those who are strictly observant would "tithe" 10-20% of their income.
but it doesn't go to the synagogue, unless the synagogue is simply acting as a way of pooling funds to go to a charity of some form or another.
there may be membership fees or such, but this is entirely separate, and such "donation" is to charity, directly or not. not the synagogue or leadership.
edit:
>"their is no tithing of money in OT.....that to tithe money is a false teaching"<
originally it was something like leaving a 10Th of the field unharvested for vagrants and travelers and whatnot to eat.
the modern equivalent, is giving an equivalent amount of income to charity.
In the old testament not only money was expected to be given but all harvests, herbs, grain, livestock etc. a percentage of it back from which it came.
We Orthodox Jews give 10-20% of our income to charity. We give to Jewish and none-Jewish charities alike, and from my other Orthodox friends, I know that the minority of that charity money goes to the neighborhood synagogue; membership at an Orthodox synagogue ranges from nothing to $1,500 annually, with the average being $500.
The 10-20% is carefully thought out and reflects the general Jewish theme of moderation and balance. 20% is set as an upper guide because the needs of ones family should be met as well.
Every family makes their own decisions how to allocate that. One common Jewish practice is to make donations in hon our of friends and family for all sorts of occasions -- births, deaths, marriages, conversion to Judaism, becoming bar/bat Mitzi, etc.,etc., etc. :-) It's a fully integrated aspect of Jewish practice.
The word 'charity' comes from the Greek Charita's, which means 'grace'. The Hebrew is Zedekiah, which is about justice. We give, not for grace or blessing, but because it is just, because it needs to be done.
Angel's - I never knew that about the word's definitions. No wonder "charity" always felt like such a different concept than "Zedekiah" to me.
For non-Orthodox Jews we too give lots to worthwhile causes of all sorts & create them up too. The amount isn't discussed in percents much, but it should be as much as you can give without then not being able to provide for your family. Judaism doesn't encourage being a burden on society as adding to spirituality. (Such as with monks.)
This later concept is useful. I once helped a Christian woman on welfare when I was volunteering as a credit counselor. She wasn't educated,, barley earned enough to feed her & her kid, but insisted on giving 10% to her Church. Problem was, she then needed to get money back from their charity fund every year. Obviously money takes administration & was just loosing value as it went this round trip & she felt bad about herself & she couldn't make a balanced budget. I finally convinced her to give it up to a much smaller amount for a couple of years only. By doing so & learning, she used a welfare program that helped her buy a house instead of renting. Within two years, she was independent & not needing charity. Then she could go back to donating. She was thrilled, & so was I. Myself, I was volunteering as a counselor because I didn't have much money, & wanted a way to donate that I could afford. I had a couple other volunteer activities as well but I liked this because it wasn't a soup kitchen.
Donating is a ubiquitous concept in Judaism. That same Ruth story that the 10% is taken from is part of Jewish thinking.
Do Jews tithe 10% of their income to the synagogue the way protestants do?
