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We know that shlucho shel adam ka'moso and that the shliach is an extension of person who sent him. However, is the shliach allowed to be paid? (ie if he's coming from medinas hayam to deliver a get, or to bring a korban on my behalf)

To extend a bit further- is one allowed to be paid for doing a mitzvah? (I would think not because you could be helping your friend out with a loan yet it would be assur for you to charge ribbis)

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    Interesting and +1. A good example that one can pay would be organizations that say mishnayot on behalf of mourners or people who collect tsedaka on behalf of others. Might depend if you call these two actual mitzvot. Stronger examples maybe: paying someone to teach your son Torah, to swim or a job. Ribit is a counter-example because it has a specific prohibition
    – mbloch
    Jan 7, 2019 at 16:46
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    Just a thought: There’s a dispute whether a shli’ach can be a witness. The opinion that holds he can is because what better witness do you have than the one who did the action himself? The opinion that holds he cannot is because a shli’ach is like the one who sent him, and you can’t testify for yourself (Kiddushin 43a). Since you can’t pay a witness, perhaps your question hinges on the two sides of this Gemara: if a shli’ach can be a witness, you can’t pay him, but if a shli’ach can’t be a witness, there’s nothing stopping you from paying him.
    – DonielF
    Jan 7, 2019 at 19:26
  • @DonielF that's a fascinating he'arah- thanks for sharing!
    – alicht
    Jan 7, 2019 at 19:29

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Sure. The first line of Choshen Mishpat 185:1 is

הסרסור שליח הוא אלא שנוטל שכר שליחותו

A broker is a shliach, except that he gets paid.

and he goes on to say that the same rules that apply to a shliach apply to a broker.

As for a shliach for a mitzvah (such as delivering a get):

You can be paid for doing the mitzvos of bikur cholim or hashovas aveidah (Rambam, Hilchos Nedarim 6:8 and 7:1). And those are actual obligations on a person, as compared to bringing a get, where:

  • (a) it's not really the shliach's mitzvah in the first place
  • (b) even for the husband, it's a mitzvah kiyumis rather than a mitzvah chiyuvis. So why shouldn't the shliach be able to be paid?

Searching around still further turns up Pischei Teshuvah 141:30, who brings various sources that say explicitly that a shliach for a get can indeed be paid (the question there is only if he afterwards demands more than was originally agreed to).

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    Great answer bro
    – yosefkorn
    Jan 14, 2019 at 19:57
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One of the Mitzvos which is normally done through a Shaliach-emissary, is teaching your son Torah Kiddushin 29b:

ללמדו תורה:מנלן דכתיב (דברים יא, יט) ולמדתם אותם את בניכם.
Where do we know one should teach his children Torah? "you shall teach them(the Torah) to your sons" (Devarim 11:19)

The Shulchan Aruch (YD 246:5) says:

מקום שנהגו ללמד תורה בכתב בשכר מותר ללמד בשכר אבל תורה שבע"פ אסור ללמד בשכר לא מצא מי שילמדנו בחנם ילמוד בשכר ואע"פ שהוצרך ללמוד בשכר לא יאמר כשם שלמדתי בשכר כך אלמד בשכר אלא ילמד לאחרים בחנם ומה שנהגו האידנא ללמד הכל בשכר אם אין לו במה להתפרנס שרי ואפי' יש לו אם הוא שכר בטלה דמוכח שמניח כל עסקיו ומשאו ומתנו שרי (וכל חידושי סופרים דהיינו מה שנתקן מדרבנן מותר ליטול שכר ללמדו)

One is allowed to teach how to read Torah Shebichtav i.e learn Tenach for a wage. But one cannot teach Torah Shebaal Peh e.g Mishna, Gemara, Midrash. If one needs to learn Torah Shebaal Peh and cannot find someone unless he pays him he should pay to learn. But he cannot then ask for wages to teach (even though he had to pay to learn). The Minhag nowadays is to pay people to teach is because the teachers have no livelihood (so we are obligated to give them wages as Tzedaka) and need the money. Someone who has livelihood we pay for their missing work if they take out time from work.

The gemara (Nedarim 37a) specifically singles out a Shaliach teaching Torah cannot take wages as it is forbidden because Hashem taught us for free and we should teach Torah for free:

על המדרש לא שרי למשקל מאי שנא מדרש דלא דכתיב (דברים ד, יד) ואותי צוה ה' בעת ההיא ללמד אתכם וכתיב (דברים ד, ה) ראה למדתי אתכם חוקים ומשפטים כאשר צוני ה' מה אני בחנם אף אתם נמי בחנם

This implies that a shaliach for any other Mitzva e.g sending a Divorce, can be payed as they are not teaching Torah.

If they would be doing another job during that time or need the livelihood even teaching Torah as an emissary of the father of the student is permitted

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  • How do you know that hiring someone to teach one's son Torah is a case of Shelichut?
    – Tamir Evan
    Jan 11, 2019 at 3:06
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    the father was commanded ולמדתם אותם את בניכם so anyone he hires is an emissary to do his Mitzva see my post @TamirEvan
    – user15464
    Jan 11, 2019 at 10:03

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