What the heck is tithing?

Tithing is the concept of giving 10% of one's income to the church. Recently, churchgoers have been challenging what some churches have made to be their rule of tithing and has ultimately lead to several people questioning and eventually leaving the church. Church leaders say that this idea comes from the Bible itself claiming that "Jews brought 10% of their harvest to a storehouse as a welfare plan for the needy or in case of famine". Whether of not this was the case does not mean that it should be a requirement for regular churchgoers! I understand that churches need ways to raise money and this is a quite and easy way for them to achieve that. However, making it a requirement for families to give 10% of their income away is really a difficult thing for me to grasp. Every family is in a different financial situation, and they should give what the each individually can afford to give.