Troubled on Purim - "Halacha" vs Honesty?
A minor incident on Purim has troubled me. I collect on Purim day for Lema’an Achai. This year I teamed up for an hour on Purim with my friend Murray Shore from Toronto , and we went together door-to-door. A donor (we’ll call him Ploni) came up to us and proposed the following deal. Ploni offered to give Lema’an Achai 250 NIS, if Lema’an Achai will receipt him for 500 NIS . Ploni explained that he has given out at least 250 NIS in cash donations to individuals, who are not able to give tax receipts. So Ploni is giving 500 NIS total charity, and believes he’s entitled to a receipt for that full amount. Ploni further explained that Lema’an Achai loses nothing by this, as we doubtless have collected plenty of cash, which has not yet been receipted. At the moment, no-one gets tax benefit from this. And of course, we receive 250 NIS from Ploni, which he otherwise might not have donated. To finish off the proposal, Ploni named Rabbi X, an important community rabbi in town, who P