Returning Apples
QUESTION 47: RETURNING APPLES
My wife said that she bought 5 apples at a local market,
and that they tasted spoiled. I returned the apples,
and they gave me $1.50 back. When I got home, my wife
admitted that she wasn't absolutely sure she had gotten
the apples from that store. Am I obligated to return
the money?
RABBI BELSKY
If it may have been from a different store, you just
got $1.50 that may be not coming to you. How could
you be clear about whether that money belongs to you?
You got it under false pretenses, and must give it back.
QUESTIONER
So there's the question of percentages again. If I
asked her, "What percentage are you sure that you went
to this store, as opposed to another store?" Let's say
there are only four stores where she shops, at the
very least it's a 25% chance that this was the store
where she bought the bad apples.
RABBI BELSKY
In this case, as well, I don't see how you can keep
the money.
NEXT WEEK'S QUESTION 48: BUS DRIVERS
There are many bus drivers who work for Monsey
Trails, and some are more aggressive in traffic
than others. In the morning, when people looking
in can see us in tallis etc, I've sometimes wondered
if more aggressive driving could lead to a chillul
Hashem. How concerned should the bus driver, the
passengers, and the bus company be about this? If
a bus driver does something overly aggressive, is it
the passenger's responsibility, halachically (according
to Jewish Law), to say something to him or talk to the
bus company? Should the bus company have a clearly
written policy about guidelines concerning this? If
a bus driver wants to avoid the possibility of chillul
Hashem entirely, and be extra polite in his driving,
and as a result gets his 40 passengers home 15 minutes
later, is it still his obligation, or right, to do so?
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