[Avodah] selling whiskey/bourbon

[Zev Sero]

Micha Berger wrote:
> On Wed, Mar 24, 2010 at 02:59:14PM +0200, Eli Turkel wrote:
> : Actually my gripe is the opposite. In Bnei Brak many places do in fact
> : not buy from stores that sold their chametz before Pesach.
> 
> Are there pesaqim to this effect? Or are you citing people who are
> simply violating halakhah?

How are they violating halacha?  They're not *obligated* to buy from
someone.  They may be foolish and have no idea what they're doing, and
the shopkeeper may be suffering because of their foolishness, but I
don't see how they're violating halacha.  A shopkeeper's parnassah
depends on his customers' goodwill, including their whims and fancies.
Perhaps such shopkeepers might find it in their interest to pay for a
public education campaign, to open people's eyes to how foolish they're
being.  Or it may be in their interest to just fall in with the public
and adopt their chumros; that will cost them, but it may be cheaper than
the alternatives.  As the gemara says, if someone opens across from you
and gives the children candy so they'll shlep their parents into the
shop, you are free to do the same, and if you don't and lose business
then you have nobody to blame but yourself.

-- 
Zev Sero                      The trouble with socialism is that you
zev at sero.name                 eventually run out of other people’s money
                                                     - Margaret Thatcher