Business Ethics: Buying before Someone Else - Rabbi Shlomo Cohen

we explained in the previous classes in this series that we're two people have a right have a verbal agreement to sell want to sell on the other to buy that for one of those two parties to go back on the deal even though there's been no actual contractual act is immoral the person who does so is considered as a masseuse ramana as an unreliable person that people shouldn't do business with in the future today I want to talk to you about the situation where there's a third party who he wants to get involved in the negotiations he wants to buy something for himself where two other people are already closing a deal between them over this same object once the deal has already been closed and has been a contractual act so then this of course there's no question it's certainly no one else can get in the property is already owned by the other but by the by though dear at the original buyer I'm talking about before we get to that stage before there's been a contractual act where there's just a verbal agreement if a third party decides that he wants to get involved and buy for himself is that considered immoral is he a thief or is it okay let's take the example of two people that are selling a car that we spoke about in the previous shearim the seller wants 50,000 for his car and the buyer has agreed to pay fifty thousand and he's going to come tomorrow with the money a third party knows this and he now wants to get involved and come to the buyer and pay him the money and take the car before the pre that the first buyer can come back is he doing something immoral or not the gomorian Messiah duchenne tells us a story like this from which we're going to be able to learn how to deal with such a situation there was a rabbi corregida who was interested in buying requiring a particular piece of land and he was looking around and checking it out and seeing if it was going to be it was the right thing for him if it was what he needed before could decide before he could actually buy it for himself Ruby Abba came along and he bought it if kiddo was very upset he sent people to speak to her ba ba and ask him what he what he'd done and why did he do such a thing they asked her the question what happens if someone is about to buy something and someone else comes and buys it before them Armstead Ravana that person is considered as I think that having done something very immoral I've got a character he's considered as an evil person as a Russia for doing some such a thing for buying something before someone else he's considered as a Russia so then they asked her gabba though the begging question so if so why did you do that you bought that piece of land of gido was looking to buy for himself said rabab why didn't know i didn't realize that if Gilda was interested in buying it so they said what about now now you do know that he wanted what are you gonna do now is it ok so now I'm gonna give him that piece of land you're gonna give him the land he has to pay you for the land says what happen no I don't him to pay me for the land you're right dile off it is certainly that he has to pay me and I'll give him the land but there's what's called a su gula that you shouldn't sell the first piece of land that you ever acquire this piece of land is the first land that I've ever acquired I'm not interested in selling it but I'm also interested in keeping it because I know that regular wanted it for himself and it's not right for me to take that land that he wanted so therefore i'm prepared to give it to him so they went to have godot laughs giddily gonna get this land for free but if Goodell said listen it's very nice you want to give it give it to me for free but I don't accept gifts I have a person so no matter naughty here I don't like receiving gifts I want to everything I have I've earned it with my own with my own efforts and that's the way I want to keep things so I'm prepared and very happy to pay Ruby abba to get the land but I don't want it for free so now we had a bit of a bra or if get 0 is not prepared to pay for the land of abba doesn't want the land because nap because kiddo wanted it first and he's not pretty not prepared to sell it because it's not considered a good thing to sell the first piece of land that you ever bought bever by Chesley Gomorrah the land remained Hefner it remained owners and it was called our adorable on it was cooled by everyone the piece of land that the rabbi's were arguing about dr. Sherman that we should only have arguments like that but what do we see from here we see that even though even though Ruby Abba didn't know that a fiddle was interested in buying the piece of land when he bought it nevertheless less it's considered immoral for him to keep that land and he should give it two of two of Megiddo and let him let him have the land for this for its price right the fact they want to give it as a gift as we said that was listening me shooting he wasn't necessarily obligated to do that so from here we see that where someone is about to buy something even though they haven't yet bought it it's immoral for someone else to come in and buy it before them but nevertheless there's something more we have to understand in this case one of the great was shown him the ballet a toast was rubino tom he says that this case of rev kiddo is viola ha but there's an exception there's a condition here where the property although that was about to be bored is something that the buyer cannot find somewhere else where it's a find where it's either been given away for free or it's being sold even for half price or it's the type of property that you wouldn't find anywhere else it's the house on the corner that's opposite the supermarket and right next to the school and it's a house you wouldn't find anywhere else with the perfect view there's no other house like that where the property in question is a find you won't find anywhere else then you can't say to the second buyer why are you coming to buy this piece of property that I am interested in go and find something like this somewhere else there's plenty of houses for sales for sale there's plenty of toyota's for sale go and buy another one why are you going to come and buy the one that I was about to buy you can't say that where the property in question is something unique something you wouldn't find anywhere else Ezra Boehner tongue and their forces remain Rotunda this allaha Israel aha but only in a case where the the the the second buyer could find similar property in another place for the same price if it's a find if it's something that's been given away very very cheaply at half price then this halacha doesn't apply the second buyer that comes along and takes it before the first of course of course as I said at the beginning it only in a case where the first buyer hasn't yet bought it where he's just interested in buying it in any such case the second guy is not considered as having done done something immoral by buying before the first person that's the opinion of Romania Tom there's another opinion though which we have to talk about and that's the opinion of rushy rushy says that here we are talking even about a fine even about something that the second buyer will not find anywhere else even so to buy it before the first guy he's considered as a russia he's considered as having done something very very immoral and he shouldn't do it even though according to everyone even though you have done something immoral here based in can't get involves basting can't make you give it back it's right for you to give it back it's morally right and ethically right for you to give it back but you can't be obligated to give it back the second guy that comes along and buys he is the actual owner he is the legal owner of the property even though he has done something that's immoral this argument between Russia and Rob a new Tom comes through to the lahaa vishal hana ruth brings both opinions there are more says that the halacha is like a robe a note on the locker in this decision is like remaining Tom that where the property in question is something unique the second via is not considered as having acted immorally by buying it before the first person there are more ads on that this halacha also only applies where the first buyer has already closed a deal completely with the cellar where there are no more details of the sale to be discussed they've agreed on a price and they've agreed on all the details around the sale all the conditions of cell that are going to be where they haven't done that where for example the buyer says you know let me go home and sleep on it and I'll give you an answer tomorrow morning so there the deal hasn't been closed between where the deal hasn't been closed or another example of where it hasn't been closed would be where the the seller has said his final price and the buyer wants to think about it before he gives him a final answer right anything in any situation where they haven't yet finalised all the details so there are more says that the deal is still considered as open and even where it's not unique property someone else can come in and buy before the first buyer but it's interesting that there's a very very important river of emotion feinstein he speaks about a case very similar to this case the case that came in front of emotion feinstein was a case like this there was a parent who was looking for someone to teach his son during the summer holidays and he was having negotiations with a particular teacher and the negotiations have got to the stage where the by that the teacher thought that he's waiting now for a final answer from the parent and the parents thought that he's waiting now for a final answer from the teacher and each of them went home and they're both sitting and waiting for a phone call from the other side but they haven't actually finalized anything but they did they come to the end of their negotiations and each one thinks that he's waiting for a final answer from the other side in the meantime the parent is at home and he's waiting to hear from the teacher he's not hearing from him so he picks up the phone to another teacher and he offered him the job and the two of them managed to close the deal very quickly over the phone and he employed him the first teacher found out about this and they came to to the rabbi what are we going to do you have taken the jet ski the teachers claiming from the second teacher you have taken away the job that I was about to get I'm in the middle of negotiations to get that job and you have come and taken it away you have to give it back to me you have to resign you can't take it you have to leave it for me so it would seem that according to the strict ella ha seeing as the first to have not yet closed their deal even though they're in the middle of negotiations sings they haven't actually closed their deal a third party would be allowed to get involved the second teacher wouldn't be considered as having acted immorally by taking the job for himself even though the he didn't know the second teacher didn't know that the first teacher was in negotiations but from the story of rugged own ravi abba we see that it doesn't make any difference whether you know or whether you don't know once you do know it's immoral for you to keep it for yourself to keep the property yourself and you should you should be giving it over to the first buyer so what happens in this case it would seem that the second teacher can take the job for himself but emotion Feinstein said no and he brings a proof from the smart we won't go into the proof in the source material but he brings a proof that while the two are still in negotiations even though they haven't yet finalized the deal nevertheless it's still considered immoral for someone else to get involved this sack has tremendous ramifications from much much of the business that we do today not necessarily just between businessman between laymen as well when you're buying a house and someone else is in negotiations for buying that house even though they haven't finalized the negotiations according to this plaque of moshe feinstein is not moral for someone else to get involved and ruin their negotiations and buy it for themselves where the second buyer is offering a higher price then that's different where is offering a higher price it's much more from the post kim that he's not considered as a Rasha for getting involved and buying it for himself and as we said this even applies according to a Boehner Tom that's actual had offer where it's something that you could get some work some somewhere else nevertheless it's not considered right where the first two are still involved in negotiations to someone else to get involved and buy it for themselves thank you