Thou Shall Prosper: Ten Commandments for Making Money, Second Edition

Chapter 9. The Ninth Commandment: Act Rich: Give Away 10 Percent of Your After-Tax Income

Through the mystical alchemy of money, giving charity jump-starts wealth creation.

Hanna Bandes worked as a professional storyteller, using her dramatic skills to excite both children and adults about Jewish history and traditions. To drum up business, she developed a mailing list of synagogues and religious schools to which she sent regular advertising mailings. Her very first paid job was for a local synagogue. She describes it as having been such an embarrassing disaster that she removed that institution's address from her future mailings, knowing that it would never hire her again. Hanna said, "The life of an artist can be precarious, and besides telling stories I did temporary work to make ends meet. Every month I paid my bills, but sometimes it was a real struggle. I knew of the Torah rule about tithing from my earnings, but in my financial position I didn't see how I could possibly give ten percent. I rationalized that since I was performing for Jewish charitable organizations, I was giving time instead of money."

Then one evening, she found herself inspired by a speaker who explained the value of tithing from one's income. On the spot, she decided she would donate to charity 10 percent of the fees from her very next storytelling job, which is exactly what she did. A few days later, Hanna received a phone call from the synagogue where she had given that first miserable performance. "We've ...