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I just got back from Lowes and the cashier scanned a $30+ can of paint that did not register and the cashier absolutely did not notice. I also did not notice but when I saw the total of the items I realized that it was too little and pointed it out to the cashier. She checked and realized the paint was not included. She would never have noticed and the person checking the receipts did not even look over the receipt so no one would have ever known. I easily could have walked away with the paint without having noticed because I don’t always pay attention as they add up my things. I believe that halachicly it was not my responsibility to point out the cashiers error but I always do because I think it is the right thing to do, but am I right ?
when that occurs i always point it out the cashier is usually very appreciative
I don’t know about Halacha but I agree its the “right” thing to do. I’m betting someone saw you go back and I’m sure the cashier was impressed. Reading through it, I was.
Happy painting!
You are correct that halachicly you needn’t have pointed it out, but it is written in the Seforim HaKedoshim that it is a Kiddush Hashem if you do.
commonsense, this is how you were raised, as I was. I would not be able to sleep if I didn’t tell the truth even though I was not obligated to do so. Not only did you make a Kidush Hashem you made your parents proud of you whether they know about it or not. They taught you well and what they taught you stuck. Kol Hakovod to you and to them.
You definetly are not *stupid*! You probaly made a great kiddush hashem!
Aldough you are not obligated to point out to the cashier her mistake, if there is a possibility of chillul hasham (they may relize later when checking receipts on the way out) then you have to tell them.
I was once at Giant in Baltimore (when I was in Ner Yisroel) and I asked for 5 dollars cashback at the self checkout and out came a fifty and I gave it back to the manager and I asked R Feldman if what I did was right and he said I should’ve brought over a whole bunch of people and made a kiddush Hashem B’Rabbim
Halachically, you only need to tell them if the business owner is a Jew.
But you did right. I would do that too and have done so in the past.
Isn’t a Kiddush Hashem worth 30 bucks?
The Chassam Sofer seems to say that since pointng it out will create a Kiddush Hashem we are obligated to do so. This is especially true when the cashier will have to cover for losses… so they appreciate it even more when it is pointed out. even without that…. if it is more tha few cents, it DOES create a Kiddush Hashem. Small price to pay for a BIG Mitzvah. Tizku L’Mitzvos!
I wonder. Being that you were in the store, if you take it from the counter you would be stealing outright.
Pay for your paint.
Ditto to Kapusta
Shkoyach
🙂
kiddush Hashem!! you did very well.
It was probably a big kiddush ‘?
^Ad Dilo Yada^
when that happens to me, i do point it out to the cashier. when i say anything, i make sure to also say that i am an orthodox religious Jew and that i always learned it was dishonest to keep silent and that i am proudly pointing it out and wanting to pay. now, that is how to complete the kiddush Hashem. Let them know who you are and where you come from.
consider it a test and guess what you passed!
Isn’t a Kiddush Hashem worth 30 bucks?
Small price to pay for a BIG Mitzvah.
+1…or is it +2?
I think halachically from a non-Jewish store it isn’t assur, however, the respect for frum Jews it will create is definitely more important. Good for you!
Home Depot undercharged me for an item – I figured out why when I got home. I did not go back. I would have corrected the cashier if I would have figured it out there.
Take a look at Chapter Nine: A Policy of Honesty, in “The Story of the Chofetz Chaim” esp. p.100-103, where it discusses how the Chofetz Chaim made a continual kiddush Hashem by always accurately determining the postage on his sefarim before sending them to the post office.
Also, imagine if you or your child or friend or relative had a store, and something like this happened, and someone who didn’t know you had a connection to this particular store, boasted to you about how they had lucked out there because the owner/cashier made such a mistake.
Just because this cashier was not grateful at that moment doesn’t mean it didn’t occur to her later that her job could have been on the line and you saved it. Or, maybe she doesn’t like her job and couldn’t care less if the owner gets ripped off and she gets fired.
And, it’s not true that no one would ever have known: I was once undercharged–the price ticket was wrong–at a small, local store where I had never shopped before, and they traced me and called me up demanding i pay the full price of the item, because otherwise it would come out of the poor clerk’s pocket.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t always make a Kiddush Hashem. The cashier may be uncomfortable or aggravated at her mistake being noticed.
I was in Children’s Place and was making some returns and got back too much money. The Rav I asked said I didn’t have to go back, but it would be a Kiddush Hashem. When I went back, the cashier then was under scrutiny of a manager going through the whole receipt, and apparently she made a few mistakes. She certainly wasn’t appreciate that I came back.
So I guess it pays to take into account what your return/correction will cause.
kollel_wife: The manager appreciated it, even if she did not.
Someone I know-this did not happen to me-did a large shopping order at a well known warehouse club. She had her infant with her,who was beggining to fuss,and other then the baby,she was alone. At the register she paid for her order,which included among other things,a blender,a coffe maker,a kitcen aid,lots of paper goods and some odds and ends. She had many coupons for the large items,and in figuring in her mind,the total should have been 500$. When the cashier told her her total was 2something,she did think it odd that it was so little,but as I said,the baby was getting very loud so she paid and went out the door. The guy at the door checked her reciept against the contents in the cart and let her go. Once home,baby taken care of,she began to look thru her reciept and noticed she didnt get charged for a 300$ item! She asked the Rabbi and he said,if it were a small store in which the owner is invloved,and it will cause a kiddush hashem,she should go and pay for it. If it is a large store in which its only employees,and the workers have no stake in the company,she can pay,but she doesnt have to!
In business, honesty is always the best policy.
The Wolf
If you’re still unsure if you did the right thing… It ended up costing you $$$… I would like to buy this great mitzvah from you. Your/my/our grandparents gave their life to make a kiddish hashem, what’s a few dollars??? My father had a similar story not too long ago. When he told the supervisor about the mistake, he said “Only a jew would be honest enough to come back”. It was a few hundreds he was charged short. Mi ka’amchu yisroel!
definetly the right thing to do and even better if you do it in front of your children so they see your honesty too.
FWIW, I had a similar issue at a Build-A-Bear store a few years ago with my daughter where I made sure to pay for an item that the cashier missed*. I used it as an object lesson.
The Wolf
(* Yeah, I know, there will be people saying that this post is simply “the shvitzer” using the opporunity to “portray himself as a tzaddik” again. Too bad.)
Wolf, judge us favorably… and stop portraying yourself as a tzaddik you shvitzer!
*this is a joke, for those with no sense of humor*
*this is a joke, for those with no sense of humor*
Understood.
My point was a reference to another poster who took me to task (calling me “a shvitzer” for some reason that I cannot fathom) for “portraying myself as a tzaddik” in another thread when I actually did no such thing. So, I figured, since here I actually admit that I did something good (one of the few times in my life), I will surely be taken to task by that same person.
The Wolf
Rabbi Miller ??”? says when doing such an act of Kiddish HaShem, to make sure they know you’re Jewish. A man should stick out his ‘yarmulka’d head to let them realize it’s a Jew who is doing it.
Definitely not stupid.
I once received too little change at a grocery store. I told the cashier and requested the dollar difference. Another cashier, who was shmoozing with her, told her (right in front of me), “She’s lying. She sneaked the dollar into her pocket. Don’t give it to her.” I protested, but I couldn’t even prove her wrong because I did have another dollar in my pocket.
In the end, the first cashier gave me the dollar, but I felt horrible.
i was in a store in the mall on sun and noticed that there was a whole table full of little samples of things like perfumes, lotions, and cosmetics that they were selling. I took a few but as i was leaving I noticed that they had a deal- if you spend $50 then you can choose any 2 samples. Apparently they were not giving them away like i thought they were. Would it have been stealing if I would have walked away with the samples? It is a non jewish store and there was a sales associate right there who did not stop me. Did I have to give that back?
Last time I checked Gazal Akum is assur.
I was under the impression that if they dont know and you are sure that its a non jewish store then its ok
Last time I checked Gazal Akum is assur.
It is, but what the OP described would NOT be gezel akum even if she did not pay, since the error was on the akums part and you are not mechuyiv to correct. (But as I said earlier, it is a Kiddush Hashem to correct nevertheless.)
adorable — I believe your impression is wrong. Gezel is forbidden from Jews and non Jews. The discussion here is about when the non-Jewish store owner/ worker made a mistake. If it was THEIR mistake then technically you are usually not obligated to correct them (although as has been clearly posted previously, there are many reasons to do so, particularly if it would make a Kiddush Hashem). If it was your mistake (you didn’t see the sign), then you certainly have no right not to pay.
ok I am happy that I put the stuff back. I know someone who once took a belt from a non jewish store (it belonged to the dress but she only took the belt not the outfit) and was told that because its a non jewish store it would more of a chillul Hashem to go back and say that she took it in the first place so she can keep it.
Let’s all remember: It is possible to be right and stupid.
Akkum shmakkum. I am a major shareholder of Loews Corporation and I care about my bottom line. Together with the rest of my Jewish conglomerate, we offer you 51% of a thank you.
“Let’s all remember: It is possible to be right and stupid.”
I cannot resist the impulse to point out the tautology.
I also can’t wait for some nitpicker to then point my finger back at me.
Akkum shmakkum. I am a major shareholder of Loews Corporation and I care about my bottom line. Together with the rest of my Jewish conglomerate, we offer you 51% of a thank you.
The fact is there is a halachic difference between returning too much credit given by a yehudi or by an akum. I wonder where a public corporation falls in this halachic area. If you buy something in Wal-Mart and get back too much change, does the halacha of a yehudi apply or the halacha of an akum? Wal-Mart (like any public corporation) has Jewish shareholders. Does even one Jewish shareholder owning 1/10,000th of 1% of the company put it in the yehudi category? Does it have to be a majority of the shareholders (shares owned)? How does one determine if a specific corporation falls into which category?
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