Rabbi Avishai Kulin, a judge on the Eretz Hemdah - Gazit Jewish court, on Wednesday morning published a halakhic (Jewish law) ruling that those who make appointments to receive the vaccine and then cancel them may be fined.
In the lengthy ruling, Rabbi Kulin explained that he was not discussing whether vaccines were safe, but rather the fact that the vaccines are worth money, and therefore, a person who makes an appointment for the purpose of canceling it and wasting the dose is causing monetary damage.
"This action does not directly cause damage, but it causes damage indirectly, because the dose saved for him will not be needed," he wrote. "In addition, this action may cause harm, though it is not certain since it could be that other customers will be found to receive the dose. Even so, we must say that this action is forbidden, for two reasons."
"Since the prohibition of causing indirect damage is from the Bible, an action which may cause indirect damage is forbidden, even if the damage is not certain.... Therefore, it is forbidden to make an appointment in order to cancel it, due to the damage caused."
He added that "the authority which paid for the vaccines with money is relying on the one who made the appointment, and is reserving a dose for him, and preventing other customers from taking the appointment at the time that was set for him. Canceling the appointment is a breach of his promise to the other person, after they relied on his word."
Regarding the fine itself, Rabbi Kulin wrote that "in the case of a person who ordered a product from an artist and refused to accept it, and the product then became ruined immediately, Jewish law requires him to pay compensation to the artist for the damage caused to him due to the costs of production. This is similar to an employer who canceled an order from workers, causing them loss because they relied on him and did not accept offers from other employers. The vaccination dose has a limited lifespan, and by canceling the appointment loss is caused to the authority responsible for the vaccines, because it relied on the person making the appointment and refrained from allowing others to reserve that time."
Rabbi Kulin then brought additional proofs for why Jewish law allows such a person to be fined, concluding: "A. It is forbidden to make an appointment for the vaccine and to cancel it on purpose, for two reasons: Firstly, there is a prohibition against causing damage, and there is a prohibition against breaking a promise."
"B. There is a basis in Jewish law for requiring payment from the person who made an appointment on purpose, if the dose reserved for him cannot be used, for two reasons: 1. From the laws of damages, there are two conditions fulfilled - this is a common occurrence, and there were other people who wanted to make that appointment for the vaccine; 2 from the laws of obligation out of free will, even if the above conditions were not fulfilled."