Market Musings

Reviewed by Rabbi Mordechai Shuchatowitz, Head of the Baltimore Bais Din

We are all aware of the many areas that technology has altered the way we live and the challenges that it presents to Torah-observant Jews. One area in which technology has brought about change throughout the entire world is the way we make purchases. Go back just 20 years, and anyone wanting to buy food, clothing, personal items, or business items would enter a brick-and-mortar store to examine what was available for purchase and then buy the desired items. In the world we currently live in, online purchasing has become a normal way of shopping, which has put pressure on brick-and-mortar stores trying to compete.

This phenomenon leads to a halachic question. Yet the question applies not only to online transactions. The technology may be new, but the halachas surrounding ethical behavior between customer and businessperson are not.

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We will present the question first in the words of Rochel, an ehrliche balabusta. Rochel asks, “I find it convenient to shop for shoes and clothing online. Many times, however, I see an item online and am not sure that I want to purchase it based on a computer picture alone. I find that, especially when buying shoes, I am much more comfortable actually seeing and trying on the shoes before buying them. It would be very helpful to me to go to a store that sells the shoes I am interested in. But since the store is likely selling the shoes for a price higher that I can purchase them online, I know with reasonable certainty that I will not be buying them from the store I entered. I remember learning in a halacha class at school that one may not ask a shopkeeper about buying an item if he/she is really not interested in purchasing it. So what can I do? I really want to see the shoes live before buying them online, but I also want to keep the halacha properly.”

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Here is another scenario, which is not linked to the phenomenon of online shopping but gives rise to a similar question. We will present the question in the name of Yitzchak, a father of young children.

Yitzchak asks, “I find it a challenge to keep my children occupied when they are not in school; they often complain that they are bored. One solution I thought of is to go to a toy store and let the children browse and look at the toys. If I were to offer my children such a trip, I would make it very clear to them that we will not be buying anything, and that this would just be for the outing and for looking at the toys. However, I am concerned about the halacha of entering a store without any intent to purchase something.”

The relevant halacha is based on a mishna in Bava Metzia (58b). The mishna states that one may not inquire about merchandise if he does not intend to purchase it. The gemara adds that one may not browse through a store’s merchandise when he/she does not have money and is not able to make a purchase. The halacha considers this to be a form of ona’as devarim, causing someone pain with one’s words or actions. The shopkeeper gets his or her hopes up when seeing the potential customer, and the customer is causing the shopkeeper pain because there is no chance that the customer will actually buy anything.

The mishna compares this to other forms of ona’as devarim. For example, one may not say to a baal teshuva, “Remember how you used to behave before you were religious?” Another example that the mishna gives is that one may not say to a ger (convert), “Remember how your (non-Jewish) forefathers behaved?”

The source of this is from the pasuk in the Torah (Vayikra 25:17) which forbids causing pain to another through words or actions, and these halachos are codified in Choshen Mishpat 228:4.

It would seem from this halacha that Rachel and Yitzchak have an issue. They clearly do not plan to make a purchase from the store they are entering, and are falsely getting up the hopes of the proprietor who sees them enter.

However, there is an important halachic distinction that should be made. In many of the stores that we shop in, there is no relationship between the customer entering and the owner of the store. This is due to the fact that the owners are not directly involved in the running of the store, and the employees who work there are usually hourly or salaried employees, and generally do not make any more or less money based on a purchase by a given customer. Adding to all this is the fact that there are often dozens and dozens of customers, and it is reasonable to say that the staff pays no attention to the buying commitments of any particular customer.

Given the above, it would be permitted to enter a large store of this type, even though the “customer” has no intention of buying. There would be more of an issue, however, in a mom-and-pop type store, where the proprietor does have an interest in the purchases of the customers who walk in. One way to avoid the problem is to be upfront with the owner and tell him or her of your true intent. If they give their consent, then there is certainly not a halachic issue.

It can also be added that there is another scenario that does not have a halachic issue, even in a mom-and-pop store. Let’s say a customer is honestly interested in buying an item but wants to do some comparison shopping. He or she enters numerous stores and inquires about the price and qualities of a given item with the intent of buying the one that is the best deal. This is a natural part of doing business as a buyer and is permitted.[1]

We can see how halacha teaches us sensitivity to others, not just in the words that we use but in our behaviors, and how careful we must be with another’s feelings. We daven to Hashem to give us the ability to deal with each other according to the Torah standard of care and concern.

Rabbi Rosenfeld administers cases for the Baltimore Bais Din. He may be reached at RYR@baltimorebaisdin.org.