Home › Forums › Decaffeinated Coffee › Paying someone to keep Shabbos
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October 31, 2013 5:54 pm at 5:54 pm #611132zahavasdadParticipant
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?
October 31, 2013 6:14 pm at 6:14 pm #984665rationalfrummieMemberIs that difference than “paying” someone to be more jewish through alcohol, free food, and events? Chabad and Aish do that.
October 31, 2013 6:23 pm at 6:23 pm #984666Sam2ParticipantI 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.
October 31, 2013 6:42 pm at 6:42 pm #984667WolfishMusingsParticipantDoes 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
October 31, 2013 8:09 pm at 8:09 pm #984668☕ DaasYochid ☕ParticipantThe 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).
October 31, 2013 8:18 pm at 8:18 pm #984669WolfishMusingsParticipantLet’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
October 31, 2013 8:23 pm at 8:23 pm #984670rationalfrummieMemberDY: but its a machlokes whether mitzvos even tzrichois kavanah.
October 31, 2013 8:38 pm at 8:38 pm #984671jewishfeminist02MemberMitoch shelo lishma, ba lishma
October 31, 2013 8:53 pm at 8:53 pm #984672☕ DaasYochid ☕ParticipantOK, Wolf, he’ll get schar for raising money for CL.
October 31, 2013 9:02 pm at 9:02 pm #984673anuranParticipantIt’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.
October 31, 2013 10:14 pm at 10:14 pm #984674SecularFrummyMemberAny different than paying someone to lain/davening/sound shofar?
October 31, 2013 10:15 pm at 10:15 pm #984675popa_bar_abbaParticipantQuery why he is doing it.
October 31, 2013 10:28 pm at 10:28 pm #984676Sam2ParticipantI 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.
October 31, 2013 11:20 pm at 11:20 pm #984677☕ DaasYochid ☕ParticipantSF, yes, there’s a difference between doing an asay and refraining from a lo sa’asay.
October 31, 2013 11:36 pm at 11:36 pm #984678☕ DaasYochid ☕ParticipantRF, how is that relevant?
October 31, 2013 11:38 pm at 11:38 pm #984679☕ DaasYochid ☕ParticipantSam, if so, r”l, I retract my earlier comment to Wolf.
November 1, 2013 3:34 am at 3:34 am #984680WolfishMusingsParticipantSam, 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
November 1, 2013 3:51 am at 3:51 am #984681☕ DaasYochid ☕ParticipantWolf, I don’t think that applies to those about whom it’s said “ein lo chelek l’olam haba”.
November 1, 2013 4:17 am at 4:17 am #984682WolfishMusingsParticipantWolf, 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
November 1, 2013 4:37 am at 4:37 am #984683WIYMemberWolf
What about one who regrets the good deeds that he did?
November 1, 2013 5:08 am at 5:08 am #984684Sam2ParticipantDY: 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.
November 1, 2013 6:02 am at 6:02 am #984685☕ DaasYochid ☕ParticipantIf 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.
November 1, 2013 11:44 am at 11:44 am #984686zahavasdadParticipantI 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
November 1, 2013 2:55 pm at 2:55 pm #984687☕ DaasYochid ☕ParticipantZD, 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.
November 1, 2013 4:43 pm at 4:43 pm #984688apushatayidParticipant“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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