Parshas Tazriah-Metzorah 5785
- Torah Tavlin
- May 2
- 2 min read
Monetary, Interpersonal Laws and Din Torah (28)
Before Yom Tov we had discussed a number of monetary laws regarding automobiles. We continue with related halachos.
Employee Who Saves on Car Fare. Question: There are a number of cases when an employer gives an employee extra money to pay for his transport to and from the work site. The employee would rather keep the money and walk. Is that justified, or perhaps since there was no no car fare, the money goes back to the boss? Two such examples I personally know about are as follows: A father hired a tutor to come to his home and learn with his son and the distance justified a cab ride, which he had no problem adding to the tutoring fee. The tutor decided to walk and keep the money. Another case involved a Mikva lady who often has to stay late for latecomers. The committee decided she is entitled to take a cab home at that late hour and they will pay her for it. She prefers to walk and keep the money.
Answer: The Poskim rule that in all these cases, since the person is going to extra trouble to save the money he or she is entitled to, they may walk and keep the money for themselves.
When Dayan Fisher zt”l (1) paskened on this question, he added an important detail. He said that if walking (instead of a cab) would somehow impair the job (he or she is tired, etc), then they are not permitted to do so and keep the money.
Addition: We are only discussing cases where the employee went to extra trouble to arrive at the workplace. However, if other circumstances arose which allowed the person to save on the car fare, such as getting a free ride or a hitch to work, it is not necessarily the same and a shaila must be asked to a Rav (2).
Scraped Paint of Car. Question: A driver scraped his car against another car. No real damage occurred to the victim’s car, but some paint was scraped off. Does he have to pay for it?
Answer: If the scrape is small enough that regular people would not fix it, there is no obligation to pay. If it is large enough that regular people would pay to have it fixed, there is a discussion among the Poskim if he is required to pay or not. Rav Elyashiv zt”l is quoted as ruling (3) that he does have to pay.
(1) שו"ת אבן ישראל ט:קנה (2) ע' תשב"ץ ג:קפו, ופתחי חושן פקדון יא:כב (3) הובא במשפט המזיק ח"א עמ' תע"ז