Business Halacha Daily

Bais Havaad
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Business Halacha Daily is a program with daily 3-5 minute "nuggets" on the topic of the week. They are practical questions that come up related to that topic, with a dayan there to answer and explain the reasoning.

  1. 1 day ago

    If Someone Stores His Boxes in an Unused Warehouse Without Permission, Is He Obligated to Pay Rent?

    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 permission. Can I bill him?  Answer: At first glance, this seems a classic case of Zeh Nehene v’Zeh Lo Chaser. The case the Gemara discusses involves a person who moves into his friend’s house without him being aware and without causing any loss to the homeowner. This would be very improbable today because when someone moves into his friend’s house or bungalow, he would inevitably cause the owner some expense through his usage of electricity and water. In the case in question, however, the friend is merely putting his boxes down in a warehouse. If he doesn’t turn on the lights or water, he isn’t causing any loss to the owner at all.  However, the Shulchan Aruch rules that if a potential customer makes it clear that he would have been willing to pay the owner for the usage, he can be charged for his usage even if no agreement was ever reached. In this case, since the friend clearly indicated that he would have been willing to pay rent for the warehouse space, putting his boxes down is considered a consummation of that proposal, and he would have to pay if he did end up using the space.

    3 min

  2. 2 days ago

    Can Someone Charge a Neighbor for Using His WiFi Connection?

    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 he can charge is subject to a machlokes Rishonim regarding whether we say that one who has hana’ah that caused the owner a loss can only be charged for the amount of loss that he caused, or if we say “megalgelim alav es hakol” and he can be charged the full value of the benefit he received. We pasken like the opinion that says “megalgelim alav es hakol”; therefore, you can be charged for the entire value of having used his wireless connection.  It could be argued that if you would only use the neighbor’s WiFi in the middle of the night when he is presumably asleep, you are not causing him any loss and, therefore, cannot be held liable. However, it would seem that even this is causing him a loss, as the efficacy and security of the connection is compromised when someone else is tapping into it.  Going forward, he certainly can object to you using his wireless connection for free, even if you would not be causing him any loss.

    4 min

  3. 3 days ago

    May a Homeowner Ban People from Taking a Shortcut Through His Property?

    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? Answer: Tosafos understands that the reason one can’t charge someone who used his property in a case of zeh nehen v’zeh lo chaseir is because of the rule of “ain kofin al middas Sodom”, which basically means: What do you care if someone else derived a benefit as long as you aren’t losing anything? The question is whether middas Sodom just means that you can’t charge someone retroactively for enjoyment he had from your property, or if it also means that you can’t prevent someone from using your property in the future. Tosafos says that the rule of middas Sodom does not mean that people do not have full property rights. Homeowners cannot be forced to let people trespass on their property. Although they can’t charge them for having done so, they also don’t have to allow them to do it in the first place. Moreover, it could be argued that in most cases allowing people to walk through someone’s yard is a case a chaseir, as a loss of privacy is also a loss. Although the Rishonim do say that there is also a moral imperative not to be like the people of Sodom if there really isn’t any loss, still, one cannot be forced to allow people to walk through their property.

    4 min

  4. 4 days ago

    Does Somebody Have to Pay for Regularly Sitting in Someone Else’s Seat in Shul?

    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 the seat, he should pay for it. Is Reuven correct?  Answer: This would seem like a case of zeh neheneh v’zeh lo chaseir. Since Shimon is not causing Reuven a loss, it would seem that he should be patur. The Gemara says that two conditions must be met in order to make someone pay for a hana’ah that he receives. 1. The owner must be having a loss in the sense that he could rent out the property being used if the other person wasn’t there. In this case, since Reuven cannot sell the other seat, he would not be able to charge for its use. 2. The person having hana’ah can only be obligated to pay for something that would otherwise pay for. In this case, that would mean that Shimon would have to be the type of person who would pay for another seat if this one wasn’t available. Whereas, if he is the type of person who wouldn’t pay for a seat and would just stand in the back if there was no free seat available, the Gemara implies that he could not be obligated to pay.   Going forward, if Reuven continues to pay for the seat and he wants to use it to put down his talis bag or his coat and hat, he may prevent Shimon from sitting there in the future because he needs the seat for himself. Still, because Shimon is not considered a nehene because he wouldn’t pay for a seat in any case, he may not be able to charge him for sitting there. However, practically speaking, although the Gemara implies to say that one can only charge the person having hana’ah if he is the type of person who would pay for such a benefit, the Poskim rule like the opinion of the Rif that this condition does not need to be met and one can charge someone for using something that is theirs and causing them a loss even if the person would not have been willing to pay for such hana’ah.

    4 min

  5. 18 Jun

    Can Someone be Liable to Pay for Reading His Neighbor’s Newspaper?

    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 he has been reading it every day before I take it inside. Can I charge him for reading my paper?  Answer: This may seem like a case of zeh neheneh v’zeh lo chaseir, which would mean that the neighbor would be patur. However, one could argue that the fact that he made the newspaper not as fresh is considered “chaseir”. This would depend on how we define “chaseir”. What is considered “a loss”? According to almost all Rishonim if one causes a loss of even a minimal amount, the owner is considered chaseir. At that point, these Rishonim say, “megalgelim alav es hakol”, we make him pay the full amount of the benefit he received. Although there is a dissenting opinion, this is how we pasken.  In this case, that would mean that if making a newspaper lose its freshness is worth even a shaveh perutah [or perhaps even less], the neighbor would have to pay for the value he received, which may well be something like 50% of the cost of the newspaper.

    3 min

  6. 17 Jun

    If Someone Takes a Ride, Does He Have to Chip in For Gas and Tolls?

    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 the other person has no loss, the first person is not liable to pay.  Regarding the gas and tolls, it would seem that this is a case of zeh neheneh v’zeh lo chaseir. The driver would have had to pay the same amount with or without a passenger. Even though the passenger is having a benefit from the ride, he isn’t costing the driver anything; therefore, it would seem that he cannot be charged.  However, the Nesivos Hamishpat says that zeh neheneh v’zeh lo chaseir is only patur after the fact. If one person derived benefit from someone else who lost nothing, the second person cannot demand to be paid retroactively. Going forward, however, he can ask for payment. This would mean that if two people are traveling together, they are both equally responsible to pay for the gas and tolls, and those expenses should be split 50-50.  It would seem that wear and tear of the car, on the other hand, is not part of the traveling itself and is not an expense that the passenger is liable for.

    3 min

  7. 16 Jun

    If Someone’s Taxes Are Charged to Someone Else, Must He Reimburse Him?

    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 Gemara talks about a case where the king’s tax collectors take taxes from from grain that was not yet tithed, in lieu of money that was the owner was really supposed to pay.  The Gemara says that even though the owner didn’t really gain anything new – as he merely didn’t have to give away some of his money – and he didn’t actually take anything from maaser – as the tax collectors took the money, not him – he still is liable to reimburse the amount of the maaser.  This chiyuv is called “mishtarshi”. The Ketzos Hachoshen explains that mishtarshi means that because one person’s bottom line is bigger than it otherwise would have been because of his friend’s expenditure or loss, it is considered as if the friend now owns part of his assets; therefore, the beneficiary will have to reimburse him the full amount that he lost because of him.  Based on this rule, Reuven would be liable to reimburse the partnership for the money he gained by not paying his personal taxes.

    3 min

  8. 15 Jun

    If Someone Accidentally Eats Someone Else’s Package of Food, Is He Liable to Pay?

    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 own, he is not liable as a mazik or a gazlan. However, he still is not fully exempt from liability. The Gemara discusses a case where someone inherits a barn full of cows from his father. He assumes all of the cows belonged to his father and he slaughters and eats one of them. Unbeknownst to him, that cow belonged to someone else and was only being kept in his father’s barn.    The Gemara says that although the son is not a mazik, he is still liable because he derived enjoyment from someone else’s property. He does not have to pay the full market value of the cow, but he has to pay the value of the pleasure he had. Chazal assessed this to be two-thirds of what the meat would have fetched in the market.  So too, in this case the man who ate his neighbor’s food would be liable to pay that basic amount.  Question: Who does he have to pay that amount to? The man who the package was intended for or the one who sent the package?  Answer: If it was a package that the office next door paid for, he would have to pay them. If they weren’t paying for it, he would have to pay whoever did lay out the money for it.

    4 min
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Business Halacha Daily is a program with daily 3-5 minute "nuggets" on the topic of the week. They are practical questions that come up related to that topic, with a dayan there to answer and explain the reasoning.

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  • Creator
    Bais Havaad
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    965
  • Rating
    Clean
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    © 2026 Business Halacha Daily
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