Nov, 20, 2008 Rabbi Avi Shafran: Bronfman's blindness The Kosher Gourmet By Linda Gassenheimer: Portobellos add a hearty flavor to pasta with pesto Nov, 19, 2008 The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : Spread the wealth? Jewish tradition and income equality Elliot B. Gertel: 'Mad Men': Tackling prejudices or reinforcing them? Nov, 18, 2008 Dr. Debby Schwarz Hirschhorn: The End of the Age of Reason Jonathan Tobin: Does Barack + Bibi = Disaster? Nov, 17, 2008 Rabbi Yonason Goldson: The End of the Age of Reason Diana West: Gulling Americans into making terror legit? Nov, 14, 2008 Rabbi A. Henach Leibowitz: The Power of Spiritual Inertia Caroline B. Glick: The perils ahead Nov, 13, 2008 Stratfor Intelligence Briefing: How Bush and Obama together could change the Middle East dynamic The Kosher Gourmet by JeanMarie Brownson: Sweet and savory, crispy and meltingly tender bestilla Nov, 12, 2008 The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : Tyrannical Co-Workers Michael Doyle: High Court to consider today donated monuments that may have religious messages in public parks Nov, 11, 2008 Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Will Obama stop government officials considering institutionalizing financial jihad? Jonathan Tobin: They Will Decide Their Own Fate Nov, 10, 2008 Rabbi Avi Shafran: $8 billion, modern-day Tower of Babel being built? Barry Rubin: A letter to the president-elect from a Middle East realist Nov, 7, 2008 Rabbi Francis Nataf: Of Children and Immortality Caroline B. Glick: Livni's Obama strategy Nov, 6, 2008 Rabbi Yonason Goldson: How I tricked a classroom of apathetic students into grasping the fallacy of moral relativism The Kosher Gourmet By Gina Kim: Tips for making the perfect soup --- includes recipes Nov, 5, 2008 The Jewish Ethicist By Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Destitute Debtors Bruce Weinstein: 'Religulos': Bad title,even worse movie Nov, 4, 2008 Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Treasury Dept. submits to Shariah law Frida Ghitis: A surprise for Obama in the Middle East Nov, 3, 2008 Jonathan Rosenblum: Who says Jews are Smart? Jonathan Tobin: Was He Wrong About Everything? Oct. 31, 2008 Rabbi A. Henach Leibowitz: Our Immutable Noble Essence Caroline B. Glick: Running against Bush Oct. 30, 2008 Jonathan Rosenblum: The End of the Special Relationship? Steve Lipman: 'Kid Kosher' Gets A Title Shot Oct. 29, 2008 Binyamin L. Jolkovsky: GET US THE TAPE THE L.A. TIMES REFUSES TO RELEASE, AND WE'LL GIVE YOU CASH! Dr. Ari Korenblit: Making The Write Choice for President Oct. 28, 2008 Mona Charen: Denial runs through American Jewry Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Sell-off to capitalism or sell-out to Islam? Oct. 27, 2008 The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Are tax deductions for charitable donations moral? Jonathan Mark: The Mystery Of The Arab-American Vote Oct. 24, 2008 'Why aren't all religious people vegetarians?': Response by Miriam Kosman Caroline B. Glick: Testing Obama's mettle Oct. 23, 2008 Daniel Pipes: Obama Would Fail Security Clearance The Kosher Gourmet by Linda Gassenheimer: A fast chicken dish with an Asian accent Oct. 20, 2008 Gary Rosenblatt: Still One Torah Jonathan Tobin: Government 'Gifts' Are Not Free Oct. 17, 2008 Jonathan Rosenblum: Sukkos and the Great Meltdown Caroline B. Glick: The disappearance of law Oct. 16, 2008 The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Copying DVDs: RIP OR RIPOFF? Cal Thomas: Blaming the Jews (again) March 22, 2007 J-Rhythms with Avraham Rosenblum: JWR's cutting-edge music program showcasing performers -- singers, song writers, musicians, and bands -- who learn and live the Torah lifestyle (OUR NEWEST IGODCAST !) Oct. 29, 2003 Mortimer B. Zuckerman: Graffiti On History's Walls (MUST-READ!)

Jewish World Review Sept. 8, 2008 / 8 Elul 5768 How far must one go to help somebody out of a contract? By Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | Q: I rented out an apartment. A prospective tenant gave me a deposit, but then cancelled. He gets the deposit back if I find a new tenant. Do I have to look for a new tenant, or can I just pocket the deposit? A: Your question deals with a concept known in secular law as "mitigation". When one party is liable for loss caused to another, typically the person suffering the loss has an obligation to mitigate the damage before holding the other responsible. When someone cancels a rental agreement on short notice, he causes you a loss because if he hadn't grabbed the apartment you would have found someone else. The question is if now you have the obligation to make an effort to find someone else. I am sure that different jurisdictions have differing laws on this topic; my column is not meant to give legal guidance but rather ethical guidance based on the principles of Jewish law and tradition. We find in many cases that Jewish law obligates a measure of mitigation. Here are some examples: If an employer has to suddenly cancel a hire, and the employee is stuck without work for that day (or week, or month) then the employee is entitled to compensation. However, the employee is obligated to make an effort to find alternative work; only if he is unable is he entitled to compensation. Likewise, if the worker suddenly leaves the employer in the lurch, the employer can make the employee liable for a loss, but only if he cannot find alternative workers for comparable pay. (1) Here is a parallel situation: The rabbis taught: if someone hires a ship but unloads in the middle of the way, he has to pay half the rental and the owner has [no monetary claim but] only resentment against him. What is the case? If the owner is able to find someone else, then why is he resentful? And if he is unable to find someone else, he is liable for the entire amount! Even if he is able to find someone else, he is resentful because of the extra strain on the ship [from loading and unloading]. (2) Once we acknowledge the need for mitigation, we still need to ask who has the responsibility, and the right, of mitigation. We could imagine in the above cases that the worker doesn't have to seek alternative employment, but that the employer is empowered to look on his behalf. Or that the employer doesn't have to look for replacement workers, but the quitting workers are empowered to give him some. In the case of the ship, we could imagine that the reneging passenger would be enabled and required to find a new passenger to take his place. In fact, this is what we find by house rentals. The lessor is not required to look for a new tenant, but the lessee is empowered to find another tenant to take his place. The Shulchan Aruch (authoritative Code of Jewish law) writes: Just as the lessor has to give notice, so the lessee has to give thirty days notice in the city, or twelve months in the country, in order to give [the lessor] the ability to find a new tenant and not leave the house vacant. And if he didn't notify, he can't leave, rather he has to pay the rental. Or he can put in someone else in his place. But if he wants to give someone unsuitable, the lesser does not have to accept him. (3) There are various explanations as to why the damaged party is responsible for mitigation in one instance, and the responsible party in others. The simplest is that it is fairest to impose the duty on the reneging party, who is after all at fault, but that in the case of a worker or passenger, there is more of a problem of some candidates being unsuitable; some workers may do poor work and some passengers may have problematic merchandise or conduct. But most tenants are pretty much alike. So within the framework of Jewish law, you don't have to look for a tenant, but you have to allow your canceling tenant to do this. It would be fairest for you to also make an effort to find a replacement, and this would also be wisest since it would enable you to find a tenant you like. SOURCES: (1) Babylonian Talmud, Bava Metzia 76b and Tosafos commentary. (2) Babylonian Talmud, Bava Metzia 79b (3) Shulchan Aruch, Choshen Mishpat 312:7 and glosses of Rema ARCHIVES Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes inspiring articles. Sign up for our daily update. It's free. Just click here. JWR contributor Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir, formerly of the Council of Economic Advisers in the Reagan administration, is Research Director of the Business Ethics Center of Jerusalem, Jerusalem College of Technology. To comment or pose a question, please click here. THE JEWISH ETHICIST, NOW IN BOOK FORM You've enjoyed his columns on JWR for years. Now the Jewish Ethicist has culled his most intriguing — and controversial — offerings in book form. HARDCOVER PAPERBACK Sales help fund JWR. © 2008, The Jewish Ethicist is produced by the JCT Center for Business Ethics