Q&A: Half a Measure in Theft. Hello Rabbi. I heard a recorded lecture in which the Rabbi said that there is no theft with half a perutah, because it has no purchasing power. My question: if someone stole half a perutah and then another half from the same person— from the thief’s side these were two separate acts, each of which is exempt, but from the victim’s side he lost the purchasing power of a full perutah. How would Jewish law be determined here? Thank you, Hanoch
Half a Measure in Theft. Hello Rabbi. I heard a recorded lecture in which the Rabbi said that there is no theft with half a perutah, because it has no purchasing power. My question: if someone stole half a perutah and then another half from the same person— from the thief’s side these were two separate acts, each of which is exempt, but from the victim’s side he lost the purchasing power of a full perutah. How would Jewish law be determined here? Thank you, Hanoch
Question
Answer
Some of the medieval authorities (Rishonim) imply that the rule of “half a measure” does not apply to money. Therefore, half a perutah is not considered money at all, and there is no prohibition involved in it. According to their view, it is quite clear that even if he steals another half perutah, he has not violated a prohibition, since it is not fit to combine. But if half a perutah is viewed as a half-measure—and the reason one does not violate theft is because the victim waives it—then it is possible that if he steals another half perutah, it is fit to combine and there would be a prohibition here. But the straightforward conclusion seems to be that in any case there is no combining here, since each act in itself is not full-fledged theft. This is similar to someone who ate half an olive-bulk of pork and then another half olive-bulk. If it was not within one lapse of awareness or under one warning, they do not combine.