Winner in the Challenge on the Prog Website

Question for the Rabbi, shlita. We have a halachic question regarding a financial dispute that arose in a competition on the "Prog" forum, sponsored by "Espamia Chairs". The competition involved creating an AI-based image combining a chair from the website with a creative idea, and the main prize is an office chair worth 500 shekels or a 30% discount voucher. Two participants, "Yanshuf" and "Devorah", reached the highest ranking in the public vote, but a dispute arose over the identity of the winner, and we seek a decision. The rules stated that the competition would close for uploads on Thursday (25 Elul 5785, 18/9/25) at 23:59, voting would continue until Friday (26 Elul, 19/9/25) close to the start of Shabbat, and the winner would be announced after Shabbat. It was required to specify the chair model in the creation. "Yanshuf" claims that at the official closing time (Erev Shabbat), he was leading in the ranking and presents a screenshot as evidence. He emphasizes that in previous challenges on the forum, where there were no significant prizes, no one paid attention to the site's closure at one moment or another because it was not significant to anyone (perhaps because the winner was a foregone conclusion, or the additional day did not change the result), and therefore it was not significant to track the ranking at the exact closing time. In this case, since it is a prize-bearing challenge, his screenshot strengthens his claim of leading at the official time. Additionally, he claims that he relied on his lead on Erev Shabbat and did not need to garner additional votes (such as from friends), as the official deadline had ended. He also adhered to the rules, including specifying the chair model. "Devorah" claims that according to the practice on the forum, voting continues until the challenge is actually closed by the administrator, and at this stage, she was leading with 69 points. She did not specify a chair model in the creation but added it in an appendix after she could not edit her original post. In practice, the voting was not closed on Erev Shabbat and continued afterward, leading to a tie and then to Devorah's lead. "Espamia Chairs" emphasizes that the rules stated closure on Erev Shabbat, so later votes are invalid. They are willing to accept a rabbinic ruling, to hold another competition. The forum administrator notes that usually within the challenges on our forum, until the voting is actually closed by the administrator, there is no decision and voting can still continue. In the case of a tie, it is necessary to check if there is a creation that adhered to the rules more clearly, and as mentioned, "Yanshuf" has a point in his favor because he specified the model name, whereas Devorah specified it only in an appendix, which is a "slight" deviation from the rules. The halachic question: Who is entitled to the main prize (the chair) according to Halacha? Should the winner be determined by the ranking at the official closing time (Erev Shabbat, 26 Elul 5785), as Yanshuf claims, supported by a screenshot and the claim that the forum's practice is not based on prize-bearing challenges? Or should the winner be determined by the ranking at the time of the actual closure of the challenge, as Devorah claims? Both participants are not keen on another competition between them; they want a clear ruling on who is right. With respect and great appreciation, Prog Forum and Espamia Chairs.

Shalom and blessings

The most appropriate course of action is for both parties to present their arguments before a judge, either in person or via telephone.

It is possible to arrange a discussion of both parties on the Beit Hora'ah line of our teacher, the Gaon Rabbi A. Fried, shlita, at 0733260800, extension 12.

If this is inconvenient for them, or for any other reason, both parties can approve the text of the question you sent, and I will submit it to the judge.