Questions tagged [choshen-mishpat-civil-law]
Questions about the Jewish Code of monetary and civil law.
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Handing oneself in
I would like to know if one is obligated to hand oneself in to authorities if one committed a crime/sin and nobody caught them?
I would like to make this as general a question as the rules of the site ...
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Must an employer pay a living wage
In the USA many employees can’t afford to see a doctor because of the many bills, yet their employers are rich.
Are there sources in Judaism that require that an employer must provide for an employee ...
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Which laws were for just Israelites and which laws for Israelites and non proselyte foreigners
I have few specific verses and doubts related to them:
Leviticus 20:1-6 explicitly mentions that the particular law was to be followed by an Israelite and equally by a non proselyte Gentile.
Lev 20:1-...
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Which Mosaic laws did Nehan foreigners (immigrants that were not proselytes) had to follow while staying in Israel (long or short term)
I would like to know what Mosaic laws were non-proselyte residents in ancient Israel expected to keep?
I'll break that question for more clarity:
Did the non-proselyte have to follow at least Noahide ...
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Hashavas Aveida with changing forfeiture status
In an instance in which an object is found prior to forfeiture by despair ( Ye'ush) the finder is obligated to return the item. However, in an instance in which despair is presumed either implicitly ...
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Are gentiles accepted as witnesses by a Beis Din in civil law arbitrations?
I assume a gentile is not kosher to give eidus in general, (women, minors etc excluded - kal vekhomer gentiles..) although I may be mistaken.
But in a civil case brought before a beis din for ...
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A sefer that lists halachic/legal principles?
Is there a resource or sefer that lists halachic/legal principles found in the Gemara?
Examples of the principles I am referring to includes, מצות עשה דוחה לא תעשה, עוסק במצוה פטור במצוה, etc.
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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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Overview of Choshen Mishpat; please recommend sefer
I am not familiar enough with the laws of Choshen Mishpat. Can I please have a recommendation for a summary sefer that would give me an overview of the subject before going on to learning in Sh O ...
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Is one allowed to use neighbor's overhanging tree branches for schach?
The Shulchan Aruch in CM 155:26 rules that if the neighbor's overhanging tree branches present a nuisance, one is allowed to cut them until the property line.
Is one allowed to cut these branches if ...
user17319
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Hodaas Baal Din - Kinunya
Generally הודעת בעל דין כמאה עדים דמי, MiGzeiras Hakosuv. However, in a case of שחב לאחרים, where his admission to debt or the like would cause others some loss, the baal din still has Neemonus, ...
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Hacking paywalls on newsites?
Many news websites (NY Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post etc.) make use of paywalls which pop up after the visitor starts reading the article requiring the visitor to pay in order to ...
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Amazon driver left my package at the wrong address, can I retrieve it?
Amazon delivered my order to my Jewish neighbor's front porch. Until the item is on my property Amazon still owes me that item. A person's property can be used for a kinyan. What are the limits of ...
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May one bill two clients for the same hour
If Reuven is paying Levi an amount per hour to do a task and Reuven already began doing it but he needs to wait for a computer to process and it'll take an hour or two to complete. May Levi do work ...
- 1,414
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What is the halacha about lying to a Non-Jew?
Can one lie to a non Jewish person?
If the answer is Yes, are there certain cases where you can't?
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Overly broad definition of Chametz in sale contract
I was reviewing the language of a mechirat chametz contract I had been sent and noticed some unusual specific language defining the parameters of the sale:
...The term 'Chometz' shall refer to any ...
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Can one sell chametz during a pandemic
The halachic transfer of property between parties (chaloth kinyan) conventionally involves a physical exchange of a tangible object (maaseh kinyan). For example, the rabbi of the synagogue I used to ...
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Tuition obligation during corona crisis
Is one obligated to continue to pay tuition to a Jewish day school when it closes due to an unforeseen/unforeseeable situation, such as the current coronavirus pandemic? (Assume a standard school ...
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What ages could a "rebellious son" be?
Deuteronomy 21 gives a rule regarding rebellious sons.
When a man has a wayward, rebellious son, who does not obey his father and mother, they shall have him flogged.
If he still does not listen to ...
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Is it forbidden to buy bad merchandise in order to get a refund?
The background:
I bought neodymium magnets from China off of ebay.
The magnets were NOT neodymium and the item was not as good as I expected.
This is a common Chinese practice on ebay. The Chinese ...
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Justice, mercy and halacha?
The prophet Micah said: Micah 6:8
It has been told you, O man, what is good and what the Lord requires of you:
Only to act justly [‘asot mishpat], to love mercy [ahavat chesed], and to walk ...
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Secular law vs. Halacha: is this theft?
In a case where secular law is at odds with Halacha, and one goes to a secular court to claim that which he is entitled to in secular law but not by Halacha, I know that he is transgressing chilul ...
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Black? I ordered it dyed red!
The משנה in בבא קמא (9:4, as explained by the רע״ב and קהתי) says that if I give wool to a dyer to dye red, and he dyes it black instead, then he must return the black wool to me, and I must pay him ...
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Why is the talmud concerned about judges being swayed by each other only for capital cases?
Sanhedrin 4:2 teaches that in a monetary case or one involving (im)purity, judges give their opinions starting with the most senior, while in a capital case they begin with the most junior. In the g'...
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Understanding the split payments for embarrassment in Kesubos 6:1
Kesubos 6:1 says:
מְצִיאַת הָאִשָּׁה וּמַעֲשֵׂה יָדֶיהָ, לְבַעְלָהּ. וִירֻשָּׁתָהּ, הוּא אוֹכֵל פֵּרוֹת בְּחַיֶּיהָ. בָּשְׁתָּהּ וּפְגָמָהּ, שֶׁלָּהּ. רַבִּי יְהוּדָה בֶן בְּתֵירָא אוֹמֵר, בִּזְמַן ...
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Is translation of copyrighted material permitted?
Is there any violation in Halacha if someone translates copyrighted material to a dialect for the sole purpose of making it into a book so that people who do not know the dialect could benefit from it ...
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What Jewish monetary laws defy common logic?
While most laws stem from the Sages' logic presented in the Gemmorah, there is a subset of Halochos called Hukim (decrees) that are to be taken without understanding their reasoning.
Are there Hukim ...
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Commentaries on aruch hashulchan
Did anyone write a peirush on aruch hashulchan?(on the choshen mishpat part) I am looking for a english or hebrew commentary.
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What responsibility does a current tenant have to warn a prospective future tenant?
A tenant is leaving the property he had rented at the end of the contract period. The landlord has arranged for prospective future tenants to view the property, while the current tenant is still there....
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Is "Any laws" better than "No laws"?
One of the seven Noahide laws, applicable to all humankind, is: Establish courts of justice. The implication is that there must be law and order in a healthy society. But these laws can be vicious, ...
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Rabbi's liability for giving a wrong psak
Companion question to Questioner's liability for receiving a wrong psak.
Let's say that someone asks his Rav, for example, if a certain food is Kosher, and the Rav paskens that it is not, and ...
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Why verbally hurting one's wife is found in Choshen Mishpat?
צריך ליזהר באונאת אשתו לפי שדמעתה מצויה:
(C"M 228)
I understand that the whole chapter is about fraud (הונאה) and לשון נופלת על לשון, but the question is:
Does the fact that haMechaber listed ...
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What is a refund considered, halachically?
If I return something to the store to get a refund, is that equivalent to declaring the original sale a mekach ta’us, a mistaken sale, and the refund is returning the money which is rightfully mine? ...
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What are the halakhic considerations when it comes to patronizing a business whose workers are on strike?
Crossing a picket line and patronizing a business whose workers are on strike, against the will of the workers, is a controversial action with some people saying it should never be done. I read an ...
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Estate of a convert whose only possible heir is just that: only a possible heir
The last mishna in chapter 11 of Y'vamos says that if a woman didn't wait long between two marriages and therefore we don't know whether her son, say Samuel, is from the first husband, Aaron, or the ...
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Is a car considered movable or immovable property?
The Mishnah (Kiddushin 1:5) differentiates between how one acquires movable and immovable property (translation follows Yachin):
נְכָסִים שֶׁיֵּשׁ לָהֶם אַחֲרָיוּת נִקְנִין בְּכֶסֶף וּבִשְׁטָר ...
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Taking ownership by writing one's name on an item
A person replaced a 3 seat sofa and took the old one down to the building's Chatzer and willingly Hefkered it. He advertised it online to come and take it for free, mentioning it is in the Chatzer.
A ...
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Convert, Orphan, Widow possible immunity
In Devarim 24:17
לֹא תַטֶּה מִשְׁפַּט גֵּר יָתוֹם וְלֹא תַחֲבֹל בֶּגֶד אַלְמָנָה.
You shall not subvert the rights of the stranger or the fatherless; you shall not take a widow’s garment in ...
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Using a siddur to Daven from in a seforim store
There are many seforim stores that have a minyan for Mincha in the store. If someone were to use a siddur from the store in order to daven with that minyan in a way that there's no perceived damage on ...
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Does promising salvation in return to a donation border on fraud?
I have mixed feelings about very common (in Israel) advertisements like this one:
(the ad says: "32 orphans are getting married and YOU ARE GRANTED SALVATION"... each one who donates 320 NIS WILL, ...
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Paying damages for rerouting flood to neighbor's property
Are you obligated to pay for damage done to a neighbor's property if you redirect a river from flooding your property which then hits another house down the street. (i.e. You place sandbags in front ...
- 13.2k
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Unpaid Guardian Holding Object
If there was no duration assigned originally, when must an unpaid guardian return an object he was protecting? (e.g., Tom guards Harry's money for a couple weeks for free, but when Harry returns to ...
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How to beware of the prohibition of Ona'a?
When learning about Ona'a (ShuA CM רכ"ז) I notice, that despite the long list of Halochos there are no measures of prevention mentioned either for the seller or the buyer(as far as I could see).
I ...
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Can G-d be put in Charem
I came across this article:
The Time Has Come for God to Reveal the Messiah, Says Jerusalem’s Chief Rabbi.
The jist of the article that Chief Rabbi Amar and two other Rabbis announced as a ruling ...
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Who’s stealing from whom?
Reuven is head of an institution and is paid by the board for specific hours of work for the members.
Reuven is late every day by 15 minutes.
The members complain to the board that Reuven gives 15 ...
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Difference between "בני העיר" and "בני המדינה"
Shu"a C"M 231, 27:
"רשאים בני העיר לקוץ להם שער לכל דבר שירצו ולהתנות ביניהם שכל מי שיעבור קונסים אותו כך וכך: "
ibid 15:
"בני מדינה שרצו להוסיף על המדות או על המשקלות לא יוסיפו יותר על שתות"
...
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Shoveling snow on to the neighbor's lawn or the street
Reuven and Shim'on are neighbors. They haven't discussed this matter, and Shim'on isn't available to consult. When Reuven is shoveling snow off of his walk, may he throw it onto Shim'on's lawn? Assume ...
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Do I have first rights to slaughter on the day I buy a child or parent animal?
Rule:
וְשׁ֖וֹר אוֹ־שֶׂ֑ה אֹת֣וֹ וְאֶת־בְּנ֔וֹ לֹ֥א תִשְׁחֲט֖וּ בְּי֥וֹם אֶחָֽד׃
However, no animal from the herd or from the flock shall be slaughtered on the same day with its young.
If I purchase ...
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Where's the Ketzos Hachoshen about hashava?
I remember many years ago learning a ketzos who quotes an acharon (with a name similar to sason, I think) that the monetary obligation incumbent on a thief flows from the torah's commandment to return ...
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Is there an "implied" liability for damages caused after something was fixed?
You had a leak under your kitchen sink. You called someone to fix the broken pipe. The person fixes it and makes sure that the pipe no longer leaks.
You use the sink "normally" (i.e., you didn't "...
- 69.6k