Parshas Behar-Bechukosai 5785
- Torah Tavlin
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
Monetary, Interpersonal Laws and Din Torah (31)
Ona’ah. Since we have been discussing the monetary laws of cars and transportation, and this week’s Parshas Behar contains the issue of Ona’ah, which refers to overcharging a customer by sales and rentals, it behooves us to examine a relevant case (which requires a Beis Din to issue a psak) in order to understand the main points and know how to avoid issurim.
Case. A French tourist came to Israel for a visit. At the end of his stay, he chose to go the Kosel and from there, take a cab to the airport. He flagged down a Jewish cab and asked how much it would be to the airport. The cab driver hearing the French accent, and seeing his wealthy garments, etc., saw a chance to take advantage of the man and told him, “700 NIS.” The Frenchman quickly paid by credit card. After they reached their destination, the tourist called a friend and told him how much he paid. His friend was surprised and told him that the trip should not cost more than 300 NIS max. The tourist was angry that he got ripped off and used his phone to cancel the payment. Soon after, the cabbie called him upset that he canceled the payment. “But you agreed to my price,” he argued. What would a Beis Din need to take into account in order to rule in this matter?
Halachic Considerations. The issur of Ona’ah, to overcharge [more than the range of normal pricing], applies to all items. Even things [ground, servants and documents] that are excluded from “after-deal” implications, which are voiding the sale by charging more than a sixth and returning the difference by overcharging a sixth, still have an issur. The driver committed a Torah-based issur, and should be rebuked not to do so again. The question is whether to pay the extra 400 NIS, or get back the 400 NIS if he already paid in cash, according to the laws of Ona’ah in C.M. (227). The driver’s comment that his passenger agreed to the price is invalid as it is obvious a foreign tourist doesn’t know the value of the journey and thought it was a fair price. The issue is if in this case the deal can be voided and a 300 NIS payment is enough, or if here there might be some technical details and exceptions to the laws of Ona’ah. We will continue IY”H next week.