The Great Shul Clean Up: A Halachic Analysis

By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for 5tjt.com

It was a remarkable Hoshana Rabba,with many more people in attendance than expected.  There were seforim, chumashim, and siddurim everywhere.  They were piled on the tables and were not in their shelves.  The Gabbai was at a complete loss as to how he could manage to once again restore the shul and its seforim to its former pristine and organized state.

One of those present, noticing the Gabbai’s befuddled predicament, approached him and remarked, “For 500 shekels (about $150), I could arrange the seforim after Yom Tov back to their state.”

The Gabbai heartily agreed.

ON Motzai Yom Tov, the enterprising young man gave a klap on the Bima and said something along the lines of this:

“Morai verabbosai, Seforim, sidduring, chumashim contain within them – remarkable Kedusha.  The performance of any act of Chessed is indicative of us being descendants of Avrohom Avinu – who symbolized pure chessed.  One who puts back seforim in their proper place is considered by the Torah as having established the very Torah itself.  Please, if everyone present can put back just 5 seforim onto the shelves where they belong – just 5 seforim each – it would be an extraordinary act of chessed.  Thank you!”

Within a matter of minutes – the entire shul was restored to its former state of glory.  When the enterprising young man approached the Gabbai for his 500 shekels, the Gabbai responded, “I never agreed to pay you for something that the entire tzibbur is doing – I agreed to pay you for you doing the work.”

What is the halacha?  Should the Gabbai pay or is there some sort of Gnaivas Daas involved here?

When the question was presented to Rav Yitzchok Zilberstein shlita, his initial thinking was that the case was somewhat comparable to that of the Talmud Yerushalmi (Brachos 7:2) wherein Shimon ben Shetach had 300 Nezirim that had to bring 3 korbanos each.  He convinced Yannai Malka – the king to meet their needs with 450 animals.  Shimon Ben Shetach met the needs of the other half by finding a way to be matir the neder.  When asked about it, Shimon Ben Shetach responded that Yannai Malka addressed the situation with his monetary possessions.  He addressed their needs with Torah possession.

However, Rav Zilbershtein was unsure whether the cases were comparable because the Shul clean-up case perhaps involved Genaivas Daas.  The people present were unaware that the gentleman making the request was making money on the venture and perhaps they would not have been so forthcoming in their assistance had they known.

When Rav Zilberstein presented it to Rav Nissim Karelitz zt”l, he responded that the Gabbai is not obligated to pay for Gnaivas Daas.  The story is cited in Vavei HaAmudim #74 siman 63.

Generally speaking, the prohibition of geneivas daas, is defined as fooling or deceiving others in physical practice. The Gemara in Chullin (94a) cites Shmuel as saying that the prohibition applies to everyone.

The Gemara in Chulin 94a cites a Baraisah which discusses four examples given by Rabbi Meir of things that are forbidden on account of the issue of geneivas daas. 1] It is forbidden to repeatedly invite someone to a meal when you know that he will refuse 2] It is forbidden to repeatedly offer gifts when you know that he will refuse 3] It is forbidden to appear to up a new barrel of wine (when one is actually opening it for a previous sale) unless one informs him of the real reason he has opened it [the underlying issue is that the wine will not last as long now that the barrel is open and it is a big favor to the guest] 4] It is forbidden to offer someone oil from an empty flask to anoint oneself when one knows full well that the person will refuse it. If, however, he is offering the oil to show (others – Rashi) his fondness for the person it is permitted.

We see, therefore, that geneivas daas is violated even if there is a non-financial deception. This is true in the case of asking for a chessed when one is getting paid and the others do not know.

WORSE THAN LYING

In regard to the verse of midvar sheker tirchak stay away from a false matter, there is a three way debate as to how we understand this pasuk. The Chofetz Chaim rules in his ahavas chessed that there is an out and out prohibition to lie. This is in accordance with the view of some Rishonim. Other Rishonim hold that the verse is merely good advice, but not halacha. A third opinion holds that it is applicable to judges adjudicating law. Generally speaking, the view of the Chofetz Chaim is normative halacha.

The prohibition of deceiving, however, is a clear out and out prohibition according to all opinions. According to the Sefer Yereim and the Ritvah it is a biblical prohibition. According to the Smak the prohibition is derabanan. But all hold that it is a full blown prohibition.

SIMILAR CASE OF GENEIVAS DAAS

The Mishna in Bava Metzia (59b) tells us that it is forbidden to mix older produce with newer produce and sell them together as one package. This is a parallel to our case, but our case is worse since in the whiskey only the inferior product is being presented. The Gemorah in Bava Metziah 60b has more cases where a seller makes animals and animal skins look newer through artificial means. These too are forbidden on account of Geneivas daas. While it is true that these cases in Bava Metziah are dealing with a sale, but if we combine this with the Braisah in Chullin then we have a parallel.

Does everyone agree to this? It would seem that it may well be a debate in the Rishonim. The Rashba in Chullin (94a) and the Rosh (Perek 18) hold that if the item is a matana, a gift – there is no prohibition of Geneivas daas.  Tosfos (Chullin 94b DHM “Amar”) and the Ritva (Chullin 94b “Rav Ashi”) hold that it does apply even by a free gift. How do we understand the distinction between the cases of the braisah and the free gift according to those authorities who hold that it is not considered Geneivas daas? It would seem that since the deceiver is giving something to the person – that makes up a bit for the deception.

OTHER APPLICATIONS OF GENEIVAS DAAS

There are a number of other contemporary applications of this prohibition that apply according to all Rishonim. These applications apply across the board in numerous industries.

SOCKPUPPETING

In the age of the internet, a number of people adopt other identities. While anonymity is permitted, when it is used to give off the impression that person X is really someone else – this is clear Geneivas daas. There are magazines and newspapers that do this as a matter of course, where letters to the editor are printed by an author of an article that he himself had penned.

FALSE HEADLINES

Sometimes a newsmagazine or paper will create a false headline to get the reader to read the story. This too is a violation of Geneivas daas. It further causes the reader to waste time, if that is not what he or she would have wanted to read. In the modern internet age or on FaceBook, there is something called “Clickbait.” Headlines are designed to lure the reader into clicking and reading. This is permitted as long as there is no Geneivas daas involved.

PHONY AMAZON REVIEWS

If a company produces a product they will often be tempted to write their own reviews and post them on Amazon.com. This too would clearly be a case of geneivas daas. It falsely gives off the impression that there are more readers as well as falsely inflating up the rate of satisfaction.

FALSELY REPORTING INTERNET HITS

There are websites and papers that falsely report their internet traffic or distribution. This too is Geneivas daas, deceiving those who think that the site receives more visitors than it actually does, or deceiving its advertisers. Falsely inflating how many issues are printed is also geneivas daas.

SERIOUS ISSUE

There is a fascinating Shaarei Teshuva (3:181) which states that the leniency of “mutar l’shanos mipnei hashalom, sometimes it is permitted to tell a white lie to maintain peace” does not apply to Geneivas daas. Geneivas daas is an important and essential value in Torah Judaism. Whether it is pouring Red Label into a Blue Label bottle, or inflating web hits, printing numbers, or using false emails to create wrong impressions, we must realize that it is a serious halachic issue that should not be ignored or trampled upon.

The author can be reached at [email protected].