, if enough people request this feature, we will certainly consider implementing it!
The Purchase Premium screen in the app contains a Restore Purchase button. As long as you are logged in to the same Google or Apple account that you originally used to purchase the Premium version, this button will transfer your Premium purchase to your new device. If this is not possible (e.g., if the original purchase account is no longer available, or if you changed from Android to iOS or vice versa), then contact us using the Get Support button in the About screen and include your original Google or Apple order confirmation number and we will manually transfer your purchase to your new device.
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