Q&A: My bad luck — I was sitting on it at the moment it died.
My bad luck — I was sitting on it at the moment it died.
Question
I was hired to keep watch in a house. I sat on the swivel chair and started doing an excellent job of guarding.
Suddenly the chair fell apart with absolutely no provocation on my part.
It had simply reached the end of its days. Even beforehand it was already basically on its deathbed. It’s just my poor luck that I myself was the one chosen to be sitting on it at the moment it died.
I don’t feel like fixing it, and I definitely don’t feel comfortable announcing that I broke it. And don’t worry, there are plenty of others on whom it can be pinned.
Do I need to let them know?
In any case, the damage is probably very slight, really close to an amount that people don’t care much about.
Answer
By strict Jewish law, you are not obligated to pay for it (similar to an animal that died in the course of its normal work), and therefore there is also no obligation to inform them.