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Question: I have been learning about bitcoin. Is it considered like money or a shtar (document) for a variety of halachic issues, e.g., marrying a woman, buying property?
Answer: We will not express a view about the value or danger (there are claims of links to money laundering and other criminal activity, dangerous volatility, …) but will look at a few areas in halacha in which determining bitcoin’s status would be significant.
Kiddushin can be accomplished by a groom giving a bride anything of value, whether a currency, a commodity (Kiddushin 2a), or theoretically even a service (see the complication discussed in Kiddushin 63a and Shulchan Aruch, Even Haezer 28:15). If a groom transfers to the bride rights to a debt a third party owes to him, even if done by speech without handing her a shtar, it can still work (Shulchan Aruch ibid. 13). The important thing is that he provides value, as long it is done positively, as opposed to something such as forgiving paymentof a debt (ibid. 10). Even in the latter case, if one says he is marrying her with the benefit she receives by forgiving the debt, it is valid (ibid.). Therefore, with the right wording, a bitcoin transfer from groom to bride can work (it is a good question at what point in the electronic process the kiddushin would take effect).
Bemare Habazak - Rabbis Questions (657)
Rabbi Daniel Mann
213 - Filling in a Copy of the Ketuba Late
214 - Halachic Status of Bitcoin
215 - Early Reading of Megillat Esther
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Halacha distinguishes between currency (tiv’a) and commodities (peiri). One contemporary application relates to the kinyan of chalifin(appr., barter), which applies to commodities and not money(see Bava Metzia 44a-45a). Another is in terms of a Rabbinic form of ribbit (usury) called se’ah b’se’ah. That is, that it may be (depending on complicated parameters) forbidden to lend a certain amount of a commodity, demanding that it be replaced by the same amount of that type of commodity. This is because loans are defined in terms of currency. If one borrows 5 lbs. of apples costing $10, he is to return $10 in some form (including apples), and not 5 lbs. of apples, if the price has changed. If one borrows $100 of cash, he is to return $100, even if the dollar’s value has gone up or down. In these regards, bitcoin is a commodity, not a currency. The clearest reason is that bitcoin is not presently universally accepted as payment (Bava Metzia ibid.). Even a national currency has that status only in a country in which it is widely accepted among people. Bitcoin is not yet close to achieving that.
P'ninat Mishpat P'ninat Mishpat: Realtor’s Fee on Large Commercial Building – part I
(based on ruling 85031 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
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Shoftim TESHUVA IN COURT OF LAW?
Parshat Shoftim-Chodesh Elul
Why does parshat Shoftim always come out during Elul? This innovative and central explanation is an eye-opener regarding many aspects of Judaism.
The Month of Elul TESHUVA IS THE ANSWER
The month of Elul serves as a vital time for self-reflection and personal accountability to prepare for true repentance.
P'ninat Mishpat P'ninat Mishpat: Realtor’s Fee on Large Commercial Building – part I
(based on ruling 85031 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
(based on ruling 85031 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
P'ninat Mishpat Complaints about Contractor’s Work – part II
(based on ruling 83037.1 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
(based on ruling 83037.1 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
Chemdat Yamim Moreshet Shaul: The Goal of an Agricultural Yeshiva – part I
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 263 (address at the laying of the cornerstone of the Yeshiva Chakla’it in Kfar Haroeh)
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 263 (address at the laying of the cornerstone of the Yeshiva Chakla’it in Kfar Haroeh)
Chemdat Yamim The Goal of an Agricultural Yeshiva – part II
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 263 (address at the cornerstone laying for the Yeshiva Chakla’it in Kfar Haroeh – 1938)
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 263 (address at the cornerstone laying for the Yeshiva Chakla’it in Kfar Haroeh – 1938)
Re'e NEVER EXTREME EXCEPT ISRAEL
Parshat Re'eh
Judaism is against extremism, so how can we understand the seemingly extreme statements found in our sages in favor of living in the Land of Israel and against living in Chutz laAretz? The article deals with the seeming contradiction between the strength of Free-Will and the strength of being influenced by our surroundings.
Ekev DANCE FOR ISRAEL- FOR YOUR BENEFIT
Parshat Eikev
Description: The 7 Haftarot we read after Tisha B'Av ("Shiva D'Nichemta") surely get us excited that they're coming TRUE, and awaken us to yearn, dance & join the return to Zion! The short article also deals with the problems and solutions facing the American Jewish community as discussed at a recent panel, as well as the question why Jews come from America to Israel to help when we face problems, but Israelis don't come to aid Jews in America when they face anti-Semitism.
P'ninat Mishpat P'ninat Mishpat: Complaints about Contractor’s Work – part II
(based on ruling 83037.1 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
(based on ruling 83037.1 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
