Hachnosas Kalah or Mishuluchim during the day.

A meshuloch wandered into shule this morning 10 minutes after the last minyan ended. He still got up on the bima and made a speech to the 3 people left in the shule.

The doorbells in the evening are disruptive, but mitzvos are not always convenient and fun. So be it. However, the endless floods of calls to my office during the workday actually steals money and time from me. The robocalls are more than a nuisance. If I answer them, I still have the option of hanging up on the machines. The live callers are the greatest challenge. I await calls from potential clients/customers, so I answer calls while in meetings. The typical sales pitch begins with a lie. “You were so generous to give us $36 dollars last year, and we want to ask you to meet or increase the pledge for this year.” Problem is, I never pledged anything, never heard of this organization, and will not ever support a lie. This chutzpah is unacceptable. I refuse under any circumstances to finance any operation based on lying. I am far from a tightwad, and give plenty of tzedokoh to a variety of worthy causes. Is this blatant dishonesty justified? Is there a heter from a Posek to do this to raise money?

Joseph:

Of course. New clients/customers might have their name in caller id, though I would not recognize the number. Most “unknown” I don’t answer. But many have a name, bogus or the name of the fundraising individual. Since the call might be someone legitimately looking for me to seek my services/products, I will answer the phone. The distraction from my work is thus worthwhile. But when they jump into their dishonesty, this is unfair. And they have stolen time from me and my work. In their anonymity, they are getting away with robbery. Any heter for that?

Dear Forshayer,
I heard from a well known senior Rav, that a woman home alone should not answer the door for a meshuluch.