Questions tagged [money]
Questions pertaining to money, including both physical currency and finances, in general.
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May synagogues issue interest bearing bonds
According to Halacha, is it permissible for synagogues to issue interest bearing bonds and sell it to its members to raise money or no? Would this be prohibited as ribbit, or since the synagogue and ...
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How much did Korbanos cost to bring?
In the first Perek of Chagiga Beis Hillel says that the minimum for a Shlomim is 2 Mayiah and for an Olah 1 Mayiah. A Mayiah is roughly 0.8 gram of silver which is under a dollar in today's value. I ...
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Who inherits how much?
Imagine the following scenario:
A man dies. He owns 100,000 ₪ cash, 3 kilograms of gold, a 100 square meter house with a garden, a car, and stocks worth 20,000 dollars.
He leaves behind:
A wife (...
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May landlords evict tenants for late payment
According to Halacha, if there is a contract between a tenant and landlord where the tenant will live in the property for however long (for example one year) and the payment will be distributed over ...
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What constitutes by their means for tzedakah
The Halacha is that Jews should give as much charity that reflects their means. My question is, how is “by their means” defined? Is it a specific percentage of their income, how much value their money ...
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Is it forbidden דרבנן to withhold the wages of a gentile labourer?
The Gemora in Sanhedrin 57a states:
אלא אמר רב אחא בריה דרב איקא לא נצרכה אלא לכובש שכר שכיר כותי בכותי וכותי בישראל אסור ישראל בכותי מותר
Rather, Rav Aḥa, son of Rav Ika, says that there is a ...
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When can you cut down fruit trees?
The Torah enjoins us not to destroy fruit trees when you besiege a city. [Deut. 20:19-20] This grew into the Talmudic principle of בל תשחית -- Do not destroy [e.g., Shabbat 105b], based on the logic ...
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Is it true that the wealthier we become the more we forget about God? [closed]
I've never been wealthy or part of the upper class so I cannot confirm whether this is true or not (although I'de love to be given the chance!) but, Chaim Kramer in his book Earning A Living Earning A ...
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Right to work in Halacha
In secular law, there is a debate as to whether or not a policy known as right to work should exist or whether a policy known as closed shops should exist. To simplify, right to work means you have a ...
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Can a Kohen refuse Pidyon Haben money
According to Halacha, first born (naturally born) Jewish non-kohen/non-levite boys need to be redeemed to a Kohen through Pidyon Haben. My question is, can a Kohen refuse the 5 Shekels at the Pidyon ...
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One act of theft, from multiple victims
If someone commits some sort of theft of e.g. tax money, such as lying in order to get benefits they don't qualify for, or a government worker stealing from the office, or embezzlement... is that one ...
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If one steals but can’t give it back or to the heirs who should be give it?
If one steals but can’t give it back to the original owner or to their heirs who should be given the money?
Rambam writes to give it to tbe court but there is no court anymore. So where would we ...
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Is it kosher to invest in cToken loans if it might lead to Jews paying interest?
Certain advancements in the cryptocurrency ecosystem are revolutionising financial mechanisms, which no longer fit the traditional paradigms we have been used to (let alone the Sages before us).
One ...
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Is the Rambam correct that there is no obligation to support Torah scholars?
Hillel said in Pirkei Avot 4:5:
Anyone who derives worldly benefit from the words of the Torah removes his life from the world.
The Rambam in his commentary thereon explores the idea of financially ...
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Is there a limit to how much profit one should make [duplicate]
Should one refrain from excessive profit, such as when one charges 800 dollars or more for an item made for under ten dollars.
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Insurance as kiddushin Kessef
According to Halacha, could insurance paid for by a man be given to a woman to count as a “Kiddushin Kessef”? Does it count as a value that the man owns that could legitimately be used. The reason ...
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How to gain both wisdom and wealth in the Amidah prayer
O Ch 94 (2) Mishna Berura 12 suggests that in the Amidah one who wants to gain wealth turns his face northward or to gain wisdom turns southward.
I remember having found a source that suggests that in ...
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Earning money on Shabbat for permitted behavior?
If somebody gets a Heter from a rabbi or posek to do something on Shabbat that is normally forbidden for pikuach nefesh (such as being a police officer, firefighter, etc.) are they allowed to earn ...
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המבזבז אל יבזבז and the Guarantee of Wealth
It says in Talmud that Chazal made a Takana in Usha that one should not give too much money to charity. Specifically more than one fifth.
Does the guarantee of wealth still apply to someone who gives ...
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Halacha and Stockmarket [duplicate]
Are there certain Stocks or ETFs that a Jew is not allowed to invest in ?
Reasons could be chillul Shabbat, unethical behaviour,
not kosher food etc. commited by the companies buisness dealings.
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Does the Talmud have any wise sayings about people who used to be rich but then lost all their money?
My Dad told me he once learned from a Rabbi that the Talmud talks about an Istanis who was rich but lost all their money.
I am looking for wise sayings about people who were rich but lost it all.
I ...
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What is the law when renting a house, regarding going according to secular months vs. Jewish months?
If both tenant and renter are Jewish do they must count according to the Jewish months or can the renter decide that he wants to count according to the secular months?
In this scenario the contract is ...
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Finding a check made out to "Cash"
Is it permissible to cash a check that is found in the street, if the check is made out to "cash" and after attempting to locate an owner, none is found.
Would it be considered the same as ...
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Is a paper airplane made of a $100 bill muktzah
Is a paper airplane made of a $100 bill muktzah? So as to simplify the situation and avoid other Shabbos issues regarding paper, oragami, etc, assume the paper airplane was folded before the onset of ...
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Is profiting off of a war allowed in Judaism? Like for example, is it allowed in Judaism to sell equipment to both sides?
Historically, Jews often lived in regions where it wasn't uncommon for a war to occur. I imagine some shrewd businessmen took advantage of this to profit by doing things like selling equipment or ...
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Prosperity in Judaism
Is there a duality notion of prosperity in Judaism? I say this because there are texts that suggest that prosperity or well-being leads to destruction, as in Proverbs 1:32. If the impression of well-...
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Bets with prior knowledge
If two people make a bet, and it comes out that one of them had knowledge that gave him the upper hand on the bet, is the bet valid? What if the person with prior knowledge was wrong?
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Why money is not mentioned in Job's wealth?
Job was famously a rich guy:
"his possessions were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yokes of oxen and five hundred she-asses, and a very large household. That man was ...
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Is a ketubah valid without agreement on value of zuz/zekukim?
I would have thought that a contract is only valid if both parties agree on the definitions of the terms mentioned, especially when it comes to specifying how much money is at stake. That said, as ...
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What can a husband do halachically if his wife steals money from him?
Suppose a wife takes a significant amount of money from her husband without his knowledge. Or perhaps, she transfers an asset into her name, without him knowing.
Or in another case, she misleads him ...
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Wife's money belonging to husband [duplicate]
If the wife's money belongs to the husband, does it mean she has no voice in financial decisions?
May he forbid her from having the access to the money (savings accounts) because "it is all his ...
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Profiting from Palestinian businesses that harm Jews
Many Orthodox men in Israel (who are relatively poor and frequently save on car insurance) fix their cars in Palestinian garages over the border. Prices can be ridiculously low relative to Israeli ...
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Who pays for extra time spent on a defective product?
The scenario: a guy charges $50 an hour, offers to replace a computer disk with a bigger one. For convenience, he also buys the new drive for the client from a supplier. After three hours of work (...
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Question about reincarnation
I once heard a Rabbi recount a story of the Baal Shem Tov. A student of the Baal Shem Tov witnessed a rich man leave some money in an area, a poor man found it and took it. The student asked the Baal ...
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Inflation in ancient times
The Tanakh, the Talmud and the midrashim are full of references to the cost of things. But can comparisons be made, or was there an inflation factor that devalued the currencies?
Consider:
-Abraham ...
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paying for food on Yom Tov
In my daf yomi study of Chapter 3 of Beitzah, people are going on the Yom Tov itself to butchers for meat and stores for groceries for their holiday meals. There are all sorts of stipulations on how ...
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What role did the Jews play in the Medieval money system (pre-banking, merchants, etc.)? [closed]
I just read here:
In the middle of the 13th century, groups of Italian Christians, particularly the Cahorsins and Lombards, invented legal fictions to get around the ban on Christian usury;[147] for ...
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How does a Jewish operated bank make money if the clientele are all Jewish?
As it was/is forbidden for the Israelites to charge usury/interest to a fellow Israelite, I began researching the banking practices of the Israelites in the Torah. That being said/written, interest ...
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Where to look for seforim funding?
I'm working on a book to bring iyun torah to everyone through a clear, English, user-friendly book of 11 essays of chiddushim in various talmudic topics. The idea is that learning in depth is ...
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Must one give maaser on cash back?
Does one need to give maaser on cash back earned, as a percentage of the sum spent, through extensions such as Rakuten or Honey, or via debit/credit card offers?
Is it considered new income, and ...
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Should we accept donations of tainted money?
A lot has been written on whether donations of tainted money should be accepted. The money is tainted either because it is ill-gotten or because the donor is ethically challenged (e.g., sexual ...
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Is there a rabinical ruling where coins that circulate decides who the legitimate king is?
I've heard there is a story. The story is that David got angry to a civilian because the civilian doesn't obey him.
However, he is told by somebody that his coins didn't circulate yet.
So the ...
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Why is the flour option available in only one case?
Vayikra 5 describes the offering required as a Chatat. This subcategory allows offerings of varying value, depending on what the guilty person can afford. Vayikra 5:11 reads
וְאִם־לֹא֩ תַשִּׂ֨יג ...
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Is there a teaching that states, those who work deserve to be paid?
Is there a teaching that states, those who work deserve to be paid?
The longer version is:
Where in the Torah, as according to the rabbis, is there a concept or a mitzvah that states, something like, ...
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Selling a house after COVID
According to the mishna on 25b of Masechet Megilla, "בני העיר שמכרו רחובה של עיר לוקחין בדמיו בית הכנסת" (if the people of a city sell an open area, the money is used to buy a synagogue). ...
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What are the economics of charity collectors who come from outside the United States?
In my shul from time to time someone from outside the United States, usually from Israel, comes to collect charity. I would like to better understand the economics of this process. I had heard ...
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Handling food valued as currency on Shabbos
What is the status of a food item on Shabbos which a country declares as legal tender? For example, if a developing country designates chocolate as legal tender, may one consume, handle, or "...
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Different languages describing forefathers' wealth
Off the top of my head, I bring three different verses describing the (enormous) wealth of our forefathers, each mentioning different parts of it:
Abraham: "וְאַבְרָם כָּבֵד מְאֹד בַּמִּקְנֶה ...
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Is having a bank account a violation of the mitzvah not to charge interest?
Since when you have a bank account you are technically loaning money to the bank and charging the bank interest, is this a violation of the negative mitzvah not to charge interest on a loan? Or for a ...
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Do the Sources include any halacha on insurance companies?
Is there any evidence that they had insurance companies, with policies and premiums, in biblical or Talmudic times? If so, what halachic constraints were placed on these practices?
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