web analytics
May 24, 2013 /15 Sivan, 5773
At a Glance ▼
Judaism
Sponsored Post
The Tosfos Yomtov was convinced that the death of 300,000 –600,000 Jews during the Chmielnicki massacres of 1648-49 were because of improper Tefila. Communicated: Tefilla

Chillul Tefila Bifarhesia, as well as halachicly challenged verbiage and dress, are external manifestations of a critical lack of personal yiras shomayim which has lethal consequences.



Snow Job

tell a friend
Business-Halacha-logo

Mr. Farber looked out his kitchen window and admired the snow all around. It had piled up during the night, covering everything with a beautiful blanket of white. While he was eating breakfast, Yaakov and Elisha knocked on his door. “Do you want your snow shoveled?” asked Yaakov.

“No, thank you,” replied Mr. Farber. “I’m going to shovel it as soon as I finish eating.”

The two boys turned to go away. Mr. Farber called out after them, “My next door neighbor, Mr. Schreiber, always wants his snow shoveled. He won’t be home before the evening, so you should do his house and driveway.”

“Thanks,” said Elisha. “We’ll do it now.”

The two boys got to work. After shoveling for an hour they had cleared the sidewalk and the driveway. When they finished, they knocked again on Mr. Farber’s door. “We finished shoveling your neighbor’s house,” they said. “That will be $35.”

“I’ll tell him this evening,” said Mr. Farber. “Leave me you phone numbers.”

Yaakov and Elisha shifted uncomfortably. “We expected that you would pay us,” Yaakov said. “You told us to shovel his house. We would like our pay today, and might not even be around in the evening.”

“Although I told you to shovel Mr. Schreiber’s house, I never said I would pay you,” Mr. Farber protested. “I just told you he always wants his house shoveled.”

“No, you said to shovel his house and driveway,” argued Elisha. “You gave us the job, so it’s your responsibility to pay! You can work it out with your neighbor when he comes home. There is a mitzvah to pay a worker on the day he completes the job, and it’s prohibited to delay payment against his will to the following night.

“That’s only if I’m responsible to pay, though,” countered Mr. Farber. “I’m not convinced I owe you anything.”

“We just had a similar case in yeshiva,” said Yaakov. “I mistakenly took Elisha’s suit to the cleaners instead of my own. Rabbi Dayan said that since I brought it in, I have to pay the cleaners and can then ask reimbursement from Elisha for the benefit I provided him. It’s the same here.”

“I’m not sure it’s the same,” said Mr. Farber. “In that case, you clearly took responsibility for the payment when you brought the suit in. Here, I told you outright that it was Mr. Schreiber’s house.”

“Can we come in and call Rabbi Dayan together?” suggested Elisha.

“With pleasure,” replied Mr. Farber.

Yaakov and Elisha took off their coats and put the phone on speaker. They called Rabbi Dayan and asked: “If Mr. Farber instructed us to shovel his neighbor’s property, must he pay?”

“A person who instructs someone to do work in another’s property is liable only if he assumes responsibility for the employment, which can be in one of three ways,” answered Rabbi Dayan. “Whenever he does assume responsibility, he would violate bal talin [the prohibition of withholding salary] if he didn’t pay promptly.” (C.M. 339:7)

“What are the three ways?” asked Elisha.

“One, the classic case,” answered Rabbi Dayan, “is where the person initially employed the worker for himself, and then instructed him – intentionally or by mistake – to do work for his neighbor, instead.” (C.M. 336:1)

“This was the case with the cleaners,” noted Yaakov. “I gave them the suit with the understanding that they were doing work for me.”

“The second case,” continued Rabbi Dayan, “is where you accepted direct responsibility for the salary, by saying: ‘I will pay your salary,’ even though the work was being done for someone else.”

“What is the third case?” asked Elisha.

“When the worker was unaware that this is someone else’s property,” answered Rabbi Dayan. “For example, had Mr. Farber simply instructed you to shovel the driveway adjacent to his house, which turned out to be his neighbor’s driveway, he would be liable to pay you.” (Rama 339:7; SM”A 336:4)

“When is a person not liable?” asked Yaakov.

“If you instructed a worker to do work in another’s property without accepting responsibility and the worker was aware that this was someone else’s property – you are not liable for payment,” replied Rabbi Dayan. “The laborer can only claim the benefit from the owner. You may have to make an effort to help the worker extract payment from the owner, though.” (Pischei Choshen, Sechirus 8:84)

tell a friend

About the Author: 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.


You might also be interested in:


no comments

You must log in to post a comment.

SocialTwist Tell-a-Friend

Current Top Story
Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich
Rep. John Conyers Apologizes for Louis Farrakhan’s Antisemitic Remarks
Latest Judaism Stories
Leff-052413
Judaism → Parsha

Do you say Shema before you go to sleep? I’m sure you do.

But perhaps you, like many, feel too tired at night to say the entire tefillah of Kri’as Shema as it appears in the siddur. If you do say the entire tefillah, you will recognize a pasuk in this week’s Haftorah. And if you don’t say the whole Kri’as Shema al Hamitah, perhaps after this column, you’ll re-consider and find yourself connecting with the following very comforting pasuk.

Niehaus-052413
Judaism → Parsha

The sand is rapidly running through the hourglass, as the centrifuges in the secret Iranian nuclear plants spin furiously. It is quite clear that the Iranians are on the brink of attaining nuclear capability, and we are well aware of the danger that would face Klal Yisroel in that event, chas v’sholom. All the sanctions, threats, and computer worm attacks do not seem to be stopping them, and it is terrifying. And when we see how vulnerable we are to terrorist attacks anywhere in the world, we become even more terrified.

The-Shmuz
Judaism → Parsha

Miriam spoke disparagingly about Moshe Rabbeinu. Because of this, she contracted tzaras, and for seven days she was sent outside the camp of Israel.

Business-Halacha-logo
Judaism → Halacha & Hashkafa

Samuel Scherr was a very successful businessman. He also was generous and would share of his wealth with others. In this way, he became the uncle of favor to his nieces and nephews, whom he would frequently shower with gifts.

Judaism → Halacha & Hashkafa

Detached Or Unrelated
‘He Made An Asheirah Tree Into a Ladder…’
(Eruvin 78b)

Judaism → Parsha

In this week’s parshah we read about the individuals who were tamei and thus could not bring the korban Pesach. They approached Moshe Rabbeinu and asked him whether there was anything they could do to bring the korban. Ultimately, Hashem told Moshe that they should bring a korban a month after Pesach, on the 14th of Iyar.

Judaism → Ask the Rabbi

Question: As Shavuot is fast approaching – a holiday on which we dwell on the story of Ruth and the origins of the royal house of David – I was wondering if you could help me resolve something. Some people say that Rabbi Yehudah HaNassi, the redactor of the six orders of the Mishnah and a scion of King David, purposely kept any mention of Chanukah and the Hasmonean kings out of the Mishnah because the Hasmoneans improperly crowned themselves and ignored the rule that all Jewish kings are supposed to come from the tribe of Yehudah. Is this true?

Menachem
(Via E-Mail)

Judaism → Halacha & Hashkafa

One of the thirty-nine prohibited melachot on Shabbat is carrying an object from a private domain, reshut hayachid, to a public domain, reshut harabim, or carrying an object a distance of four amot, six to eight feet, in a reshut harabim. The Torah does permit, however, carrying within the reshut hayachid itself. The definition of a reshut hayachid and a reshut harabim is crucial, therefore, to the laws of carrying on Shabbat.

Judaism → Halacha & Hashkafa

Question: The Midrash notes that the song the Jews sang after they crossed the Red Sea (“Az Yashir”) was unique; its likes had never been heard before in the world. Our Sages even refer to it as a shirah chadashah, a “new song.” What made “Az Yashir” so unique and in what sense was it a “new song”?

Judaism → Columns → Lessons In Emunah

The rav was not a wealthy man, but earned enough to live comfortably. He earned his money by serving as the rav of a religious community in Yerushalayim. He also received some royalties from sefarim he had written over the years. He was well known, and many people approached him for a berachah, advice and help. They were not turned away.

Judaism → Columns → Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks

Tanach, the Hebrew Bible, is remarkable for the extreme realism with which it portrays human character. Its heroes are not superhuman. Its non-heroes are not archetypal villains. The best have failings; the worst often have saving virtues. I know of no other religious literature quite like it.

Judaism → Rebbetzin's Viewpoint

Last week I shared a letter from a newly observant Jewish woman. She and her husband reside in a small suburban community outside of Los Angeles. Last year they came to consult with me on a personal religious issue. While they were both ba’alei teshuvah, there was one fine difference between them. He had become a ba’al teshuvah earlier than she and was therefore somewhat more settled in an observant lifestyle.

Judaism → Torah

I watch my children use blocks to build a large structure, observing the trepidation with which they add each block. As the structure becomes larger there is a greater risk of it collapsing, thus bringing an end to an hour of playful labor. I anticipate what will happen when one child adds a block to the top floor, compromising the integrity of the building and resulting in the collapse of the entire structure. The argument that ensues is predictable, as each child blames the other for “ruining” the fun. As an adult, I wonder about the need to attribute blame. Will assigning blame be instrumental in rebuilding the structure?

Judaism → Parsha

In this week’s parshah the Torah discusses the halachos of when one steals from another and when confronted in beis din, the thief swears falsely with his denial that he stole. This parshah was already taught in parshas Vayikra; however, there are two halachos that the Torah adds in this parshah to this topic.

Judaism → Halacha & Hashkafa

In order to carry from one’s home into the street (even when the area is enclosed by a properly constructed eruv), the eruvin ceremony must be performed. This ceremony involves the placing of food in one designated home on behalf of all Sabbath observers in the enclosed area. In order for the eruvin ceremony to be valid, however, it must be performed on behalf of all owners of streets and homes in the enclosed area.

More Articles from Rabbi Meir Orlian
Business-Halacha-logo
Judaism → Halacha & Hashkafa

Samuel Scherr was a very successful businessman. He also was generous and would share of his wealth with others. In this way, he became the uncle of favor to his nieces and nephews, whom he would frequently shower with gifts.

Business-Halacha-logo
Judaism → Halacha & Hashkafa

Hymie was visiting Israel and enjoying an afternoon with his grandchildren in the park. After pushing them on the swings and watching them slither down the slides, he went to sit down on a bench in the corner of the park.

Judaism → Halacha & Hashkafa

The winter was over, and the days began to get longer and warmer. The sun shone brightly in clear skies, grass and flowers were blooming, and the trees were producing layers of green foliage.

Judaism → Halacha & Hashkafa

Pleasantville was a quiet suburban town with large properties and curving roads that wound around them. Mr. Feder lived just behind the local shul. Since the road wound around his property, people coming to shul on Shabbos would often take a shortcut through his property to walk to shul. The treaded area of earth marked the place where people made their way weekly. The through traffic did not bother Mr. Feder, as his house was on the other end of the property. He never made a fuss about it, but had never officially sanctioned this public shortcut.

Judaism → Halacha & Hashkafa

Betzalel was a “fix-it” man who enjoyed carpentry as a hobby. He did many home improvements himself, which he found both economical and enjoyable. He was now building a swing set for his children, happily sawing, drilling, hammering, and bolting the pieces.

Judaism → Halacha & Hashkafa

For a number of years Mrs. Baum hadn’t worked but instead stayed home watching her young children. As their youngest child approached pre-school age, she decided to enter the work force again. Half a year before she planned to return to work, she began sending out resumes, networking and speaking with potential contacts.

Judaism → Halacha & Hashkafa

“Tonight is Bernie’s birthday,” Jeremy said to his friend, Adam. “We’re planning a surprise birthday party for him. Would you like to join?”

Judaism → Halacha & Hashkafa

Congregation Toras Yisrael decided to hold a learning program on Friday morning, Chol Hamoed Pesach. Two weeks before Pesach, the gabbai in charge of the program discussed possible guest speakers with the shul rabbi, Rabbi Brick.

    Latest Poll

    If you could only choose one of the following scenarios regarding Chareidi IDF service, which would you choose?





    View Results

    Loading ... Loading ...

Printed from: http://www.jewishpress.com/judaism/halacha-hashkafa/snow-job/2012/12/27/

Scan this QR code to visit this page online:

Related posts:

  1. Keeping the Golan
Close