It was a quiet Motzaei Shabbos when Mr. Nadiv settled into his armchair, a steaming cup of coffee in one hand and a glossy brochure in the other. The thick booklet came from a well-known tzedakah organization and was filled with photos of dazzling prizes – vacations, jewelry, silver menorahs, and elegant home decor – all part of its upcoming Chinese auction.
“Take a look at this, Penina,” he called to his wife. “They’re raffling off a full dining room set and a trip to Israel. Maybe we should buy some tickets – it’s all for tzedakah anyway.”
Mrs. Nadiv smiled. “That does look nice,” she said. “How much are the tickets?”
“They have packages – $100, $200, or even $500,” said Mr. Nadiv. “I was thinking… We can use this month’s maaser money to buy tickets. That way, we’ll be giving tzedakah and have a reasonable chance to win something!”
His wife hesitated. “Is that really proper, though?” she asked. “We’d be gaining personally from the maaser money. Wouldn’t that defeat the point of tzedakah?”
Mr. Nadiv considered. “But the money still goes to the organization, doesn’t it?” he replied. “They’re helping needy families and disabled children. The prizes are just a way to encourage donations.”
“That’s true, but is this really different than buying any other lottery ticket in order to gain?” Mrs. Nadiv said thoughtfully. “And if we actually won a prize, would it belong to us or to the maaser fund?”
“That’s a good question,” Mr. Nadiv chuckled. “Let’s not guess. I’ll call Rabbi Dayan and ask him.”
The next morning, he posed his question:
“Can we use maaser money to buy raffle tickets? If we win, does the prize belong to us?”
“The Mishna (Shekalim 4:3; Kesubos 106b) states that one should not invest or do business with tzedakah money intended for distribution,” replied Rabbi Dayan, “lest there be a shortage of available funds for the needy (Rema Y.D. 259:1).
“Nonetheless, Shevet Halevi (9:200) allows using maaser money to purchase raffle tickets from a tzedakah organization, since the money is being given to tzedakah, and the aforementioned concern does not apply. The fact that you might gain from the maaser money also does not pose a problem, since incidental benefit from tzedakah is allowed (see Taz Y.D. 249:1), even if the organization spends some of the proceeds of the raffle on prizes. Like with other kinds of tzedakah, the recipient is granted discretion regarding how to spend the tzedakah, especially if – through the raffle – the organization increases the contributions. He further relies on the opinion of many authorities that maaser kesafim is not an absolute obligation, but rather a worthy mitzvah practice.
Teshuvos v’Hanhagos (3:289) agrees in practice, although he disagrees partially with Shevet Halevi’s rationale. He recommends, though, that one should not direct more than 20% of his yearly maaser to purchase raffle tickets at the expense of other needy people or worthy organizations.
Igros Moshe (O.C. 4:76) also allows it in principle but qualifies that if there are a limited number of raffle tickets – so that we can assign a definable cash value to the raffle ticket and people might purchase them on the chance of winning, unrelated to the tzedakah element (like buying any other lottery ticket) – that value should not be from tzedakah money (see similarly Tzedakah u’Mishpat 1:[85]).
Others require deducting the approximate percentage of the proceeds of the raffle that the organization spends for the prizes (when possible, to ascertain) (Hilchos Maaser Kesafim 19:14).
According to these opinions, the donor is also entitled to the proceeds of the prize, but would be required to give maaser from the prize itself, as from any other gift, and preferably also to compensate for the cost of the ticket through additional maaser.
“This opinion reflects the common practice of most people,” concluded Rabbi Dayan. “However, some authorities are stringent and prohibit buying raffle tickets with maaser money or rule that if the ticket was purchased with maaser money, the prize belongs to tzedakah,” (Hilchos Maaser Kesafim 19:12,17; Hilchos Tzedakah 8:11–12, p. 175).
Verdict: Most poskim allow you to purchase raffle tickets from tzedakah organizations with maaser money, and if the ticket wins, you may keep the prize. You should give maaser from the prize, though, as from other gifts, and preferably reimburse your maaser fund for the cost of the ticket. However, several poskim are stringent on this issue.