Lifnei Iver - Ordering for Another

QUESTION: My neighbor who is not religious asked me to buy him a sandwich that I know is not kosher. If I refuse, he can go to the store himself or order it for delivery. Am I permitted to buy the non-kosher food for him?

ANSWER: Regarding the Torah prohibition of lifnei iver, there is a difference between enabling one to sin when they otherwise could not perform the forbidden action (which is a Torah prohibition) and enabling someone to sin who can do so without your intervention (which is not a Torah prohibition). In our case, since the neighbor can purchase the food even without your help, buying it for him is not a Torah prohibition. However, poskim write there is a Rabbinic prohibition known as “misayeiya”, which means assisting a Jew to sin, even if he can perform the sin without your help. The Shach (151:6) explains that since there is a mitzvah to give tochocho (rebuke) to dissuade a Jew from sinning, it is certainly forbidden to help him sin, which is the exact opposite of rebuke. However, if you know that the person is a “mumar” (one who willfully sins and is beyond listening to rebuke), then there is no longer a mitzvah to give such a person tochocho, and assisting him is not a violation of “misayeiya.” However, Yalkut Yosef (Shabbos, siman 307, n. 18) points out that the Rema and many other poskim disagree with the Shach and require giving rebuke even when it is known that the person will not listen (see Beiur Halacha 608, s.v. aval). According to these poskim, the prohibition of “misayeiya” will apply in all cases. Therefore, one should avoid purchasing non-kosher food for a neighbor, even though he can acquire it on his own.

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The Gerald & Karin Feldhamer OU Kosher Halacha Yomis is dedicated to the memory of Rav Yisroel Belsky, zt"l, who served as halachic consultant for OU Kosher for more than 28 years; many of the responses in Halacha Yomis are based on the rulings of Rabbi Belsky. Subscribe to the Halacha Yomis daily email here.