יום שלישי, כ״ט תמוז תשפ״וTuesday, July 14, 2026
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Rabbi Meir Orlian is a faculty member of the Business Halacha Institute, headed by HaRav Chaim Kohn, a noted dayan. To receive BHI’s free newsletter, Business Weekly, send an e-mail to subscribe@businesshalacha.com. For questions regarding business halacha issues, or to bring a BHI lecturer to your business or shul, call the confidential hotline at 877-845-8455 or e-mail ask@businesshalacha.com.
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Mr. Fink worked hard to amass and set aside $3,000, which he gave to Mr. Birnbaum. "One loan you agreed to cancel, so I'm paying the other," he said. "Thank you," said Mr. Birnbaum, "but you still owe $2,000 to complete the $5,000. Since I am the one to forgo, it's up to me to choose which loan I cancel."
There is another principle, whose practical application sometimes leads to what might seem like an exception. The principle is that the descendants of a person most often stand in his place to inherit, when that person predeceases his inheritors.
If they wanted us to buy a new car, they could have earmarked the money for that. I can't justify second-hand furniture when they expect to see a proper living room and dining room set!
Mrs. Jacobs thought for a moment, and then asked, Are you liable for the money? It's going to be very hard for us to cover such a sum.
The truth is, I barely used that sweatshirt, replied Hillel. If you lost mine, I'd rather you pay me its value. I'm almost the next size already.
The financial arrangements between landlords and tenants are contractual, replied Rabbi Dayan. Therefore, they depend mostly on the contract between the two parties.
In many situations a court order of bankruptcy would exempt the debtor from his debt also according to halacha.
I recently heard a shiur about the laws of ribbis, replied Mr. Rosenberg. I remember that there was an issue with prepayment discounts or 'early bird' specials, but I don't remember the details.
Despite efforts to reach an agreement, Rabbi Gross and the landlord remained at odds. They came before Rabbi Dayan and asked: Does the landlord have to pay? Alternatively, can the yeshiva remove what it installed?
In our case, Izzy asked Chaim to buy the laptop for him, so it was Izzy's from the time of purchase. Chaim was only a guardian of it.
Although had Zvi not bought additional drink the class would have had to manage without, since the talmidim are all considered partners, when Zvi spent to cover Shimon's share of the partnership, he is entitled to reimbursement.
The fact that I allowed you passage in the past, does not require me to continue allowing you, countered Mr. Schwartz.
After davening, Mr. Shapiro took down the hand luggage and went through it carefully. The envelope with the money was missing!
The whole idea of an auction is to see what price I can get for the item. You chose, of your own volition, to pay $10 and outbid the previous bidder!
I would like the cassettes back! said Yuval. There are some collector's items in the collection, and I still use a cassette player.
I'm willing to take responsibility for the check, offered Yossi. If the issuer defaults, I will remain obligated to you.
"To be honest, I don't remember clearly," replied Mr. Silver. "We did discuss repaying, but I don't remember whether in the end Mr. Kaplan paid. I assume, though, that since I didn't return the loan document to him, the loan was not paid, but cannot say for sure."
What do you want from me? asked the contractor. I was not involved in doing the damage. If the worker was careless, you can sue him; speak with him directly.
I don't know whether to give you my Hebrew or English name, explained David, my first name or full name, with my father's name and nickname or without.
The first option was clearly the cheapest, but Mendy didn't have the $4,000 readily available and didn't know how much he would sell. He considered the other two options and consulted with his chavrusa, who had some experience selling arba’ah minim.
The shemittah year cancels outstanding loans that are past due, although nowadays, we usually write a pruzbul to allow collecting loans past shemittah, based on an enactment of Hillel.
"Look, there's a sticker on the truck: ‘How's my driving? 1-800-…’" Mrs. Fine said. "Do you think we should call?" "I always wonder about this," said Mr. Fine. "What if it adversely affects the driver's job? Maybe it's just a one time thing."
Two weeks passed, and nobody called for the bag. The bungalow was emptying, and Yoni's family was going back to the city in two days.
In this case, you are the employer and Rabbi Lerner the employee. When David did not attend the scheduled learning session, this is comparable to an employer who retracted.
"Excuse me for asking," said Yehuda. "But is that okay? It sounds a little like ribbis to me."
"I'm very happy for you and your family," said the director, "but I can't let you go without first getting someone else. You know that swimming is one of the most essential parts of the camp day."
Mr. Feder checked his initial communication with the agent. He had written the correct dates, and the error was clearly the agent's. "Why should we have to pay the surcharge?" Mrs. Feder asked her husband. "It was the agent's error, not ours!"
My father did mention at one point that he owed you a few thousand dollars, acknowledged the son. That could be anything, though – two, three, four… How can you expect us to pay a large sum of $7,000 without any proof of how much was owed?
"But I told you that we pay $12," replied Mrs. Sander. "When you said that you could babysit, I assumed you meant at the price I mentioned."
Furthermore, you deserve $10 for your effort on my behalf. I'm not giving the $10 because you laid out the money.
A person who took several suits or dresses to a dressing room to try on might not even be considered a borrower, but a lesser guardian, since he has no clear intention of buying the item.
The summer wore on, but Rafi never bothered to pick up the book. Most of the course was online, and when he needed the text, he borrowed it from another friend.
"I have money saved away, and you are still working," Mrs. Tamar said. "We would own the house jointly." "That arrangement is fine with me," agreed Shimon.
Reuven called Mr. Lewis again. "Are you sure we didn't pay?" he asked. "One of the roommates claims we paid when we moved in."
Baruch drove the family to the airport, and then drove home and parked the car near his house. A few days later, there was a thunderstorm, and a branch broke off a tree and landed next to the car, smashing one of the side-view mirrors.
After considering the question, Rabbi Dayan said, "Since foreign currency is halachically considered a commodity, a loan of foreign currency is subject to the rules of commodity loans.
He deeply appreciated it but said to his wife that borrowing dollars and returning shekels might be a violation of the laws of ribbis.
I’m not sure if you should ask for it back, but if you do, I wonder if halachically you would be believed that it’s yours, Mr. Schnall replied.
Since the computer desk and eating table are different items, one of you should set a price on either one, separately, and the other can buy or sell at that price.
A person who doesn’t uphold his verbal commitments is termed untrustworthy – ‘mechusar amana’ – and the Sages are not pleased with him.
Chametz this year has to be sold on Friday since Chazal prohibited transactions on Shabbos, and some say that you can’t even sell on Friday with the stipulation that the sale take effect on Shabbos.
Although yearly statements may show gains, there is no obligation to give maaser until shares are redeemed.
The Gemara [Bava Metzia 117a] discusses a tenant who washes his hand with the water that leaks on a tenant below him.
Although a person is usually liable even for accidental damage, Rabban Yochanan explains that, in this case, he is really completely exempt, but the Sages fined people who purposely damage property so that they won’t do so wantonly.
The family suddenly realized that giving on his behalf while he was sedated may not have counted, so they called Rabbi Dayan and asked him.
The Gemara then says that certain people – including teachers, shochtim, doctors, and mohalim, whose malpractice cannot be undone – do not need to be warned before being fired since they’re considered to have already been warned.
In some cases, a neighbor can object so that the protrusion doesn’t establish a chazakah (permanent rights) should he ever want to build there.
As Shimon put the $20 bills in their compartment, he noticed that one had a star in the serial number. He recognized it as a 2017 $20 bill Federal Reserve Star Note worth over $30 as a collector's item!
The sale is valid since the food is essentially of the same type, and most people are not particular how an animal is raised.
Ohr Chadash could very much use the additional funds, replied Mr. Klein. But I’m not sure it would be ethical to change the will at the expense of Toras Yisrael. I think it best for you to consult a halachic authority.
It's good you trust me, said Yosef. Otherwise you could claim the envelopes had less money in them and refuse to pay the full amount.
Mr. Aboudi contacted some of his Egyptian counterparts to procure a mummy. That evening, he shared with his chavrusa, Mr. Landau, that he was currently trying to acquire a mummy.
Rav Sheshes, though, maintains that a dice gambler is disqualified only when he lives off of gambling and doesn’t have another profession.
Yaakov couldn’t remember who handed him his oil bottle and both Avraham and Yitzchak insisted he was the one who did so.
Mr. Poupko felt that all owners, from both sides of the building, should contribute. "The sewage line serves the building in general, and is considered joint property," he reasoned.
Rabbi Dayan said, To replace the juice from the mini-bar with a bottle from the store would be cheating the hotel.
One day, the elderly Mrs. Miller returned from some errands and found that the house had been robbed. When word got back to Mrs. Rosen, she asked the Millers to pay her the value of her stolen jewelry.
Accordingly, the Gemara [Bava Basra 21a] states that a person who rented a house from a person who isn’t the owner must pay the true owner when the house is intended for rent, but not when it isn’t.
But would that be fair to the other person? Eli asked. You asked me first for payment, but he lent me first and he might ask me soon to pay him back.
The following evening, the mohel came by. "Unfortunately, the baby is still yellow," he said. "We have to delay the bris.”
I can post a sign about the sefer, said Moshe, but I’m hesitant about the money. It's a big city with a wide variety of people; I don't want to start getting phone calls from strange people asking me about an envelope of money.
Even if for some people the esrog is kosher, if it’s pasul for the buyer, it’s also mekach ta’us.
If Mr. Amitai isn't called up, he doesn't have to honor his pledge - unless he decides to award the aliyah to someone else.
There is still a mitzvah of hashavas aveidah in this situation, and using the towel without permission could constitute theft.
"I'm not out to cause you an extra expense," said Mr. Meyers. "It's not like you're at fault. The storm was unusually strong. There was nothing you could do. I'll split the cost with you."
"Can we count what you paid as tzedakah?" Moshe's wife asked. “Gershon really seems to be poor now.”
The driver managed to unload the elevator, but it wouldn’t budge afterwards. A serviceman came and said, "The elevator was overloaded. The brakes have to be replaced."
While they were talking, Nachman's camper dropped his gift, which broke as it hit the ground. The camper was visibly distraught although he wasn’t able to speak.
The Shach [Yoreh De’ah 151:17] doesn’t understand this statement, however, because we commonly see non-Jews bringing icons into their homes on a permanent basis!
What are you going to do? Rabbi Dayan's son asked him. You're outnumbered, but it seems ridiculous that the ruling should follow two kollel students against you!
Some maintain that if the contract can be legally upheld in court, the late payment clause is halachically valid as a kinyan situmta (common commercial practice) and is not considered asmachta; hence, there is no concern of ribbis.
If the lender stipulated such a fine unlawfully, there is a dispute whether the borrower is required to pay it.
He approached Mr. Stein. "Did you hide money in the wall by any chance?" "No, why?" laughed Mr. Stein. “Because I just found this envelope with $50,000 cash in it," replied Mr. Hyman.
"I tried calling him but couldn't reach him," said Yoni. "What's the difference, though? He didn't limit how long I could use the drill and he doesn’t even know I returned it to you."
An obligation b'dinei Shamayim doesn’t just mean an ethical responsibility.
When Mr. Moses confronted the writer, the latter replied, "To the best of my knowledge, what I wrote was true." Mr. Moses vigorously disagreed, but the writer wouldn’t budge, so Mr. Moses sued him in Rabbi Dayan's beis din.
Asking a factory to stay open on Shabbos local time while one is in a different (earlier) time zone is like asking a non-Jew to work on one’s behalf on Shabbos, which is not allowed.
"They also just had their first boy," Mr. Jacobs said. "B’ezras Hashem, they will be doing a pidyon in another two weeks!"
The Gemara states that the rules of onaah apply only to movable items that have intrinsic value. This excludes real estate, which is not movable.
Bar Hama was accused of murder, but Rav Papi advocated on his behalf, and he was exonerated. Bar Hama felt indebted to Rav Papi and committed to pay Rav Papi's taxes.
Based on the first source, a person who hired someone for a job, but then changes his mind due to uncontrollable circumstances that could not be foreseen by either side, does not have to pay the worker since he is in possession of the money.
Regarding hotel or apartment cancellations: This issue is more complicated.
Mr. Schreiber offered to call Rabbi Dayan on her behalf. She agreed, so he called Rabbi Dayan and asked, "Is my wife liable for the money in the missing envelope?"
A professional hired to do a certain task must do it in an acceptable manner.
“Even if many years pass before the lender demands the loan, the borrower remains obligated to repay it. We do not say the lender forgave the loan [Choshen Mishpat 98:1].
Mr. Brayer thought for a minute. "I'm happy to charge it to your credit card," he said, "but I'm concerned about ribbis."
If two of you are of the same opinion, the case is effectively decided!
After listening to both sides present their case, Rabbi Dayan said, “The sale of defective merchandise is void from the beginning.
The issue here is the close connection between the dayan and his constituent and the question of whether his judgment will be affected by this relationship.
The two thought the request was unfair, especially since Reuven later got someone else to pay him $10, so they went to Rabbi Dayan to get his opinion.
Mr. Chovel interjected, "But beis din is not halachically authorized nowadays to adjudicate cases of bodily injury!"
He had an hour until his next appointment, but there wasn't much he could do meanwhile. It didn't pay to go home. He took out his Gemara and began learning Daf Yomi.
"It feels wrong to work all day with non-kosher food," replied Mrs. Fleishman. "Are you sure it's allowed?"
When there is an apparent mistake, there is a mitzvah of hashavas aveidah to alert the store manager or staff to the error.
Mechilah requires a willingness to forgo and release the other party of liability.
The Rif offers a different rationale. He writes that the agent must share the extra items with the sender because the benefit came about through his money.
"What a waste that I bought the bookcases last week!" he exclaimed. "I could have ordered them now for almost half the price and saved myself $800!"
On Shabbos morning, Moshe decided to serve the kiddush food since it would mostly go to waste otherwise.
If a person incurred expenses on his own initiative to save someone's life, he can ask to be compensated
It’s prohibited to destroy even part of G-d's sacred name. Thus, one cannot usually cut between the letters of G-d's name in a siddur or Chumash.
July 10, 2026 
