At no time has the threat of gezel been so great. We
live in an economy where things are bought and sold without
any connection between the buyer and seller: where it can
take years to pay for a purchase; where machines are more
involved with recording payments than people and where people
may keep running tabs in a dozen different establishments.
These are just a few of the factors which can lead people to
unintentionally be guilty of some sort of gezel. And
to religious Jews who try to be punctilious in their
observance of halochoh, this is frightening.
The laws of theft and all its related issues like
ono'oh, are very complex and not always intuitive to
those raised on Western ethics. It is very important to get
competent halachic guidance tailored to your specific
situation and circumstances.
In simpler times, when people lived in small communities and
most financial transactions took place in cash, the most dire
pitfall was if someone didn't count their change or made a
mistake in reckoning. [Of course, in those times, weighing
merchandise accurately was more of a pitfall.] This could
easily be remedied the next time a patron frequented a store,
but nowadays, when we charge things over the phone or
Internet, across distances of continents, have two or three
credit cards or pay for things long term, are paid at the end
of the month and have running overdrafts, this can lead to
miscalculations and errors which may never be caught.
Let me illustrate with an example. I decided to buy instant
jello in a neighborhood supermarket. I bought two boxes. The
price on one box was NIS 6.15, on another NIS 4.90. The cash
register recorded 6.50 on the 4.90 box. Three different
prices for the same item. The supplier happened to be in the
store so I asked him about it. He told me that the woman who
put the prices on had made a mistake and they are all 6.15.
Noice how many people are involved with pricing an item. If
any one of them makes a mistake, it could cause problems. And
this is true for each item purchased.
I recently changed banks which has involved me in rearranging
all my payments. I had no idea how many standing bank orders
(horaot keva) I had. I also had no idea how much money
was being paid out through them. If you pay via the bank,
mistakes can be made with discrepancies on either side. We
pay for so many services: health fund, national insurance,
insurance policies, utilities, city property taxes etc. and
we don't always keep track of who owes whom what. And how can
we? Who has time to check every bill, every bank payment,
every service charge from every transaction at every
establishment? Many of these payments are linked to the cost-
of-living index. This isn't to mention every interest charge
which is questionable, with or without a heter iska.
All this makes me very nervous.
Many people offer discounts or throw in free gifts or
samples. If these people are storeowners, there is no
problem, but often, workers for companies or stores will do
this. Do they have the authority to do so?
Many things are paid for in dollars, a foreign currency in
Israel. If you are renting an apartment and give post-dated
checks for a year, do these have to be adjusted each month
for fluctations in the cost-of- living index? You must agree
on this one way or the other with the landlord, and don't
forget to ask the rov how to write it.
Many employers offer refunds for employees' expenses, be
these transportation, food, clothing. Some employers give a
set amount; others refund on a per item basis. This requires
employees to be scrupulously honest in their accounting. If
you are given an allowance for a monthly bus ticket, but get
a ride one way often enough so that you don't buy that
ticket, are you allowed to claim the full price? An expense
account is subject to a lot of stumbling blocks.
If you work by the hour, many companies round off the hours.
Do you owe your employer for all those extra minutes that add
up to hours over the course of the year? There are employers
and rabbis who will answer such questions but do we consult
with them? Non- religious employers may look at you like
you're crazy if you ask them about such issues. Of course,
doing so is a kiddush Hashem.
The bottom line is that we are responsible for our earning
and spending and we have to be careful. I would like to offer
a list of suggestions, which is by no means complete, on how
to reduce the possibility of financial problems. If we make
every effort to be scrupulously honest with our employers,
our banks, the social services and the establishments we
frequent, we can hope that at the end of the year all of our
unintentional indiscretions have been sorted out by Divine
Providence and that our Celestial ledgers balance, but we
must make our careful efforts -- including seeking rabbinical
advice -- or the price we pay may be very high.
SUGGESTIONS
1. Pay for as much as possible in cash immediately and count
your change and check your receipt/bill.
2. Balance your checkbook at the end of the month and make
sure all the checks you paid out were cashed, and for the
correct amount!
3. Watch the cashier as she rings up your purchases to make
sure the price of the item or the specials advertised match
the price on the register. Once you've left the store,
chances are you won't bother to return for a small sum --
either way.
4. Anytime you get a salary slip, bank statement, bill or
receipt, check the numbers. It's a pain, it takes time, but
it is a good idea. You often catch mistakes that cost you a
lot of money and so it pays off.
5. Have as few standing bank orders as possible.
6. Get rid of your credit cards or all but one if you
absolutely have to have one. This eliminates service fees and
interest.
7. If you're bad at this stuff, either take a course and
learn money management skills, or get an accountant.
8. Make sure you sign a heter iska at any place that
requires one.
9. If you were paid extra by mistake or by rounding off
expense accounts or hours worked, adjust the next month's
report.
10. Keep meticulous records of whom you've paid, to whom you
owe money, how much you've earned, how much
tzedoka/maaser you've given, as well as every bill or
receipt, bank statement and salary slip [best done the day
they arrive] so that you can go back and check if you catch a
mistake.
11 - 12. Be sure you're allowed to take advantage of special
offers, discounts, free samples, time off etc. Do so.
13. Have terms accounting for every possible eventuality
written into contracts, leases, service agreements,
warranties. It saves many problems later.
14. Always consult with a halachic authority if you have a
question or there's a financial disagreement between you and
someone else. It isn't worth making these decisions by
yourself.
15. Do things by the book. Ask for and give a receipt even if
it isn't a formal one. There are fewer fuzzy areas ("But you
said" "But I meant") when things are in writing.
16. Frequent the same stores as much as possible. Not only
does this loyalty earn you interpersonal as well as financial
benefits but it's easier to ask for mutual pardon, at the end
of the year, for errors.
17. Ask and grant people mechila at the end of the
year. Anyone can make a mistake, and if you forgive,
hopefully Hashem will, too.
18. Have an organized wallet and change purse so that you
know how much money you're carrying around and how much you
give the cashier.
19. Avoid debt. Avoid overdraft. Avoid anything connected to
interest.
20. Pay all your bills on time.
21. Charge less than you have to. Make sure you charge fairly
for your services and pay fairly for the ones you receive.
May we all be spared the sin of theft and be spared being
cheated as well.
