We have been discussing some of the halachot, Jewish laws, regarding the relationship between a person, the principal, whom we have called Levi, and the person who he appointed to act on his behalf, the agent, whom we have called Shimon.

In this lesson we shall be discussing who are the persons who are eligible according to halacha to perform the role of being an agent, and who may not be appointed an agent to do the bidding of the principal.

A woman may act as an agent and appoint an agent. A married woman may act as an agent for a man other than her husband.

There is a general principle that a person can appoint whomever he wants to be his agent and he is responsible for the decisions and the acts of the agent. Thus there is usually no difference if the agent is eligible or ineligible as far as the principal is concerned. It is only when there are the rights and obligations of third parties in the situations described above that there may be a difference. The topic of this lesson is not the relationship between the principal and the agent. Rather it focuses on the relationship between the agent and third parties.

The question arises regarding the eligibility of the agent as regards other parties.

For example, Yehudah, the debtor, owes $100 to Levi, the creditor. Levi sends a fax to Levi instructing Levi to send him the $100 with whomever the debtor Yehudah selects to deliver the $100. Under these instructions, the person selected by Yehudah, the debtor, to deliver the $100, becomes the agent of the creditor, Levi. Since, Yehudah, the debtor is selecting the agent for the creditor, Levi, the person selected by Yehudah, the debtor in this situation must be a trustworthy person and cannot be a person who has a disability. In halachah, the following are deemed to be persons with disabilities. A deaf-mute, a mentally deficient person, a minor, or a Gentile. Thus clearly, Yehudha may not select any of these persons. If he does select such a person, and the messenger loses the $100, Yehudah still owes the $100 to Levi. On the other hand, if Yehudah selects a trustworthy person without disabilities, as soon as Yehudah gives the $100 to that messenger, it is deemed that Yehudah delivered the money to Levi's messenger/ agent. Yehudah no longer owes the money to Levi, and if the agent selected by Yehudah loses the money, Yehudah is not responsible, and no longer owes the money to Levi.

Another situation in which there is a difference if the agent is eligible or ineligible occurs when the principal instructs his agent to receive a gift on behalf of the third party. If the agent is ineligible to act as such, the gift is not effective until the agent delivers it to the third party.

I will discuss each class of the aforementioned persons separately, that is, besides the Jewish adult male and female who are ordinarily eligible to act as agents. The classes that are not eligible are deaf-mutes, the mentally deficient, minors, and Gentiles.

Subject to local laws and local custom, a principal can appoint whomever he wants to be his agent. Those classes listed below are restrictions regarding the rights of third parties in dealing with the agent.

A person living in California while on a trip to New York borrows a rare book from his friend in New York. The friend in New York telephones the borrower in California and tells him to return the book with a member of the Cohen family that is flying from California to New York. The Cohen family consists of a father, a mother, a mentally deficient child, and a minor child. When the borrower hands the book to either Mr. or Mrs. Cohen, he will immediately be relieved of liability for the return of the book. However, if he hands the book over to the mentally deficient child or to the minor child, the borrower will not be relieved of liability until the book reaches the hands of the lender.

The deaf-mute may not act as an agent since he does not have the mental capacity to so act. He may not appoint an agent to act on his behalf.

A mentally deficient person may not act as an agent since he does not have the mental capacity to so act. He may not appoint an agent to act on his behalf. There is a difference of opinion as to whether an agent may act for a principal who was lucid when he appointed him to be his agent, but became mentally deficient before com- pletion of the purpose of the agency.

A minor may not act as an agent (unless the principal appoints him to so act for himself). The reason is that a minor does not have the mental capacity to carry out the instructions of the principal. He may not appoint an agent to act on his behalf. A boy is no longer a minor when he attains the age of 13 years and one day, and a girl when she attains the age of 12 years and one day.

A parent sent his minor son with a shekel and a container to purchase one liter of oil from a storekeeper; oil costs one half shekel a liter. The storekeeper took the container from the boy, measured out the liter of oil into the container, and gave the boy a shekel change. On his way home the boy lost the half shekel and/or the oil. The storekeeper is responsible. If the storekeeper did not take the container into his own hands, but had merely poured a liter of oil into the container held by the minor son, the storekeeper would not have been liable if the son broke the container on his way home. In the first situation the storekeeper took the container from the minor and at that time he became the principal, and when he returned the container to the minor, the minor became his agent. In the latter case the storekeeper never took the container into his own hands and the minor was still the agent of the father. However, if the father instructed the storekeeper to return the oil with the minor son, the storekeeper is not liable for any loss after the minor son takes the oil into his hands.

If a principal desires, he may appoint a Gentile to be his agent in most monetary matters. However, regarding third parties, a Gentile may not serve as an agent. A Jew is not eligible to act as an agent for a Gentile. There is a difference of opinion whether according to Jewish law a Gentile may act as an agent for another Gentile.

Just a another law of agency not connected with the topic of today's lesson.
If the agent is injured while acting in the role of the principal's agent, the principal is not liable. For example, the principal hires an agent to deliver payment to the lender. Whether he pays the agent is not controlling. The law is the same if the agent was not paid. On the way to make payment, the agent drives his car recklessly and injures himself. The agent cannot sue the principal.

The subject matter of this lesson is more fully presented in Volume VI Chapter 182 of "A Restatement of Rabbinic Civil Law" by E. Quint, published by Jason Aronson, Inc. and on sale at local Judaica bookstores.
Questions to quint@inter.net.il

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