Paying someone to keep Shabbos

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  • #611132
    zahavasdad
    Participant

    There is a story going around about an ex-chassid who was trying to raise money for Chai Lifeline.

    Someone offered him $1000 for the Charity if he would keep One Shabbos.

    If someone is Paid to keep shabbos does it count , Is there a Mitzvah to keep shabbos for money?

    #984665

    Is that difference than “paying” someone to be more jewish through alcohol, free food, and events? Chabad and Aish do that.

    #984666
    Sam2
    Participant

    I don’t know about a Mitzvah (probably does count; don’t see why not), but not being M’challel Shabbos is still a huge gain. Worth more than all the money in the world.

    #984667
    WolfishMusings
    Participant

    Does it matter? Are you going to tell him “since you’re only doing it because you’re getting paid, don’t keep Shabbos?”

    The mitzvah is to not do melachah on Shabbos. I don’t see why the reason makes a difference. It doesn’t matter if you didn’t do melachah because you were paid not to, because you didn’t want to, or because you were tied up in the basement all Shabbos and unable to do any. The bottom line is that no melachah was done.

    The Wolf

    #984668
    ☕ DaasYochid ☕
    Participant

    The Ra’av (Bartenura) indicates that one only receives reward for refraining from a lav which tempted him. (Makos 3:15)

    It seems that motivation does matter.

    Certainly, he won’t get punished for being mechallel Shabbos, but neither will he get schar (and even if he does, as the poshut pshat in the Mishna seems, it wouldn’t be as much as for someone whose motivation was purer).

    #984669
    WolfishMusings
    Participant

    Let’s also keep in mind that he’s not doing this for private gain, but rather to raise money for tzedakah. That’s got to count for something too.

    The Wolf

    #984670

    DY: but its a machlokes whether mitzvos even tzrichois kavanah.

    #984671

    Mitoch shelo lishma, ba lishma

    #984672
    ☕ DaasYochid ☕
    Participant

    OK, Wolf, he’ll get schar for raising money for CL.

    #984673
    anuran
    Participant

    It’s for a good cause. If it hadn’t been for that thousand dollars he would not have qualified to enter the marathon, and the other three thousand he’d raised would not have gone to Chai Lifeline. At the very least it has reduced suffering, comforted the sick and possibly saved lives.

    #984674

    Any different than paying someone to lain/davening/sound shofar?

    #984675
    popa_bar_abba
    Participant

    Query why he is doing it.

    #984676
    Sam2
    Participant

    I just Googled the story. Apparently the person making money to “keep” Shabbos is an Apikores. So he probably still gets a slightly smaller Onesh, but his Chelek in Olam Haba is still 0.

    #984677
    ☕ DaasYochid ☕
    Participant

    SF, yes, there’s a difference between doing an asay and refraining from a lo sa’asay.

    #984678
    ☕ DaasYochid ☕
    Participant

    RF, how is that relevant?

    #984679
    ☕ DaasYochid ☕
    Participant

    Sam, if so, r”l, I retract my earlier comment to Wolf.

    #984680
    WolfishMusings
    Participant

    Sam, if so, r”l, I retract my earlier comment to Wolf.

    Why? It’s abundently clear from Chazal that *everyone* — from the biggest tzaddik to the worst rasha, are rewarded for the good they do. Why should he be any different?

    The Wolf

    #984681
    ☕ DaasYochid ☕
    Participant

    Wolf, I don’t think that applies to those about whom it’s said “ein lo chelek l’olam haba”.

    #984682
    WolfishMusings
    Participant

    Wolf, I don’t think that applies to those about whom it’s said “ein lo chelek l’olam haba”.

    Why would you say that? One of the fundamental tenets of our religion is that God rewards the good done for Him. Even if the reward is in this world, He still rewards those who do good.

    The Wolf

    #984683
    WIY
    Member

    Wolf

    What about one who regrets the good deeds that he did?

    #984684
    Sam2
    Participant

    DY: Wolf makes a good point. There is no Chelek in Olam Haba, but Mistama he gets S’char for the Tzedaka.

    I won’t claim to know the Cheshbonos of the RBSO, but if you would take the fact that an Apikores is Dino K’goy to its logical conclusion, then maybe he can only get S’char like a Goy, in which case he would (according to Pashut P’shat and Tosfos; though other Rishonim do argue) only get S’char if he did it Lishmah and not to make any money off it.

    #984685
    ☕ DaasYochid ☕
    Participant

    If we take Wolf’s words literally, we have an answer. To quote Wolf, “One of the fundamental tenets of our religion is that God rewards the good done for Him.”

    Someone who doesn’t believe in Him certainly didn’t do “good for Him”.

    However, the phrase “ein HKB”H mekapeiach s’char kol berya” doesn’t say that it has to be for Him, so maybe Sam’s right that there is s’char.

    If that s’char, though, is limited to *this* world, it’s not a contradiction to “ein lo chelek l’olam haba”.

    In this case, I suspect that the whole thing is just another attention grabbing ploy. Maybe his s’char will be the attention he gets.

    #984686
    zahavasdad
    Participant

    I was also more thinking for the future. We pay people for Kollel, why not pay them to keep shabbos. Perhaps after some Shabboses they will get used to it and keep it without paying.

    I suspect the person who donated the money had this idea in his head

    #984687
    ☕ DaasYochid ☕
    Participant

    ZD, one difference is that (usually) the people getting paid to learn like learning, but what you’re talking about is bribing someone to do something he doesn’t want to.

    #984688
    apushatayid
    Participant

    “his Chelek in Olam Haba is still 0”

    Apparantly he tried to sell even that, but Ebay stopped the bidding (that reached 100k) because he was selling something “intangible”.

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