Is It Stealing If I Take From My Shul, School, Organization etc. Which I’m A Member Of? – Whats The Halacha? [#42]

Is It Stealing If I Take From My Shul, School, Organization etc. Which I'm A Member Of? - Whats The Halacha?

Video Transcription

Today we're going to be discussing the halacha question of whether or not it is considered stealing when you steal from an institution that, let's say, you are part of. Let's say, it's a tzedakah organization or a yeshivah, or something like that, where the money was donated for a public cause. Therefore, you want to know if taking from that public cause, which you are technically part of, is considered stealing. Or maybe it's not, because really you have a part in that thing itself.

The sefer we're bringing today is Halachos of Other People's Money, by Rabbi Yisroel Pinchos Bodner. He brings over here that stealing from an institution, a yeshivah, a shul, or any public chesed organization, would indeed be considered stealing and ganeivah. A person cannot say that, hey, this organization is funded by Klal Yisrael and I'm also part of Klal Yisrael and I have rights to these things. A person cannot say, since it's a public entity, and he's part of it, so he's allowed to access those items without the permission of the people in charge.

He brings over here that the halacha is that the management of the institution are empowered with the rights to how the things should be assessed.

He gives an example. It can happen in other cases, just the example over here is that there is a yeshivah and they have a kitchen and they lock the food in the kitchen. If some other people want to get some food late at night when the kitchen is locked, you are not allowed to break into the kitchen or open the door and go in and take food without the permission of the management, even though it is a public institution or a shul or something like that.

Because in such cases, the halacha is that the rights and the empowerment of who decides how the funding is used goes into the hands of the management. And if you would go against the will of the management, it would be considered stealing.

__________________________________________________________________________________

***Please note that these halachos are intended to inform and educate the reader/listener in general. For any specific questions which arise, it is recommended to speak over the exact case with a competent halachic authority in order to assess the halacha accordingly as any small change will greatly affect the final halacha. You can send your questions in to us as well by replying via WhatsApp to our halacha Q & A number on the group, sending an email to Ask@MoneyHalacha.com, or via our contact page at MoneyHalacha.com/contact-us

__________________________________________________________________________________

Transcription Provided By:

E-mail: transcriptionlm@gmail.com     Tel: +972-53-986-0645