Chaverim is performing a chesed to the community by providing gas to those who need, as follows:
1) Call Chaverim at 718-431-8181 and ask about their gas program (or in Flatbush, call Mr. Hammer at 347-693-9242).
2) You will be told where you can pick up a 5 gallon gas container filled with gas. There are pick up places in Flatbush and in Boro Park.
3) You put down a $100 deposit and get a 5 gallon gas container filled with gas, which should allow you to drive somewhere (like NJ) to get gas.
4) When you fill up your car with gas, you fill up the 5 gallon gas container. When you bring the gas and gas container back to Chaverim, you get your $100 deposit back.
5) IMPORTANT: Chaverim strongly requests that you bring the filled gas can back to them the same day, and ASAP, so that they can help others. This service is being performed as a chesed to the community!
(YWN Desk – NYC)
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12 Responses
Chaverim is great and keep up the great work. Interestingly there have been Kollel Yungerleit who learn in New Jersey and live in Brooklyn bringing back 100’s of gallons of gas the last week for the Flatbush community . They obviously cannot advertise this chesed they are doing since they just cannot bring enough gas cans back with them when coming home. My suggestion to all the people who work in New Jersey.. Do a mitzva and don’t just bring back gas to fill your relatives cars and vans, but bring back gas and go to the gas lines of cars/vans and offer 3 – 5 gallons and tell them to go to New Jersey where there does not seem to be a shortage like there is in Brooklyn. Again ~~ Thank you CHAVERIM and thank you to the Kollel Yungerleit for helping out the Tzibbur at large.
Perhaps if Chaverim is reading this. I work in NJ and travel everyday. If Chaverim would like, I have no problem picking up a car in the AM and bring it back in the PM with a full tank of gas. There are dozens if not hundreds of people in BP and Flatbush who take the train to NJ every day. This is an easy way to get gas back into Brooklyn.
This is a serious problem of ribbis.
You are, in essence, lending chaverim $100, and in return they will let you use their gas can free of charge. That is ribbis, because in addition to repaying your money, they are giving you free usage of their gas can.
Torah tapes used to have the same problem, and that’s why they started charging 25 cents to borrow a tape. Because otherwise getting back your dollar and receiving free usage of their tape is ribbis.
I would advise all those using this wonderful service to contact their LOR first, or avoid the problem by only being repaid $99.
To apushatayid:
How can I contact you? I would gladly give you my van for you to fill.
Good point. However it is not ribbis because they cant use the deposit. See shulchan aruch siman
I am not a LOR but is sounds more like a mashkon (collateral) than anything else. Don’t see why it is a ribbis issue. But, then again, what do I know?
First of all good point straightshooter. It’s not ribbis for that reason.
But more then that, it has no shaichos to the torah tapes, because there they are letting you use something and returning the same thing so that be usage might be ribbis, but here besides for the so called halva’a of the deposit they are lending you gas and you are returning it, so even though that is sa’a besa’a, it would be mutar based on yatza hasha’ar.
The only shayloh would be, is it mutar to lend someone something so that they lend you something else, like here, that you are lending them the money so that they lend you gas. now that is a shayloh
Your basically paying for five gallons and then returning it I don’t c what’s wrong
DO they realize it is illegal to bring Gas back and forth through NJ or CT? Besides the fact that if they have an suv or van the smell and fumes from the gas can be really bad for you. You need to drive with open windows.
It’s not ribis because you are buying gas for 100 and then selling it back for 100. There is no loan involved.
there was no possibility of ribbis in the case the case of torah tapes. althought people refused to understand, they tried to make it clear that they were not lending the tapes with a deposit but selling it outright for one dollar. if you returned it, they would at times be willing to repuchase it for the same or sometimes a reduced price, but they were under no obligation to do so.
there was no loan and hence no ribbis.
It’s clearly a mashkin as no one would really pay $100 for 5 gallons of gas. The point of the $100 charge is as an incentive to bring the can back. They could take any mashkin – be it your watch or credit card if they so choose. They decided $100 is the easiest way since there is no need to identify or keep records of who paid what-everyone gives a 100.
Now if they gave you 4.99 gallons and you brought back 5 gallons that would be a shayla of ribis- which I hope people are being moichel that mashihu.
What I’m really concerned about is like Duvid22 said- IT’S ILLEGAL to be traveling with so much fuel in a container across bridges and tunnels – who’s going to cover the legal fees if the cops decide to stop one of these Chavarim gas gofers?