Business Halacha Daily

  Questions? Comments? We love feedback! Email us at info@baishavaad.org   Rav Yosef Greenwald Question : Reuven asks Shimon, a business professional, to join him for lunch in a restaurant in order to ask him some business-related questions. When the bill comes, Shimon expects Reuven to pay for his meal; however, it soon became clear that Shimon was not planning on doing so. Can Shimon tell Reuven...

  Questions? Comments? We love feedback! Email us at info@baishavaad.org   Rav Yosef Greenwald Question : Reuven pays a lot of money to fly in a famous singer to perform at his simcha . Shimon hears that this singer is coming to town and hires him to sing at his simcha as well. Reuven says that Shimon should pay for half of the plane ticket and related expenses because he is benefiting from having...

  Questions? Comments? We love feedback! Email us at info@baishavaad.org   Rav Yosef Greenwald Question: A contractor is building a home and decides on his own to install outdoor lighting to beautify the house at night. The homeowner says that he didn’t need those lights and that he won’t pay for them. A few weeks later, the contractor notes that those lights are turned on and used every night. Si...

  Questions? Comments? We love feedback! Email us at info@baishavaad.org     Rav Yosef Greenwald Question: A secretary took it upon herself to decorate her office, and installed some of her own paintings on the walls. When her boss sees it, he says he doesn’t like them and, therefore, won’t pay her for the full price. Instead, he says that he will pay cost-price for her paintings. She’s insulted a...

  Questions? Comments? We love feedback! Email us at info@baishavaad.org   Rav Yosef Greenwald Question : I hired someone to paint my office. When he finished the job, I saw that the color was slightly different than what we agreed upon. I really prefer to redo the job entirely, but if Bais Din were to tell me that I need to pay for the job, I would just keep it as is. What is the halacha in this...

  Questions? Comments? We love feedback! Email us at info@baishavaad.org   Rav Yosef Greenwald Question : A broker approaches a real estate investor and says that he has information about a good deal. The investor replies that he can tell him the details if he’d like, but he should know that he does not plan on paying him. The broker introduces the deal and it ends up going through. He then asks f...

  Questions? Comments? We love feedback! Email us at info@baishavaad.org   Rav Yosef Greenwald Question : After a heavy snowfall one winter day, I looked out my window and noticed my neighbor’s son shoveling my driveway without being asked. He then came to my door and asked for $50 as payment. Do I have to pay him? Answer : We previously said that if someone is yored l’toch sadeh chaveiro, the pro...

  Questions? Comments? We love feedback! Email us at info@baishavaad.org   Rav Yosef Greenwald Question: A roofer was hired to install an attic fan. Unfortunately, he went to the wrong address and installed it in the wrong house. He sends a bill to the house where he installed the fan. Does the homeowner who never asked for the fan have to pay for it? Answer : When the Gemara speaks about cases of...

  Questions? Comments? We love feedback! Email us at info@baishavaad.org     Rav Yosef Greenwald Question: My friend heard that I have some extra space in my warehouse and asked if he could rent the space to store some boxes there. I declined because I wanted the space available in case I needed it. I went away for a few weeks and, when I got back, I saw that he had stored boxes there without my p...

Questions? Comments? We love feedback! Email us at info@baishavaad.org   Rav Yosef Greenwald Question : My neighbor has an open wireless internet connection. Can he charge me for using his WiFi without permission? Answer: In a general sense, using someone’s wireless connection slows down his computer, so this would be a case of chaseir ; therefore, he can charge you for having used it. The amount...

Questions? Comments? We love feedback! Email us at info@baishavaad.org   Rav Yosef Greenwald Question : Is it permitted to take a shortcut through someone else’s property without permission? Can a homeowner block people from walking through his property, or would this fall under the category of “middas Sodom” because the homeowner isn’t losing anything by having people walk through his yard? Answe...

  Questions? Comments? We love feedback! Email us at info@baishavaad.org   Rav Yosef Greenwald Question: Reuven pays for two seats in his shul. He uses one for himself and the other one is meant for his son. However, his son prefers to daven elsewhere and rarely sits in his seat. Shimon notices the empty seat and begins to sit there every week. Eventually, Reuven tells him that since he is using t...

  Questions? Comments? We love feedback! Email us at info@baishavaad.org   Rav Yosef Greenwald, Rav of K’hal Dexter Park Question : I subscribe to a newspaper that is delivered to my house early every morning. I started to realize that the newspaper doesn’t seem so fresh when I bring it into my house. One morning, I looked out my window and spied my neighbor reading my newspaper. I realized that h...

Questions? Comments? We love feedback! Email us at info@baishavaad.org   Rav Yosef Greenwald, Rav of K’hal Dexter Park Question : If someone offers someone else a ride, and they don’t make up anything beforehand, is the passenger obligated to chip in towards the expenses of the trip?  Answer : There is a rule of “ zeh neheneh v’zeh lo chaseir.” If one person derives benefit from someone else, but...

  Questions? Comments? We love feedback! Email us at info@baishavaad.org   Rav Yosef Greenwald, Rav of K’hal Dexter Park Question : Reuven and Shimon are business partners. Due to a clerical error on behalf of the IRS, Reuven’s personal taxes were charged to the partnership. Can Shimon demand that Reuven reimburse the business for the money that he should have paid individually?  Answer : The Gema...

  Questions? Comments? We love feedback! Email us at info@baishavaad.org   Rav Yosef Greenwald, Rav of K’hal Dexter Park Question: A gift package of food is delivered to someone’s office. Assuming it’s for him, the person eats it. Afterwards, he discovers it was meant for the office next door. Does he have to pay for the food he ate? Answer : If it was an honest mistake that was no fault of his ow...

  Questions? Comments? We love feedback! Email us at info@baishavaad.org   Rav Shmuel Honigwachs Question : Reuven lives in a development where the houses are situated fairly close together and everyone has windows that face each other’s yards. One day, he decides that he wants to install a swimming pool in his backyard. Can he force all of his neighbors to either seal their windows or contribute...

     Questions? Comments? We love feedback! Email us at info@baishavaad.org   Rav Shmuel Honigwachs Question : In the last segment, we discussed a case where one neighbor purchases a home from a non-Jew. What if both neighbors bought their houses from non-Jews? How would that impact issues of hezek riya ? Answer : If both neighbors originally purchased their homes from non-Jews, as long as the win...

  Questions? Comments? We love feedback! Email us at info@baishavaad.org   Rav Shmuel Honigwachs Question : Reuven has a pool in his backyard. His neighbor, John, is a non-Jew, who obviously has no reservations about being the cause of hezek riya. John is now selling his house to a Jew. The new neighbor, Feivel, moves in and Reuven tells him that because his window faces Reuven’s pool, there is a...

Questions? Comments? We love feedback! Email us at info@baishavaad.org   Rav Shmuel Honigwachs Question: Chaim is building a pool in his backyard. His neighbor has an existing window that faced his yard. Now that the swimming pool is being built, the window will overlook the pool.  Until now, when it just provided a view of the backyard, the window was no big deal. Now that he is making a pool, ho...

  Questions? Comments? We love feedback! Email us at info@baishavaad.org   Rav Shmuel Honigwachs Question: Reuven needed a variance for a construction project. His neighbor, Shimon, claimed that he would be negatively impacted by that variance. He went to the zoning board and tried to stop it but the board ruled in favor of Reuven and granted the variance. Shimon still has one more venue to stop t...

  Questions? Comments? We love feedback! Email us at info@baishavaad.org   Rav Shmuel Honigwachs Question : We previously said that a neighbor has no standing in bais din to stop a yeshiva from opening in his residential neighborhood. If a yeshiva is building next door to a residential home, does the homeowner at least have a right to demand that they stain the windows facing his property so that...

Questions? Comments? We love feedback! Email us at info@baishavaad.org   Can Neighbors Force a Yeshiva to Stain The Windows Facing Their Property? Rav Shmuel Honigwachs Question : We previously said that a neighbor has no standing in bais din to stop a yeshiva from opening in his residential neighborhood. If a yeshiva is building next door to a residential home, does the homeowner at least have a...

  Rav Shmuel Honigwachs Question: Yankel lives in a quiet residential area. He lives in a town where it is permitted according to the local laws to build yeshivas even in such an area. Berel wants to build a yeshiva in this neighborhood. Does Yankel have any right according to Choshen Mishpat to stop the yeshiva from opening in his area?  Answer : The Gemara in Bava Basra says that even though, ge...

  Questions? Comments? We love feedback! Email us at info@baishavaad.org   Rav Shmuel Honigwachs Question : With a little effort, Reuven is able to see into his neighbor’s window from his backyard. He now wants to extend the deck in his yard to make room for a large sukkah. From the new deck, he will have a much clearer view of his neighbor’s window. Is he allowed to make this extension?   Answer...