Fixing A Library Book
QUESTION 56: FIXING A LIBRARY BOOK
If my child tears a few pages in a book that I've taken
out from the library, can I scotch tape the pages back
myself, or must I tell them first to see if that's OK with
them? Once I showed them such a book and they said "Oh, that
can't be fixed", and I paid for it, but I feel that I could
easily have fixed it.
RABBI BELSKY
You definitely could fix it, and you should fix it. You don't
have to pay for the entire book, even though that may be the
policy of the library. The other way of paying for damage
would be to pay for the reduction in value, as explained
in a previous question (http://torah.org/learning/honesty/class28.html).
A book with a page that's ripped, as opposed
to a used book before the page was ripped, would probably
be reduced by about half a dollar or so.
NEXT WEEK'S QUESTION 57: TRUTHFULNESS WITH A SHADCHAN
How truthful must one be when talking to a shadchan
(match-maker) - or anyone helping to find a shidduch
(match) - about the age of a person? Is there a distinction
here between what men and women can say? For example, if
a woman says she's 33, won't people automatically assume
she's a bit older, so isn't 'being honest' really giving
the wrong information? If understating is allowed at times,
at what point should the person being dated be told the
truth? How about regarding information regarding yichus
(family), or medical history?
Participate in the Honesty Forum, and discuss the issues we confront in this class!
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