The Halachot of overcharging and underpaying By Dayan David Grossman, Rosh Bet HaVaad On her way back from driving her daughter’s carpool, Sarah spotted a yard sale on a side street. An elderly Jewish woman had passed away and her children were eager to sell her house and her belongings. Never one to pass up a bargain, Sarah decided to see what was being offered. She found a … [Read more...]

Debt Settlement in Halacha By Dayan Baruch Meir Levine We all take on too much. Often customers invest in their businesses with the hope that they will be able to advance only to find that the specific venture was not profitable and they are left with a pile of bills. Let us take the example of a customer who had fallen on hard times and had outstanding bills to the tune … [Read more...]

Making or breaking a binding letter of understanding according to Halacha By Dayan Yehoshua Wolfe Businesses cannot run without a sense of certainty that deals or agreements between parties will not be suddenly aborted or changed. To secure this, businesses often rely on a letter of understanding, also known as a letter of intent, which is a formal text, commonly used to … [Read more...]

Parking on your neighbor’s property and adverse possession in Halacha By Rav Shlomo Cohen, Dayan at Ahavas Shalom, Yerushalayim, Author of Pure Money Good fences make good neighbors, as the old adage goes. When neighbors live in close proximity, there are times when clear property lines must be drawn. However, what happens when a neighbor steps over the line? Can a person … [Read more...]

Are bank accounts considered tangible assets or an outstanding loan to a financial institution? By Dayan Shmuel B. Honigwachs Loan or Deposit? Thanks to modern-day banking, most of us can rest assured that our savings will not be lost due to theft or other natural causes. In the US and elsewhere, the government puts our minds at an even greater ease by insuring a certain … [Read more...]