Mi Yodeya is a question and answer site for those who base their lives on Jewish law and tradition and anyone interested in learning more. It only takes a minute to sign up.
Sign up to join this community
I recently rented a bike for a few hours, and the person in charge of the rental told us that we have "X number of hours, and a 15 minute grace period," followed by the warning that if we don't return the bikes until after the grace period is over, we would have to pay a fine.
While it might not be the best idea, practically, would one be allowed to rely on that grace period lechatchila?
I would have to agree with user13044 one could assume that the bike lord knows that some people would use the grace period. Whether or not the grace period is usable lichatchila or bidieved you are for sure responsible for the bike and would be considered renter of the bike. This would be similar to using your phone for a short while not on break at work that is not stealing as the company calculates that in.
Let's start with Bava Metzia, ona'ah. This is interest on a loan, and verbal abuse.
Judaism generally deals with days, from my personal experience. There wasn't such a developed time system - before this position of the sun try to do this and definitely before the sun sets do this. Jewish Standard Time, Indian Standard Time, Irish Standard Time, and all the social conventions which allow us to maintain this relaxed human perspective that comes from 15 or so minutes grace period are so important with the introduction of accurate clocks.
When you rent something, you become responsible for it. For its damage, for its care - if its living you feed it, if it you still protect it. If you pay for the use of said property, there is a different level of responsibility.
We are now in the three weeks, and we are supposed to remember the destruction of the temple. Some of the explanations for its destruction are baseless hatred and not saying a bracha on learning Torah. One of the primary means of expressing baseless hatred is lashon hara, slander - but it also is encompassed by ona'ah - walking into a store with the intent not to buy anything, repeating a mistake verbally that another did.
Our words are very important. When you make an arrangement verbally with another, your words have to mean that you will fulfill them - you are probably wearing a kippah, and even if you aren't they can tell you're Jewish. Will G-d's name be slandered because you didn't keep to your arrangement? You agreed on a time, and then intended before the words left your lips not to keep to your words!!!
Yet Hashem himself is willing to erase his name in order to keep a marriage together. How could it be that your bike lender would be so upset over a few minutes unless he really needed the bike?
That is why I think our clocks, while important, shouldn't be the only ones dictating time. They are merely a tool in our houses for making sure we don't waste the time we were given.
Your question is based on the assumption that the grace period given is only given to be used when it cant be avoided because of some unforeseen reason, "beshaas dochek". However the industry has most certainly included the idea that the grace period will be used a certain percentage of times. As such they lechatchila build into their pricing or their cost of doing business, so there is strong reason that it a case is zeh nehene vezeh lo chasar. Another answer is that it is muttar and i bleieve lechatchhila to be mafikia a chov owend to a non jew (public corporations included). Which means that unless the non jew is tovaya the yid to din and wins the case, one has no obligation or chov to the non jew. So even if there was klapai shmaya a chov on the renter because they intentionally used the grace period, they would not be mechuyav anything unless the rental car company was tovaya them to din and won the case before that there is no chiyuv.
You cannot argue ownership of the grace period. It does not belong to you, you did not pay for it.
So, you cannot practically include it in your rental, you may not rely on it. The bikelord should specify the intent of the grace period to be perfectly clear you have not paid for it (eg. a courtesy for tourists unfamiliar with the area).
