Reviewed By Rabbi Mordechai Shuchatowitz, Head of the Baltimore Bais Din

In a previous article, we discussed a case in which a carpool group committed to including a family in their carpool for the coming year. Although this family lived a mile-and-a-half away from the other families, they were needed to complete the carpool, so they were accepted. Later, a new family moved in within a few blocks of the other drivers. The group then wished to back out of their commitment to the far-away family.

We discussed the halacha of mechusar amana, one who is not trustworthy for backing out of a verbal commitment. If someone gave a verbal commitment to another, halacha says that the commitment must be honored.

We will examine some new scenarios that involve the question of backing out of a commitment, and we will see whether the halacha changes in these new cases.

When a homeowner engages a contractor to do work on his or her house, there is potential for conflict at many different junctures of the construction process. The purpose of this article is to provide information on the practical and halachic aspects of this relationship so that the parties can foresee and preempt these potential problems. We will also discuss halachic solutions to this type of conflict.

A homeowner who is considering a construction project will typically call a number of contractors for estimates, and will need to make a decision about which contractor to use. The decision may be