Bachur Looking For Action
Avraham was a bachur who always looked for action and fun. One day, he found five fake $20 bills and decided to see if the local grocery store would notice.
He walked in, took some food, danishes, nosh, whatever he wished for, and paid with the fake money, and no one noticed. He walked out with a huge smile, as if he had won the lottery.
The next day, he felt bad and went back to the store owner. “I have to tell you,” he said, “those bills I paid you with were fake.”
The owner, a nervous and busy man running his store, got very upset, banged on the counter, and yelled, “So pay me now! You gave me fake money! Now pay me with real money, or I’m calling your father.”
“Okay, fine. I’ll pay you, but do you still have the fake money I gave you?” Avraham asked.
The owner went to check and said, “No, it was already given as change to other customers.”
“So you didn’t lose anything!” Avraham said. “You already used it as change for someone else. I don’t have to pay you anything, you got your money already!”
The owner started yelling, “What are you saying? Stop fooling around and pay me!”
Who is right?
1) If one sold something by mistake (mekach ta’us), for example, there was a misunderstanding, the customer must pay back. In our case, Avraham bought it with fake money.
This is considered “sold by mistake,” so he must pay again.
2) The owner, who didn’t know the money was fake, was still a little wrong, because stealing by mistake is still stealing. If the owner caused someone a loss, he must fix it.
The Gemara (Bava Kama 118b) says that if one stole by mistake and has no way of knowing from whom he stole, he should pay back to the public (for example, charity), since the person may benefit from it one day.
In short: Avraham should pay the owner. The owner should pay back to the public.
It would probably be best for the owner to wait a little, since the customer may come back, and he can then give him his money back directly.
Please learn and daven for a refuah sheleimah.
