Time and tithe

In Avot 3:17 Rabbi Akiva mentions that the giving of tithes is a way to ringfence one's wealth. He does not go into detail. However, it is no secret that the laws relating to tithes are articulated in detail in both the Written and Oral Torah. These laws deal with what must be tithed, who must give them, to whom they must be given, how and when they are given, and so on. They are firmly focused on man’s physical environment and the people with whom he shares it. 

Is there any scope for considering if it is meaningful to talk of a person tithing his intangible resources too?

Some intangible assets may be quite suitable for tithing. An obvious example is one’s spare time. If you have, say, ten hours’ free and disposable time each week, you metaphorically tithe it by setting one hour aside and donating it for the benefit of others rather than indulging in an enjoyable pastime of your own choice. Other intangible assets may be less suitable, such as one’s intelligence, affection, patience or imagination. Some assets are both tangible and intangible: money has a physical format when it is represented by banknotes and coins, but for most people in the developed world it is intangible, being represented by electronically transferable debt and credit. The tithing of money is effectively required by the mitzvah of tzedakah (loosely translated as “charity” though the word’s Hebrew root has strong undertones of “justice” and “righteousness”): this is the setting aside of one tenth of one’s income for distribution to those who need it. Tzedakah gets several honorable mentions in Avot  and, while Rabbi Akiva does not list it in 3:17 among his “fences,” other rabbis do: Hillel teaches (Avot 2:8) that it is a sort of fence to peace in that, the more tzedakah one gives, the greater is the amount of peace in the world  and, if tzedakah falls within the general category of “good deeds,” it also acts as a shield against divine retribution. 

It cannot be said that the tithing of intangibles is what Rabbi Akiva had in mind. However, the overall principle is equally applicable to all assets, material and immaterial: if you give part of what you have and dedicate it to the benefit of others, should you not be entitled to expect not just God’s outline approval but a measure of assistance in maximising the benefit you derive from what you retain?