Parshas Chayei Sarah 5786
- Torah Tavlin
- Nov 13
- 2 min read
Monetary, Interpersonal Laws and Din Torah (53)
Question. Reuven needs to go on a trip on unfamiliar roads and asks to borrow Shimon’s GPS. Reuven says that he doesn’t know how to use it, so Shimon enters the address information into the device beforehand. When Reuven arrives at his destination, he locks the car properly, however, thieves break into the car and steal the GPS. Is Reuven obligated to pay for the stolen item?
Answer. In some cases he is obligated like all borrowers who must pay even for unlikely damage [oness], and in some cases he is exempt as the borrower is deemed, "בעליו עמו" - owner is doing work for him, which exempts the borrower (1). If Reuven took the GPS from Shimon and then asks him to program it, Reuven immediately became a Shoel - borrower. Nothing afterwards takes that away, and Reuven must pay. But if Shimon programs it as Reuven borrows it, it is "בעליו עמו" - the owner was working for the borrower (2). To be precise, Shimon started to go and give the item to Reuven. He handed it over [the point at which Reuven becomes a shoel] and then once it was placed in Reuven’s car, Shimon programmed the device. In that way, Shimon was in the middle of doing work for Reuven at the time the borrowing started and the exemption applies. As explained in Choshen Mishpat (3) the borrower (Reuven) is not only exempt from unforeseen losses, but even from negligence, such as leaving the car door unlocked.
Does the owner have a way of removing this exemption from the borrower? Yes, if at the time of borrowing, the owner stipulates that he will lend and program it on the condition that the borrower must return it or pay, the condition is valid and the borrower must pay (4).
Returned. Even though a shoel is exempt in the above case, that’s only if it wasn’t returned. However, the shoel is obligated to watch the GPS and do all that he can to ensure that it does not get stolen.
Shlichas Yad. The Ketzos (5) and Nesivos (6) both rule that if a shomer or shoel use the item in a manner not allowed by the owner (שליחת יד), they are obligated even if "בעליו עמו". Thus, it would seem that if the shoel kept the GPS a day longer than agreed upon, making his usage like gezel, theft, he is obligated to pay even if the item was ruined from usage (מתה מחמת מלאכה).
(1) חו"מ שמ"ו (2) שמות כב:יד (3) חו"מ שם (4) שם רמו:ד (5) ריש רמ"ו (6) רצא:לד