Business Halacha Daily

Questions? Comments? We love feedback! Email us at info@baishavaad.orgRav Baruch FriedQuestion: Someone is walking in the street on Shabbos and finds a large sum of money with a siman. What should he do?Answer: The Mishnah Berurah clearly says that if one finds money on Shabbos with no siman, he is not allowed to take it for himself. Although there are certain leniencies that apply in cases of a...

Questions? Comments? We love feedback! Email us at info@baishavaad.orgRav Baruch FriedQuestion: Reuven is walking in the street in a place where no Jews live and he finds a book. On the inside cover, he sees a name and phone number. Does he have to return the book to its Akum owner?Answer: The Torah commands us to return lost objects to their owners; however, this is limited to our Jewish...

Questions? Comments? We love feedback! Email us at info@baishavaad.orgRav Baruch FriedQuestion: Yankel was shopping in Walmart. When he gets back to his car, he sees that the parking spot next to him is empty and there is a Walmart bag with some items in it lying on the ground in that spot. Obviously, someone forgot it there. What is the halachic status of this bag?Answer: We have to deal with...

Questions? Comments? We love feedback! Email us at info@baishavaad.orgRav Yosef Dovid JosilowskyQuestion: A man told his new son-in-law that he would give him a silver menorah for Chanukah. As Chanukah approached, he no longer wanted to give the gift, but he gave it anyway because he had already given his word. Can he later claim that the gift was invalid because he was giving it under...

Questions? Comments? We love feedback! Email us at info@baishavaad.orgRav Yosef Dovid JosilowskyQuestion: Two partners want to dissolve their partnership but are unable to come to terms on an agreement. One of them tells the other that if he doesn’t agree to his terms, he will sue him in court. The other partner doesn’t want to waste time and money in court so he agrees to sign, but he is issues...

Questions? Comments? We love feedback! Email us at info@baishavaad.orgRav Yosef Dovid JosilowskyQuestion: I want to reach a settlement with someone but I am worried that he will make a Modaah that will invalidate the entire deal. How can I protect myself from someone using the halachos of Modaah to negate a legitimate transaction?Answer: The Mahari ben Lev writes that the way to write an...

Questions? Comments? We love feedback! Email us at info@baishavaad.orgRav Yosef Dovid JosilowskyQuestions: Two individuals have a din Torah and the Dayanim rule in accordance with one of the parties. Afterward, the one who lost the din Torah tells the winner privately that if he doesn’t agree to a compromise settlement with him, he will go to a secular court and have the bais din overruled. Under...

Questions? Comments? We love feedback! Email us at info@baishavaad.orgRav Yosef Dovid JosilowskyQuestion: Yankel is building an extension on his house and he hires a contractor to do the job. They agree that Yankel will pay cost price plus 15%. When the job is 75% completed, the contractor tells Yankel that his costs have gone up and he can only finish the work if they raise his rate to 20%. He...

Questions? Comments? We love feedback! Email us at info@baishavaad.orgRav Yosef Dovid JosilowskyQuestion: In the last segment, we said that witnesses who sign a Modaah have to know all the details of the situation and must be aware of how the individual is being forced into the transaction, which is why it is not so easy to negate a sale retroactively with a Modaah. What can someone do if he...

Questions? Comments? We love feedback! Email us at info@baishavaad.orgRav Yosef Dovid JosilowskyQuestion: We have stated that a forced sale is valid but the seller has a recourse of being “moser Modaah”. What does that mean?Answer: Being “moser Modaah” literally means to give over a yedia (a piece of knowledge) to witnesses i.e. to let them know what is really happening.The way it is done is that...