Monetary, Interpersonal Laws and Din Torah (25)
Question: Reuven and Shimon both live out of town. Shimon told Reuven that was planning to drive to New York and Reuven asked him if he can do him a favor and purchase an item there for him, and also lay out the money. Shimon graciously did so and on the drive back home, he stopped at a rest area and locked the car. The car was broken into and the item was stolen. Shimon wants Reuven to pay the purchase price that he laid out for him and Reuven says he never received the item so why should he pay? What is the din in such a case?
Answer: When Shimon purchased the item, he was zoche in it for Reuven and it immediately became the property of Reuven (1). As a result, Shimon remains a shomer chinam [unpaid guardian] who is not responsible for theft and loss and can be reimbursed. If, however, Shimon stopped at the rest area and left the door to his car unlocked, he is considered negligent and would not be able to claim the purchase price he laid out from Reuven.
Question: If the item that was purchased in New York was something that Shimon had permission to use on his drive back, such as a GPS or other such navigational device, and during the time of usage, the car was broken into and the item was stolen, is Shimon liable for the loss or can he claim the money he is owed?
Answer: Since Shimon was using the item before it was stolen, he thereby becomes a shoel [a borrower] who is liable even for unforeseen loss [oness], and therefore Shimon cannot make any claim to be reimbursed from Reuven.
Vehicles in Other Areas of Halacha. Until this point, we have discussed numerous laws of cars with regard to monetary matters and dinei Torah, as explained in Choshen Mishpat. It is interesting to note that there are many other areas of halacha in other parts of the Shulchan Aruch, that pertain to cars and vehicles. For example, in Orach Chaim, there are laws regarding Tefillah and Shabbos. There are also laws that deal with making berachos in a car or vehicle, as well as when eating in a car. In Even Haezer, there are very relevant laws regarding Yichud [prohibition of seclusion], and in Yoreh Deah, there are laws regarding Ribbis. In the coming weeks, we will B’ezer Hashem explain these halachos in greater detail.
(1) נתיבות המשפט קעו:מג (2)