Discount on Hall Rental – Who Does It Belong To?
Question
Hi,
My extended family is organizing a Chanukah party, and the expenses are being shared among everyone.
I was sent by the family to arrange a hall. I booked a hall for 1,000 shekels, and everyone agreed to the price.
Afterwards, the owner of the hall told me that because of her personal relationship with me, and not with my extended family, it because our sons are good friends, she is giving a discount of 100 shekels.
Should I ask the family for the full 1,000 shekels and keep the 100-shekel discount for myself, since the discount was given to me personally?
Or according to halacha, am I required to pass the discount on my extended family that is paying for the hall?
Answer
Shalom u’vracha,
You may take the discount for yourself.
Source
In principle, the discount belongs to the one who is paying, meaning the sender, and not like a gift given to the agent. In such a case of a gift given to the agent, there is a well known dispute between Rashi and the Rif in the Gemara in Kesubos, and it is brought in halacha in siman 183 se’if 8, for the reason why we divide the gift between the agent and the sender, is it because we do not know to whom the giver intended to give it, or because of zeh vezeh gorem, meaning that they are both contributing factors.
For example, in a case where the giver knows the agent and gives him the discount, this would depend on the two explanations above. Since we do know whom the giver intended to give it to, according to the first explanation the entire amount should go to the agent.
However, according to the second explanation, it is still considered zeh vezeh gorem and should therefore still be divided.
However, all of this is only when the payment is made with the sender’s money. When the payment is made with the agent’s own money, there is a dispute in the halachos of shalichus whether the agent is considered to be buying and selling on behalf of the sender, or whether the sender himself is considered to be the one acquiring it.
There are opinions that whoever provides the money is the one who acquires it. The Igros Moshe writes that this is a safekeh de'dina.
Accordingly, we could apply the same here. The person who rents the hall can say that he is renting the hall for himself and then subletting it to the rest of the family, and therefore he may keep the discount for himself. This seems reasonable .
