Question:
B"H
Kavod haRav,
Thank you for your help.
In the following scenario, I am wondering if I am obligated to give tzedakah further:
There is a prayer event where a Tzadik will pray for donors and he will read a donors name by a holy site, and the donation money goes towards helping those in need. The advertisement has listed the price for someone's name to be included and I decide that I want to submit several names to be prayed for. When I call to put through payment and mention the names, the person on the phone says that there was a misprint on the advertisement and the price of the tefilla event is less than advertised. I already had in my mind an amount to donate (and I said bli neder to her on the phone) which I believed corresponded to how many names I wanted to submit (it was a price per name). I signed up for payment based on the correct, lesser price. My question is: am I obligated to give the price difference to this tzedakah organization, or can we say that since I wanted to participate in the tefilla, not necessarily give the higher amount specifically, that I would not be obligated?
Thanks very much.
Answer:
Hello,
You are not obligated to give more than the lower price, because the higher price was a mistake. This would be called a neder b'taus, as you never meant to donate more than what is needed to submit the names that you wanted. Therefore you only have to give the corrected amount and not extra.
Best wishes
Sources:
ע' שו"ת אמרי יושר ח"ב ס' קמ"ח, הובא בצדקה ומשפט פ"ד ס"ק כ"ה.