Ask the Rabbi #139

1 March 1997; Issue #141

This issue is sponsored Herschel Kulefsky, Attorney at Law
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Contents:

The Merchant of Vegas

Legal Language

Answer to Yiddle Riddle

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The Merchant of Vegas

Contents

Lee Vyner wrote:

Dear Rabbi,
The Talmud says that someone who earns their salary from gambling is invalid as a witness in a Jewish court because the person who lost doesn't really pay with a full heart. Therefore, the money that he wins is considered theft. If so, what about the stock market? People literally gamble as to the price of a particular commodity or stock, and the person who has a holding of this particular item certainly does not want the price to deteriorate. So is someone who gambles on the stock market invalid as a witness? Lots of love, Lee Mandy and Laivy Avraham (the cutest baby in the world bi'h)

Dear Lee and family,

Stocks are a legitimate investment. Buying stocks is essentially no different than buying diamonds, land, or wheat. True, the stock market has an element of risk, but don't confuse `lost wages' with `Las Vegas.' Do you know of any business which involves no element of risk? If so, do you know their phone number?

Gambling, on the other hand, is a game where each person hopes to guess the right number on the dice, or pick the right horse. Gamblers are invalid as witnesses in a Jewish court.

The Sages of the Talmud differ as to why gamblers are invalid. According to one opinion, someone who wins a bet is like a thief, because he collects prize money that he didn't `earn' and to which he has no true legal claim.

According to another opinion, only a professional gamester -- who has no other source of income -- is invalid as a witness. His integrity is suspect, because he spends his day in pursuits which contribute nothing to society. According to this opinion, someone who gambles only part-time can be a valid witness, provided he's involved in some productive activity.

The following story is told about the Chafetz Chaim: A man once asked the Chafetz Chaim to bless him that he should win the lottery, but the Chafetz Chaim refused. "But you give blessings to people who gamble on stocks, why not when they gamble on lotteries?" the man asked. The Chafetz Chaim answered that he gives blessings to stock investors because if the stock goes up, no one loses money. But blessing one lottery ticket is a `curse' upon the other lottery tickets.

Sources:

Talmud Sanhedrin 24b
Shulchan Aruch Choshen Mishpat 34:16
Story thanks to Will Shulman

Legal Language

Contents

Bill Baldwin wrote:

Dear Rabbi,
I would be very grateful if you could give me some information. Could you please tell me what the word `shoftim' means? The matter arose because of a letter I received from a group using the name `The Shoftim Society.' They asked me to participate in a forum entitled `The Nuremberg Trials: An Inside Story.' The Jewish attorneys comprising the group are based in Columbia, South Carolina. The reason for the invitation came about because I was one of the U.S. Prosecutors at the trial. I told them that I'm sorry but I won't be able to attend, since at the proposed time of the forum we will be in the process of moving north to New Hampshire.

Dear Mr. Bill Baldwin,

`Shoftim' means `judges.' It's a noun, not a verb. One judge is called a `shofet.' Shoftim is also the name of one of the 24 books of the Torah, the Book of Judges, which teaches about the era from the time of Joshua until the time of Samuel. As an American/Israeli, and son of a holocaust survivor, I want to personally thank you for your role in bringing some of the offenders to justice.

Answer to Yiddle Riddle

Contents

Question: Last week we asked:

Good is no good
Whenever I'm near.
As his I'm mistaken
When taken by ear.
`Thou shalt' by my side
Is an order for quitting,
And spelling me backwards
Is no less forbidding.
Have you guessed the nature
Of my little `con' game?
If you're right then I'm not.
Now what is my `name'?
Reuven Subar (c) 1997

Answer: My name is `Lo' -- spelled `lamed alef.' `Lo' means `no' and `not.' It sounds like the word spelled `lamed vav' which is Hebrew for `his.' `Lo' spelled backwards is `Al,' which also means `not.'

Written by Rabbi Moshe Lazerus, Rabbi Reuven Subar, Rabbi Avrohom Lefkowitz, Rabbi Mordecai Becher and other Rabbis at Ohr Somayach Institutions / Tanenbaum College, Jerusalem, Israel.
General Editor: Rabbi Moshe Newman
Production Design: Lev Seltzer
HTML Design: Michael Treblow
HTML Assistant: Simon Shamoun

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