Business Ethics: Laborers, Loans, Lost Objects

Laborers

Paying Day Laborers

You may pay a laborer at whatever time intervals you agreed upon; you do not need to pay the laborer each day before sunset unless you agreed to do that. If you did not make any agreement, follow local custom. If there is no local custom, pay by the end of the work day.

Loans

Loans: Witnessing/Writing Details

You must have a witness or write down the details of an agreement before loaning money or material goods. Both parties should count the money together unless there is a written record, as with electronic transfers, checks, etc.

Note: If the amount is so small that the lender would not mind its not being paid back, it is customary to lend without a written record or witness.

Loans: Charging Interest (Ribit)

General Law on Heter Iska

A Jew is not permitted to charge interest (ribit) for a loan made to another Jew. A heter iska should be used in any case where a loan has been made between Jews if more money will be paid back than what was received.

Note: In some cases, if you prepay for a purchase and thereby get a discount, it might be considered as interest paid on a loan, and you would need a heter iska.

Charging Interest: Loans or Borrowed Items

Prohibitions of charging interest (ribit) apply only to loans of money or a commodity (halva'a), not to borrowed items (she'eila):

1.  Loan/Halva'a

You do not get back the exact item you loaned but, rather, some equivalent of the original, such as money. The borrower may not give back more than he/she borrowed and the recipient may not accept more. Even saying “thanks” is considered to be a form of interest.

2.  Borrowed Items/She'eila

The original item is returned to the loaner (for example, borrowing a car), and there is no prohibition of paying more than what was originally received.

Heter Iska in Normal Language

If you use a heter iska for a loan, the document should be in English or whatever is the normal language of both parties.

Returning Lost Objects (Hashavat Aveida)

You are required to return a lost object (hashavat aveida) to its Jewish owner if you can. This is a Torah commandment.

Note: It is saintly behavior to return lost objects to non-Jews, too, if it will be a kiddush Hashem.

Note: You should tell a person if his or her cigarettes fall out of a pocket, even though the cigarettes are dangerous to the smoker's health.

Shmita and Cancellation of Debts

Shmita applies to debts in our era, but the normal requirement of forgiving debts may be circumvented via a document (prozbul).

Taking Items

You may not take items that do not belong to you even if they are worth less than a shava pruta, unless the items have no perceived value. Copyright 2015 Richard B. Aiken. Halacha L’Maaseh appears courtesy of www.practicalhalacha.com Visit their web site for more information.

This material is provided for informational purposes only – not a substitute for the consultation of a competent rabbi.