Rabbi Yehuda Schneider, Maran HaGaon HaRav Aaron Yehuda Leib Shteinman Shlita’s chavrusa tells the following story.
This week, the following story was told to the Gadol Hador in the name of HaGaon Rav Yitzchak Zilberstein who explains this matter came before him.
A person was traveling on a plan and took the headphones with him following the flight, for he understood they are his to take.
The person from the plane died a short time later and came to his mother in a dream and said to her there are two pairs of headphones in his drawer, one closed and the other open, asking her to return them to the airline for he is not having menucha in the Olam HaEmmes because of the headphones.
Family members approached Rav Zilberstein with the story, asking him how to handle the dream since the airline is not Jewish owned. The family of course was instructed to return the headphones.
When the Rosh Yeshiva heard the story, he did not appear surprised and responded “Gezel from a goy is prohibited…” adding “the worst thing in Gehenom is gezel”.
Rav Shteinman was asked about frozen fish companies that place pieces of inedible skin inside bags to meet the printed weight contained in the bag instead of fish, with the person posing the question adding “Everyone does it”.
Rav Shteinman responded without hesitation “Everyone is in Gehenom…” He explained there is no heter for such actions even if ‘everyone does it’, quoting Talmud Taanis
“תנו רבנן ארץ מצרים הויא ארבע מאות פרסה על ארבע מאות פרסה והוא אחד מששים בכוש, וכוש אחד מששים בעולם, ועולם אחד מששים בגן, וגן אחד מששים לעדן, ועדן אחד מששים לגיהנם, נמצא כל העולם כולו ככיסוי קדרה לגיהנם”.
Rav Shteinman added in Yiddish “A large Gehenom (אגרויסער גיהנום). HKBH created the world and Gehenom was created in the beginning and made it so large because he knew the entire world would be in Gehenom”.
If one wishes to say a ‘svara’ to be lenient for people whom have grown accustomed to this practice, placing skin inside the bag instead of fish, and perhaps people are mochel the owner. Rav Shteinman stated even if we accept this, this is only after we have learned this, because for the first time the customer is not aware, and certainly this is gezel, and regarding gezel, once is enough…”
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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8 Responses
Typo. “Plane” not “plan”
I wonder if this applies to stiffing the Israeli gov’t from their taxes.
http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/headlines-breaking-stories/327079/will-minister-azoulais-support-for-monitoring-taxation-of-admorim-hurt-them.html
Aha. But “Heimisha” stores/grocery’s, products, Esrogim, hand Matzah’s, Chalav Yisroel, etc… that price gouge, is NOT Ginaiva??? Hmmm. Interesting.
How does this Gehenim work for someone who became a baal teshuva when he was 20 or 30 years old, after having spent decades not frum and unconcerned with gezel – and having committed gezel against numerous people over the decades that he no longer remembers?
Hashem isn’t mochel gezel/bein adam l’chaiveiro. Only the person aggrieved can. Can such a baal teshuva ever do teshuva for all those years of gezeila?
HASHEM GIVES US ALL THAT WE NEED EXACTLY WITHOUT ALL THESE TRICKS……
Does this also include filling yogurt cups up by adding water to them?
Doc,
Chazal say that if a person stole from the public and doesn’t know how to return the money he should donate to a mikva or some other public benefiting organization so that his money will come to the persons cheated or to their children. Hashem yisborach will accept this along with the person’s sincere teshuva.
Something is wrong with the story because airlines tell you to keep the headphone and if you leave them by your seat they throw them out