LEV364 We are forbidden to rob. The prohibition against robbing applies to forcibly taking an article from another person. For example, grabbing someone's possession from his hand, or entering someone's house against his wishes and stealing his possessions, or openly going into someone's field and taking his fruit. (Rambam, Hilchos Gzaila v'avaida 1:3). Below are the basic laws of this prohibition: 1) The prohibition against robbing applies to any article belonging to either a Jew or a non-Jew. (Choshen Mishpot 359:1). 2) It is forbidden to rob even when the article has little value. (ibid. 359:3). 3) You may not force someone to buy something against his will. 4) If a Jew takes another Jew to a court whose decisions are not based on Torah law, it is considered robbing to accept any payment which is not in accordance with halacha. The court's decision that one person must pay the other does not render it permissible to accept the money. (Chofetz Chayim in Sfas Tomim, ch. 3). 5) If a person offers you something out of embarrassment, but really does not want to give it to you, you must not accept it because this would be similar to robbing. (Sefer Chasidim 316 and Pele Yoatz, section gezel). 6) It is an especially serious sin to rob from the poor as it is stated, "Rob not the weak because he is weak, neither crush the poor in the gate. For the Lord will plead their cause and rob the life of those who robbed them" (Mishle 22:22,23). (Shaarey Tshuvah 3:110). 7) Rabbi Chayim of Brisk used to say that robbing people of their sleep is included in this prohibition. (Heard from his grandson, Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik, Rosh Yeshiva of Brisk Yeshiva in Jerusalem). The Chofetz Chayim commented that robbing people of their sleep is worse than robbing money. Money can be returned, sleep cannot. Rabbi Eliyahu Lopian admonished his students that roommates in a dormitory must be especially careful not to wake up anyone who is already sleeping. He told them that they must be as quiet as possible in order that they should not disturb the sleep of others (Leviticus Eliyahu, vol. 1, pp. 183-4). Of course, to wake someone up for morning prayers is not only permissible but is actually a mitzvah. Rabbi Eliyahu Lopian would don his talis and tefilin and go from room to room in his yeshiva to personally awaken his students for the morning prayers. A) Be careful not to talk loudly when someone is sleeping. B) If someone has a "Do not disturb" sign on the door, do not knock unless the matter is urgent. You might wake up someone. C) Neighbors should keep the volume of a tape recorder or record player down to a minimum in the evenings. 8) An employee must not waste time during his hours of employment. When a person is hired for a job (and paid by the hour, week, or month) his time belongs to his employer. Any waste of time is considered robbing, and he must ask his employer for forgiveness. Moreover, even if the employee performed a mitzvah during the time in which he should have been working, he is guilty of transgressing. In the Talmud (Taanis 23b) we find that Abba Chilkiyah would not even take the time out to return the greeting of Torah scholars while he was working for an employer. (Mesilas Yeshorim, ch. 11).