Q&A: Obligated to Pay
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
Obligated to Pay
Question
A person trespassed into another’s field, plowed it, and sowed it. The owner of the field is obligated to pay him. Is that because he improved his field and increased its income, or rather because he provided him with a service worth money, or both? What if the produce came out blighted?
Answer
You are getting into a major Talmudic topic, and this is not the place for it. In any case, he is not paid labor costs when they exceed the added value.