Project Genesis




The Jewish Legal System

Business Law

Getting Quotes With No Intention to Buy

Question: The person I work for constantly demands that I contact vendors (like for computer systems, copiers, scanners, etc) and talk to them about prices, special deals, etc. The people think I’m seriously going to buy from them, yet I know that my boss does not have the money for any of these purchases. When I point out that this is rude, he gets extremely angry and yells that if I don’t do it, I’m fired. Isn’t there a Jewish law that says you shouldn’t do this? 

Answer: Thank you for your question. I’m sorry to hear about your difficulties at work, and hope that what I write will be helpful in some way. You are absolutely correct that there is a Jewish law forbidding the practice of giving a merchant the impression that you wish to buy something, when you really have no intention of doing so. This is a Biblical prohibition that is based on the verse in Leviticus 25:17: “And a man may not defraud his friend”. The Mishna, in Tractate Bava Metziah (Chapter 4 Mishna 10) discusses the concept in depth, and it is quoted as normative Jewish law in the Shulchan Aruch (Choshen Mishpat 228:4). Regarding this matter, there are no dissenting opinions among the authorities of Jewish law. The following is the wording of the Mishna: “Just as a person may not financially defraud his friend, so too may he not verbally defraud his friend. He may not say to him ‘How much is this item?’ and he has no intention to purchase it…”

Take care,
Rabbi Aaron Tendler

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