Q&A: A Haredi Bought All the Beer in Order to Destroy It
A Haredi Bought All the Beer in Order to Destroy It
Question
Hello,
A story is brought here about a Haredi man who paid 83,200 NIS in order to destroy all the beer at a festival:
https://finance.walla.co.il/item/3743608
(It is unclear whether he actually bought it, and some people claim in the comments that even if he did, this is a monetary acquisition that is not recognized at the Torah level.)
What is the Rabbi's opinion on the matter?
Answer
From a halakhic standpoint there is no problem at all with the acquisition. First, what determines things is the law of the state, and according to it, money acquires movable property. In Jewish law as well, at the Torah level money acquires, and the Sages instituted that one must also physically take possession. And after all, he also took possession of it, at least of some of it. Beyond that, if you look at it halakhically, then the leavened food is like the dust of the earth, and it cannot really be acquired even if you want to acquire it. The Torah placed it in his domain only so that he would be in violation because of it. If so, now he himself has directly violated "it shall not be seen" and "it shall not be found." In addition, even if we assume he did not acquire it, so what if he did not acquire it?! He has the owners' permission to pour it out and destroy it all, and that is enough.
As for the substance of the matter, this is an absurd act with no value whatsoever. On the contrary, it causes only harm. Think of a person who buys all the merchandise in a given market and then distributes it only to secular people in order to prevent Haredim from buying it. That is of course legally valid, but ugly. And when this is done in the name of the Torah by someone who presents himself as loyal to it, it is a desecration of God's name beyond the moral problem, and beyond the fact that he has violated "it shall not be seen" and "it shall not be found." The guy invested a fortune in order to compile an impressive collection of transgressions for which he will be punished in the World to Come. Just an idiot.
Discussion on Answer
Whoever bought it is in violation, and would even receive lashes, because there is an action involved. Even if he bought it from a non-Jew. The leavened food is in his domain, and the Torah regards it as his for purposes of "it shall not be seen."
"Think of a person who buys all the merchandise in a given market and then distributes it only to secular people in order to prevent Haredim from buying it. That is of course legally valid, but ugly."
I really didn't understand what the problem is here, since in this case the beer was poured out!
Maybe I missed something?
You missed nothing except everything.
Regarding someone who bought it: I seem to remember that someone who has leavened food in his possession on Passover cannot sell it to a non-Jew and must destroy it from the world, because the sale cannot take effect. So how can it be that buying leavened food can take effect on Passover? After all, the selling side cannot sell it (assuming he is a Jew and not a non-Jew).
That is exactly what I wrote. It is not yours; rather, the Torah merely placed it in your domain so that you would be liable for it.
An innocent question:
If that person only paid so that the owner would agree to burn the leavened food, without his actually being a "buyer,"
do you still think that
1- he violated a prohibition?
2- it is an ugly act?
Why would he violate a prohibition? What prohibition is there in this if the leavened food is not his?
From a moral standpoint it is the same thing in my opinion.
Theoretically, if some Jew buys leavened food from another Jew on Passover, does the acquisition take effect? Does the buyer violate "it shall not be seen"?