What is required to appoint an agent for a financial transaction according to Rambam?
Halacha 1: No kinyan or witnesses are needed to appoint an agent. A verbal statement between the two parties suffices. Witnesses are only needed if one party later denies the arrangement.
Question 2
An agent was instructed to purchase wheat but bought barley instead. The barley's price then fell. Who bears the loss?
Halacha 5: When an agent deviates from instructions and the price falls, he bears the entire loss alone. However, if the price rises, the profit belongs to the principal (owner of the funds).
Question 3
A principal told his agent: 'Sell my field to one person.' The agent sold it to two people. What is the ruling?
Halacha 4: Selling to two people when instructed to sell to one is a violation of the principal's instructions, nullifying the entire sale.
Question 4
A principal specifically instructed his agent: 'Pay my debt only in front of witnesses,' but the agent paid without witnesses. The creditor now denies receiving payment. Who is liable?
Halacha 6: By paying without witnesses contrary to explicit instructions, the agent violated his mandate. He is liable to pay if the creditor makes a second claim.
Question 5
A debtor sends money via an agent. The agent says 'I paid,' but the creditor says 'I never received it.' All three parties are present. What is the proper procedure?
Halacha 7: Both the agent (sh'vuat hesset) and the creditor (Torah oath) take their respective oaths, and the principal pays the creditor a second time. Even two agents together cannot testify since they are interested parties.