The shul was slowly emptying after the long Rosh Hashana davening. Men trickled out, discussing the Rav’s drasha, the chazzan’s stirring “Hashem Melech,” and – of course – the resounding tekios of the shofar.
Yitzchak walked home, his mind on the davening and his family. As he stepped inside his house, his wife, Chana, greeted him with a smile, cradling their infant.
“How was davening?” she asked.
“Inspiring!” Yitzchak replied. “Were you able to make it to shul for shofar-blowing?”
Chana shook her head. “The baby was fussy and I couldn’t go,” she replied. “I plan to go for the women’s tekios in the afternoon.”
In the afternoon, Chana began preparing to go, but just then the baby woke up, crying incessantly. “I’ll have to feed him…” she said.
“What about shofar-blowing?” asked Yitzchak.
Chana shrugged her shoulders. “What can I do?” she replied. “I’m not halachically obligated.”
After the baby finished, Yitzchak suggested, “I can blow for you. Maybe I should go get the shofar from shul.”
“That would be wonderful!” Chana said appreciatively.
Yitzchak donned his jacket, but as he reached the door, a thought stopped him. The shofar belonged to Mr. Klein, a baal tekiah who lived ten minutes away, the opposite direction from shul. He had left the shofar in shul after davening, as he always did.
“Wait a second,” Yitzchak muttered. “I don’t have Mr. Klein’s permission to use his shofar. Can I just take it and use it? It’s not mine.”
Unsure, Yitzchak turned to Chana. “Maybe I have to ask Mr. Klein first,” he said. “I don’t want to use something wrongly, even for a mitzvah.”
“Rabbi Dayan lives next door,” said Chana. “You can ask him.”
Yitzchak approached Rabbi Dayan and asked:
“May I use Mr. Klein’s shofar without permission to blow shofar for my wife?”
“In general, a person who uses an item belonging to another without permission – sho’el shelo mi’daas – is tantamount to a thief,” replied Rabbi Dayan (B.B. 88a; C.M. 359:5).
“Nonetheless, occasional use of items that people are not particular about is permissible. Similarly, according to several authorities, if you are certain that the owner would allow you to use the item, you may use it (Rema 381:1; Shach 358:1; Shulchan Aruch HaRav, Hil. She’eilah #8; Pischei Choshen, Geneivah 1:15[36], 7:2[4]).
Furthermore, we generally presume that people are willing to allow others to use their items for fulfillment of a mitzvah – nicha lei l’inish d’te’avid mitzvah b’mamoneih (see B.M. 29b).
This principle is mentioned explicitly in the poskim regarding tallis, tefillin, lulav, and shofar (O.C. 14:4, 649:5; Mishnah Berurah 25:53, 586:9).
Although women are not obligated in the mitzvah of shofar, Harav Moshe Feinstein, zt”l, rules that the principle of nicha lei applies also for a woman, because she fulfills the mitzvah and gets rewarded for it, even when not obligated (Igros Moshe O.C. 1:106).
He explains, for this same reason, the halacha that a person may blow all 100 sounds when using another’s shofar without permission, even though it is only a minhag and not an obligation (Mishna Berurah, ibid.).
Similarly, one may wear another person’s tallis for davening, even though it is not a requirement, because you thereby fulfill a mitzvah.
Nonetheless, the Acharonim qualify that this presumption is to use the item only in its place, and not to take it out of shul (Sha’ar Hatziyun 586:20).
In addition, if the owner is readily available, one is required to ask and may not rely on the presumption, because we do not rely on presumptions when it is possible to clarify easily (Mishna Berurah 14:13).
Moreover, several contemporary poskim question whether this presumption applies fully nowadays, since many people are particular about their mitzvah items, especially when they are expensive or fragile, or there are potential hygiene concerns. Therefore, one should make an effort to ask permission when feasible (Aruch HaShulchan 14:11; Tzitz Eliezer 12:7; Piskei Teshuvos 14:9).
“Thus, you may not take the shofar from shul without permission to blow for your wife,” concluded Rabbi Dayan. “If she can accompany you to shul, you can blow for her there, but it is preferable to ask for permission, if reasonably feasible.”
Verdict: We generally presume that people are willing to allow others to use their items for mitzvah purposes, even when not an absolute obligation. Nonetheless, the item should not be removed from its location, and you should ask permission when feasible.