The idea
Our Sages promised: "Tithe, so that you become wealthy" (aser bishvil shetitasher). It is usually done in the regular order: first you earn, then you tithe. On Shabbat Nitzavim-Vayeilech, 25 Elul 5743 (1983), the Lubavitcher Rebbe taught to do it in advance: to commit right now, in writing, how much we will set aside for tzedakah in each month of the coming year. A tithe on income we have not yet earned, thereby setting our income in advance.
And why does it work?
Everyone knows that a person's livelihood is allotted from one Rosh Hashanah to the next, so what does Shabbat have to do with income? But Shabbat is the source of blessing, and from it all the days that follow are blessed. And the last Shabbat of the year, on which the Holy One Himself blesses the month of Tishrei, is the source from which Rosh Hashanah and the entire year are blessed. And on Rosh Hashanah the income of the whole year is determined: for one who enters it with such a commitment, written and signed, already resting in his hands, the income determined for him must suffice to fulfill it as well.
"When a Jew decides and takes upon himself to give a large sum to tzedakah, the Holy One helps him and assists him... that he earn in great abundance so that he can keep his promise"
And why specifically in writing?
Because a decision and a spoken promise are nice, but writing is already a deed. The Rebbe told of a young man who committed to the previous Rebbe (the Rayatz) to give to tzedakah a sum entirely beyond his means, "and the Holy One opened new channels for him" in livelihood, until he gave it all with joy and was left with several times more for himself.
How it's done
The order is simple: an accounting before Shabbat, thought and speech on Shabbat, action on Saturday night.
- In the days before ShabbatBy Friday, September 4, 2026
Do the ma'aser (tithe) accounting of the outgoing year. Go over all the income and profits subject to ma'aser from last Rosh Hashanah until today, including what is expected to come in by the coming Rosh Hashanah, and calculate what 10% of it is. That is the amount you are supposed to give as ma'aser, and it is the baseline from which the pledge starts.
- Shabbat Nitzavim-VayeilechShabbat, 23 Elul, September 5, 2026
With this number in hand, think about the commitment amount for the coming year.
- Still on ShabbatShabbat, September 5, 2026
The amount: the pledge is built on the ma'aser you calculated, and adds to it. How much? The Rebbe asked for "generously, in a manner of wealth": according to the income you are asking for, not according to what has been until now. An amount that stretches your earning capacity but is not absurd, "in a manner befitting the world of Tikkun" in the Rebbe's words. Discuss it with your spouse, with your business partners, and one who is on his own, with himself. It is permitted to speak about this on Shabbat: deciding on tzedakah is "matters of Heaven" (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 306:6).
- Right after ShabbatSaturday night, September 5, 2026, or Sunday morning at the latest
Write on paper, not on a screen. What do you write? An orderly document, like a contract: you (by your names) commit to give amount X as ma'aser to tzedakah according to the following breakdown, and then a list or table with an amount for each month of the coming year. In a regular year 12 lines, and in a leap year 13 (exactly like the year the Rebbe spoke about). You can write the same amount for every month or vary it: a month that usually carries special giving (for example Adar with matanot la'evyonim, or Nissan with kimcha depischa) gets more, other months less, the main thing being that the yearly total equals the pledge amount. Add "bli neder" (without a vow), as the Rebbe instructed in the talk of Erev Rosh Hashanah, and sign.
- That same eveningSaturday night, September 5, 2026
Immediately afterwards, set up a standing order at the bank or on your credit card, or write a check for each month in advance, to the institutions you plan to donate to. This way the fulfillment of the commitment runs automatically through the year, by the force of the deed completed already on Saturday night.
- Next yearElul 5787 (August-September 2027)
Ahead of the last Shabbat of the year, check the state of your income and profits. If you earned more than ten times the pledge amount, complete the missing ma'aser, and then decide on a new, larger pledge. And so, year after year, you increase the commitment and with it the income.
Didn't manage on Saturday night? You can complete it until Erev Rosh Hashanah, Friday, September 11, 2026.
Frequently asked questions
What actually is a "pledge"?
A pledge is a written commitment. The Rebbe explained that since this is a privilege and not an obligation, it is called a "pledge" and not a "commitment": a written document in which you set in advance how much you will give to tzedakah in each month of the coming year.
Is it a vow? What happens if I can't live up to it?
No. You explicitly write "bli neder" (without a vow), and as the Rebbe instructed in the talk of Erev Rosh Hashanah it works in both directions: if you did not succeed, you are not bound, and if you can, you add. For personal halachic questions consult a rabbi.
How much is it "right" to commit?
The base is the ma'aser (10% of income), and the pledge adds to it. The Rebbe asked to give "generously, in a manner of wealth": according to the income you are asking for next year, not according to what has been until now. An amount that stretches but is not absurd, "in a manner befitting the world of Tikkun".
Why specifically handwritten on paper?
Because thought and a spoken promise are a beginning, but the Rebbe asked specifically for a written commitment: writing is an actual deed, and "a good thought, the Holy One joins it to the deed". That is also why it is recommended, that same evening, to set up a standing order or write checks, so that the deed is complete.
Who do you give the money to?
To any tzedakah cause close to your heart, and you can also split between several causes. We personally do it through the Yissachar-Zevulun venture of "Nichsefa", but that is each person's choice. The main thing is to enter Rosh Hashanah with a written commitment.
When exactly is it done this year?
The ma'aser accounting in the days before Shabbat Nitzavim-Vayeilech (by September 4, 2026), thinking and discussing on Shabbat itself (September 5, 2026), writing and signing on Saturday night or Sunday morning (September 5-6, 2026), and at the very latest by Erev Rosh Hashanah (September 11, 2026). The year 5787 is a leap year on the Jewish calendar, so the table has 13 months.
Our recommendation
For five years now we, Yehoshua and Henya Shochat, have been doing this. We carry out our commitment in practice through a partnership in the Yissachar-Zevulun venture of "Nichsefa": every year we have the privilege of approaching them and asking to receive an additional avreich (full-time Torah scholar) into their program, who will learn Torah all day to our merit in their network of kollelim and join the avreichim already signed with us on a Yissachar-Zevulun agreement from previous years, and we pay their monthly stipend. Baruch Hashem it works wonderfully for us, and you are invited too:
The message is already written, just add your name and send
Choose a cause close to your heart, the main thing is to enter Rosh Hashanah with a written commitment.