16,374
edits
Being Careful With Other People's Money: Difference between revisions
From Halachipedia
Being Careful With Other People's Money (view source)
Revision as of 00:08, 17 July 2019
, 17 July 2019→Stealing from the Government
| (9 intermediate revisions by 2 users not shown) | |||
| Line 4: | Line 4: | ||
# גזילה - gezela is grabbing something from someone else's possession by force, in plain sight <ref> Vayikra 19:13, Baba Kama 79b, Rambam Hilchot Gezela 1:3, Shulchan Aruch CM 359:7.</ref> | # גזילה - gezela is grabbing something from someone else's possession by force, in plain sight <ref> Vayikra 19:13, Baba Kama 79b, Rambam Hilchot Gezela 1:3, Shulchan Aruch CM 359:7.</ref> | ||
# עושק - oshek is to withhold somebody else's item from them with force, such as they gave you money and now are asking for it back and you refuse to give it. | # עושק - oshek is to withhold somebody else's item from them with force, such as they gave you money and now are asking for it back and you refuse to give it. | ||
# Additionally, | # Additionally, [[Ribbit]] (lending with interest), [[Onaat Mamon]] (overcharging or cheating), and imbalanced weights are also forms of stealing as these are all forms of causing financial loss to another person.<ref>Baba Metzia 61a-b, Rashi s.v. Lama Li, Halachos of Other People's Money pg. 19 note 13 </ref> | ||
==Statements of Chazal Regarding the Severity== | ==Statements of Chazal Regarding the Severity== | ||
| Line 87: | Line 86: | ||
# It is equally forbidden to steal from the government, such as a federal or state government body.<ref> Halachos of Other People's Money pg. 34</ref> | # It is equally forbidden to steal from the government, such as a federal or state government body.<ref> Halachos of Other People's Money pg. 34</ref> | ||
# One who receives government funding to provide lunch to students, cannot fraudulently add the name of a non-existing student to collect extra funds.<ref> Halachos of Other People's Money pg. 35, Shu"t Igrot Moshe CM 2:29</ref> | # One who receives government funding to provide lunch to students, cannot fraudulently add the name of a non-existing student to collect extra funds.<ref> Halachos of Other People's Money pg. 35, Shu"t Igrot Moshe CM 2:29</ref> | ||
==Other Forms of Stealing== | ==Other Forms of Stealing== | ||
| Line 145: | Line 142: | ||
===Victim is Aware=== | ===Victim is Aware=== | ||
# If the victim knows about the theft and knows who took it, the thief must inform the victim that he is returning it, and he must request forgiveness.<ref> Halachos of Other People's Money pg. 88 based on Igrot Moshe CM 1:88</ref> | # If the victim knows about the theft and knows who took it, the thief must inform the victim that he is returning it, and he must request forgiveness.<ref> Halachos of Other People's Money pg. 88 based on Igrot Moshe CM 1:88</ref> | ||
===If the Thief Still has the Stolen Item=== | |||
# If the thief still hast the item that he stole in his possession, he must return that item.<ref>Shulchan Aruch CM 360:1 based on Vayikra 5:23 והשיב את הגזילה אשר גזל. Halachos of Other People's Money pg. 88. <br> | |||
Aruch Hashulchan 360:1 writes that if the victim is willing to accept compensation instead of the item, the thief may pay instead of returning the item. Halachos of Other People's Money pg. 88 agrees. </ref> If it was lost or stolen, or if it's no longer in its original form, he must pay its value to the victim.<ref> Shulchan Aruch CM 360:1, Halachos of Other People's Money pg. 88 </ref> The same laws applies for stealing from a non-Jew.<ref>Halachos of Other People's Money pg. 88. see Igrot Moshe CM 1:88 </ref> | |||
===Stole as a Minor=== | |||
# A person is not responsible for something he stole as a minor, meaning a man before the age of 13 and a woman before the age of 12. However, if the item is still in his possession when he becomes an adult, he must return it.<ref> Shulchan Aruch CM 349:3, Halachos of Other People's Money pg. 89. <br> | |||
see note 264 there for a discussion if it is proper for one to go the extra mile and pay for what he stole as a minor: | |||
Mishna Brura 343:9 says that ideally one should based on the Taz 343:2 and the Chayei Adam 66:5. On the other haIMoshe CM 1:88 disagrees </ref> | |||
===Stealing from a Parent=== | |||
# If one stole from a parent, he must repay them or ask them to explicitly absolve him of payment, and he may not assume that his parents automatically forgive him.<ref>Igrot Moshe CM 1:88, Halachos of Other People's Money pg. 88. </ref> | |||
===Does not Know who to Repay=== | |||
# If someone steals but does not know exactly who his victims are, he should donate money to a community need that would benefit all his victims.<ref>Halachos of Other People's Money pg. 90 based on Shulchan Aruch CM 366:2 from Gemara BK 94b. Rashi there D"h Borot explains that the reason to donate to community needs is that your victim will benefit from it. [https://www.businesshalacha.com/en/newsletter/public-return see Public Return] by Rabbi Meir Orlian<br> | |||
see Halachos of Other People's Money pg. 90 where he notes that the stealing isn't really rectified until each victim is rectified, therefore if he knows who he stole from, he should pay them back directly. This is based on Shulchan Aruch 231:19 that somebody who has dishonest measures cannot possibly do proper teshuva. The Sma 231:34 explains that since you cannot really know who you stole from or how much you took, you cannot do a proper teshuva </ref> He should determine how much he stole. If he cannot, he should estimate an amount that equals or exceeds how much he may have stolen.<ref>Halachos of Other People's Money pg. 90 based on Shu"t Igrot Moshe CM 1:88 </ref> For example, if most of his victims live in one community, he should donate to the local mikveh, hatzala, library etc. <ref>Halachos of Other People's Money pg. 91</ref> | |||
# The money should be given anonymously, so that he does not receive any recognition for his "donation."<ref>Shu"t Igrot Moshe CM 1:88, Halachos of Other People's Money pg. 91 </ref> | |||
# One who gives money to the public should pray that his victims benefit from his money to the full extent of what he owes them.<ref> Halachos of Other People's Money pg. 91 </ref> | |||
===Victim No Longer Living=== | |||
# If the victim of your theft is no longer living, you must make restitution to his heirs.<Ref>Shulchan Aruch 367:4, Halachos of Other People's Money pg. 91 </ref> | |||
===If the Thief is no Longer Living=== | |||
# If the thief is no longer alive and his heirs inherit the item, it is their obligation to return it. If the item is no longer in their possession, they must make restitution from money they inherited from the thief.<ref>Shulchan Aruch CM 361:7, Halachos of Other People's Money pg. 91.</ref> | |||
==Victim of Theft== | |||
# Someone who is a victim of theft can pardon the person who stole money from him by simply saying that he forgives him.<ref>Aruch Hashulchan 360:1, Halachos of Other People's Money pg. 92</ref> | |||
# If somebody owes you money, it is a mitzvah to gently tell him to repay the small debt.<ref>Halachos of Other People's Money pg. 93</ref> However, if he feels that the person will not constructively accept what he is being told, it is a kind thing to forgive him instead.<ref>Halachos of Other People's Money pg. 93 based on Rambam De'ot 6:9. see Shaar Hatziyun 606:8 who writes that one should forgive the person who wronged him even if it was intentional, and in turn Hashem will forgive you for the things you intentionally do wrong, as the Gemara in Rosh Hashana 17a writes that whoever forgoes the wrongs that are done to him, Hashem treats you accordingly. </ref> | |||
==Zeh Neheneh Zeh Lo Chaser== | ==Zeh Neheneh Zeh Lo Chaser== | ||
# You have the right to prevent anyone from using your property even if you don’t lose if they were to use it. Zeh Neheneh Zeh Lo Chaser is only after the fact.<ref> | # You have the right to prevent anyone from using your property even if you don’t lose if they were to use it. Zeh Neheneh Zeh Lo Chaser is only after the fact.<ref>Tosfot bava kama 20b, Tosfot bava batra 12b, Mordechai bava kama n. 16, Rama CM 363:6, Biur HaGra there, Pitchei Choshen Genevah 8:3. None of the sources quote someone who argues besides the Gra cites the Rosh and disagrees. Either way the Rosh is only potentially allowing it because he is watching the house and helping out but generally he agrees with Tosfot. Nodah Beyehuda CM 24 applies the rule even if the property can’t be sold. Pitchei Choshen discusses that perhaps that’s a difference between Tosfot and Mordechai and the Rama followed the Mordechai.</ref> | ||
==Cutting Ahead on a Line== | ==Cutting Ahead on a Line== | ||
