Reuven had lent a very needy person in his community, Hillel, $500. Although the loan was long overdue, Hillel postponed payment again and again, claiming that he genuinely did not have any funds with which to pay.
On one occasion, Reuven demanded payment in the presence of witnesses. “I admit fully that I owe you $500,” replied Hillel, “but unfortunately I’m still not able to pay you; my financial situation remains very difficult.”
After Reuven left, his brother, Shimon, remained there with Hillel. “I feel very bad,” Hillel said to Shimon. “I would like to pay your brother, but I barely subsist from day to day. I have to accept food for Shabbos and sometimes even need to collect tzedakah.”
While they were sitting there, Hillel pulled out a bag with some food in it from his pocket. Along with it, a crumpled $20 bill fell out.
Shimon quickly reached over and picked up the $20.
“Thank you,” said Hillel, stretching out his hand.
“No, I’m keeping this for my brother!” said Shimon. “You just admitted in front of witnesses that you still owe him $500. At least let this be the beginning of payment.”
“Give it back to me!” Hillel responded forcefully. “Who asked you to get involved?!”
“I want to help my brother,” replied Shimon. “He also needs the money. It’s been over a year that you’ve been pushing him off.”
“Still, you have no right to take the money,” insisted Hillel. “It fell from me, and you have no right to grab it. If Reuven wants to, he can ask me for the $20, but you keep out of it!”
“If I return the $20,” Shimon said, “by the time Reuven meets you again the $20 will almost certainly be gone…”
The two approached Rabbi Dayan. Shimon asked, “Must I return the $20, or can I keep it for my brother?”
“The Gemara (Kesubos 84b; Gittin 11b; B.M. 10a) teaches that when there are several creditors and the borrower has limited funds, since grabbing on behalf of A may impinge upon the rights of B, your tefisa (grabbing) is not valid,” replied Rabbi Dayan. “Most authorities rule that even if A explicitly asked you to grab on his behalf, you cannot grab for A when impinging on B (C.M. 105:1).
“However, when not impinging on other creditors, your tefisa is valid as an agent of your brother, based on the rule of zachin l’adam shelo b’fanav, provided that the creditor can prove that he is still owed or that it is known, and there is realistic concern that the creditor will suffer loss if you don’t grab now (C.M. and Aruch HaShulchan 105:4).
“Furthermore, if the borrower owes also the grabber, his tefisa for A is valid even when impinging on others, because he could grab that amount for himself (C.M. 105:2).
“If A hired the person to grab, the acharonim dispute whether he may grab when impinging on others, because an employee is considered an extension of the employer, more than a regular agent, especially if the person was contracted with a percentage of what he grabs (Shach 105:1; Nesivos 105:2; Pischei Teshuva 105:4).
“Nonetheless, the Torah (Devarim 24:1) prohibits even the lender himself from forcefully grabbing collateral items from the borrower. Thus, because zachin is based on agency, and ain sheliah l’dvar aveirah, Ketzos (105:4; 97:2) writes that tefisa of another can be valid only when grabbing money, which is collection of payment, or in cases where there is no prohibition to grab collateral items (see C.M. 97:6).
“Aruch HaShulchan (105:5) further stipulates that tofes l’baal chov is valid only when the person who grabs is an upright person and it is clear that he is grabbing on behalf of the creditor.
“Thus, in this case,” concluded Rabbi Dayan, “whether you can keep the money you grabbed for your brother, after Hillel’s clear admission that he still owes, depends on whether this impinges on other creditors, and whether there is concern of loss otherwise” (see Pischei Choshen, Halva’ah 6:10-15).
Verdict: Grabbing on behalf of a creditor is valid only when: not impinging on other creditors, the creditor is likely to suffer loss otherwise, there is no violation of the prohibition to forcefully take collateral, and the person who grabs is upright and clearly grabbing for the creditor.
