[Avodah] offering a higher salary

[Zev Sero]

On 26/10/17 12:58, elazar teitz via Avodah wrote:
>> If I have a nochris who is willing to clean for me for $N, you have no 
>> right to lure her away by offering more.  But if she is "re`acha" then
>> aderaba you have a mitzvah to offer her a chance to improve her income,
>> but before taking your offer she should offer me the chance to match it.

> Is it a mitzva to help improve a Jew's income, if it is at the 
> expense of another Jew (especially when it is not done with the intent 
> of helping the employee, but rather to help oneself)?

(1) You have the same mitzvah to love both of us, so whichever one you 
help is a mitzvah

(2) She is probably (though not definitely) in more need than I am

(3) If you're willing to pay more for her work then by definition that 
makes her work *worth* more, since the value of anything is defined as 
whatever it will fetch, so by making her the offer you're not hurting 
me, you're merely preventing me from (unbeknownst to either of us) 
getting an unwarranted benefit at her expense.  Basically our 
arrangement is ona'ah, we're both in error about the value of her 
labour, and you're in a position to prevent it, so shouldn't you do so?

(4) Your intent shouldn't matter.   Tzedakah doesn't depend at all on 
kavanah.  If someone is helped, it's a mitzvah even if you didn't mean 
it (cf shikcha), while if you meant to help someone and it didn't happen 
there's no mitzvah (cf Bava Basra 8b etc)


-- 
Zev Sero                May 2017, with its *nine* days of Chanukah,
zev at sero.name           be a brilliant year for us all