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- P'ninat Mishpat
A worker (=pl) was fired from a bank (=def) for embezzlement from def. She did not receive severance pay, but beit din awarded her lifnim mishurat hadin (=lmshd - beyond the letter of the law) the contents of one of the funds that employers put aside for workers. Def appealed the ruling to the Supreme Rabbinic Court, arguing that pl does not deserve special treatment.
Ruling: Although there are dissenting opinions, the accepted ruling is that beit din may not force someone to pay lmshd (see Rama, Choshen Mishpat 12:2). A ruling obligating payment, even if it states that it is based on lmshd, is considered forcing payment since hotza’ah lapo’al (the government authority that ensures payment of court awards) can implement it against the defendant’s will. Therefore, an explicit provision must be added to the ruling disallowing use of hotza’ah lapo’al.
One dayan said that since the ruling is not based on strict law, it cannot be "incorrect" and therefore the ruling cannot be appealed. A second dayan disagrees, saying that even lmshd has rules that must be followed, and the ruling explained the beit din’s rationale, which can be evaluated.
Def claims that the fund is not salary but an incentive to take the job, and as such should not apply to someone who embezzled. Also, it is important for there to be fear of the consequences of embezzlement. The gemara (Bava Metzia 83a) tells that Rabba made an employer pay lmshd the salary of one who negligently broke barrels, because they were poor and had worked hard. We see from that gemara that we do not easily decide that such payments encourage negative behavior.
Nevertheless, here there is no basis for standard lmshd, which requires there to be something upon which to obligate, just that we do not implement an exemption. If the rights to the fund were part of the pay, we could say that since pl worked diligently (other than embezzling), she can deserve pay even if, for example, there were a clause that exempted def in such a case. However, the fund is not salary but a condition of employment, as can be illustrated by legal differences in their regard. Therefore, there is no justification to overrule the provision in the employment contract that the funds will not be given if the worker is fired on suspicion of criminal activity.
Tosafot (Bava Metzia 24b) says that even in the case of the aforementioned gemara, there were not grounds for regular lmshd but rather a higher level of righteous action. This element, which is related to matters of tzedaka, does apply here. Pl is poor, her husband is sitting in jail, and she has to support her family after being fired. Therefore it is proper for def to give her severance pay and the contents of the fund. That being said, def can refuse to pay based on the opinions that lmshd cannot be forced.
P'ninat Mishpat (835)
Various Rabbis
164 - Divorce With Problems About the Ketuba
165 - An Appeal Ruling
166 - Sharing Rent
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Various Rabbis
Various Rabbis including those of of Yeshivat Bet El, such as Rabbi Chaim Katz, Rabbi Binyamin Bamberger and Rabbi Yitzchak Greenblat and others.
Moreshet Shaul Moreshet Shaul: A Crown and its Scepter – part II
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 294-5
P'ninat Mishpat P'ninat Mishpat: Multiple Agreements and Parties – part IV
based on final ruling of 80082 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts
P'ninat Mishpat P'ninat Mishpat: Sharing in Plumbing Expenses – part I
based on ruling 85013 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts
P'ninat Mishpat P'ninat Mishpat: How Many Dayanim?
based on ruling 84139-1 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
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Various Events FOR WHOM NOT TO VOTE
Rav Zvi Yehuda Kook stressed that Israeli politics is G-dly, so I have no problem answering this common question on a Torani blog. Also, Free-Will is a G-d-given right and obligation, to "destine one's fate" (R. Soloveichik, Kol Dodi Dofek, 67), so I obviously don't tell others how to vote. But once not a few (especially young) have already asked, a couple of personal words from experience and thoughts from chazal & Rav Kook which may be of help to others, mainly for whom NOT to vote.
P'ninat Mishpat Fallout from Failure to Install Elevator – part II
based on ruling 85007 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts
