Ask The Rabbi
1 March 1997 
Issue #141 (Parshas Shoftim)
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Researched at Ohr Somayach, Jerusalem
This Issue Contains:
1.  The Merchant of Vegas
2.  Legal Language
3.  Answer to Yiddle Riddle 
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Lee Vyner <vynerl-m@actcom.co.il> wrote:

>Dear Rabbi,
>
>The Talmud says that someone who earns their salary from gambling is invalid 
>as a witness in a Jewish court because the person who lost doesn't really pay 
>with a full heart.  Therefore, the money that he wins is considered theft.  
>If so, what about the stock market?  People literally gamble as to the price 
>of a particular commodity or stock, and the person who has a holding of this 
>particular item certainly does not want the price to deteriorate.  So is 
>someone who gambles on the stock market invalid as a witness?
>Lots of love, Lee Mandy and Laivy Avraham (the cutest baby in the world bi'h)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Dear Lee and family,

Stocks are a legitimate investment.  Buying stocks is essentially no different 
than buying diamonds, land, or wheat.  True, the stock market has an element 
of risk, but don't confuse `lost wages' with `Las Vegas.'  Do you know of any 
business which involves no element of risk?  If so, do you know their phone 
number?

Gambling, on the other hand, is a game where each person hopes to guess the 
right number on the dice, or pick the right horse.  Gamblers are invalid as 
witnesses in a Jewish court.

The Sages of the Talmud differ as to why gamblers are invalid.  According to 
one opinion, someone who wins a bet is like a thief, because he collects prize 
money that he didn't `earn' and to which he has no true legal claim.

According to another opinion, only a professional gamester -- who has no other 
source of income -- is invalid as a witness.  His integrity is suspect, 
because he spends his day in pursuits which contribute nothing to society.  
According to this opinion, someone who gambles only part-time can be a valid 
witness, provided he's involved in some productive activity.

The following story is told about the Chafetz Chaim:  A man once asked the 
Chafetz Chaim to bless him that he should win the lottery, but the Chafetz 
Chaim refused.  "But you give blessings to people who gamble on stocks, why 
not when they gamble on lotteries?" the man asked.  The Chafetz Chaim answered 
that he gives blessings to stock investors because if the stock goes up, no 
one loses money.  But blessing one lottery ticket is a `curse' upon the other 
lottery tickets.

Source:
o  Talmud Sanhedrin 24b
o  Shulchan Aruch Choshen Mishpat 34:16
o  Story thanks to Will Shulman

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Bill Baldwin from <Hbal@ewol.com> wrote:

Dear Rabbi,

I would be very grateful if you could give me some information.  Could you 
please tell me what the word `shoftim' means?  The matter arose because of a 
letter I received from a group using the name `The Shoftim Society.'  They 
asked me to participate in a forum entitled `The Nuremberg Trials: An Inside 
Story.'  The Jewish attorneys comprising the group are based in Columbia, 
South Carolina.  The reason for the invitation came about because I was one of 
the U.S. Prosecutors at the trial.  I told them that I'm sorry but I won't be 
able to attend, since at the proposed time of the forum we will be in the 
process of moving north to New Hampshire.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Dear Mr. Bill Baldwin,

`Shoftim' means `judges.'  It's a noun, not a verb.  One judge is called a 
`shofet.'  Shoftim is also the name of one of the 24 books of the Torah, the 
Book of Judges, which teaches about the era from the time of Joshua until the 
time of Samuel.  As an American/Israeli, and son of a holocaust survivor, I 
want to personally thank you for your role in bringing some of the offenders 
to justice.

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Yiddle Riddle

Last week we asked:

Good is no good
Whenever I'm near.
As his I'm mistaken
When taken by ear.
`Thou shalt' by my side
Is an order for quitting,
And spelling me backwards
Is no less forbidding.
Have you guessed the nature
Of my little `con' game?
If you're right then I'm not.
Now what is my `name'?
Reuven Subar (c) 1997

Answer:  My name is `Lo' -- spelled `lamed alef.'  `Lo' means `no' and `not.'  
It sounds like the word spelled `lamed vav' which is Hebrew for `his.'  `Lo' 
spelled backwards is `Al,' which also means `not.'
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