Among the charities that Mr. Gottlieb regularly donated to was Yeshivas Ohr Israel. At the recent annual dinner, he had pledged $10,000 toward the yeshivah’s scholarship fund.

Two weeks later, Mr. Gottlieb passed away - before he had a chance to honor his pledge. His heir was his only child, Dov.

After the shivah, Dov received a visit from the financial administrator of Ohr Israel, Mr. Goldin.

“Your father recently pledged $10,000 to the yeshivah’s scholarship fund,” Mr. Goldin said. “Honoring your father’s pledge promptly would be a great merit for his soul.” 

“I affiliate myself with other Torah institutions, and I am experiencing financial issues at the moment,” replied Dov. “I don’t see myself donating to Ohr Israel.”

“But your father already pledged that amount,” Mr. Goldin said. “You owe us the money.”

“Did my father sign any agreement with the yeshivah?” asked Dov.

“It was a verbal pledge,” acknowledged Mr. Goldin. “But verbal commitments also have to be honored, particularly charity pledges.”

“My father pledged,” said Dov. “I never pledged.”

“But when your father pledged, he committed his money to the yeshivah,” argued Mr. Goldin.

“That money is now mine,” responded Dov. “If nothing was committed in writing, his pledge doesn’t obligate me.”

“Perhaps you don’t share your father’s enthusiasm for Ohr Israel,” said Mr. Goldin. “But, as his heir, you are obligated to honor his verbal pledges.”

“I am not convinced,” said Dov. “I’ll get back to you in a week.”

“Thank you for your time,” said Mr. Goldin. “We hope that you will decide to honor your father’s pledge as a merit for his soul.” 

Dov called Rabbi Dayan and asked, “Am I required to honor my father’s verbal pledge?”

“Whether an heir is obligated to honor the deceased’s verbal pledge is the subject of an intricate dispute between the mechaber, Rav Yosef Karo, and the Rema,” answered Rabbi Dayan. “A person pledged a sum of money to the poor of Eretz Yisrael in his will. The heirs challenged the will, claiming that it was not drafted properly, but Rav Karo upheld it for a number of reasons. One was that even if the will was not drafted properly, a verbal pledge to charity is also fully binding. The Rema (Responsa #47-48:3) disagreed with him, arguing that a charity pledge is considered a vow that a person must fulfill, but does not obligate the heirs if not contractually binding. Interestingly, in that particular case, the Rema enforced the ruling of Rav Karo, out of his great respect for him.”

“Is this dispute reflected in Shulchan Aruch?” asked Dov.

“Yes,” replied Rabbi Dayan. “The Shulchan Aruch (C.M. 212:7) writes that if someone, before his death, pledged future income from his real estate to charity, it must be given to the poor - even though such a future agreement is not contractually binding. The Rema comments that only the person himself must fulfill his pledge as a vow, but it is not binding if he died in the interim. Ketzos Hachoshen (290:3) explains that the issue depends on whether the requirement to honor one’s charity pledge generates a legal obligation, a lien, on the money.”

“So I don’t have to honor my father’s verbal pledge according to the Rema?” said Dov.

“You are not compelled to, although the issue is not simple,” replied Rabbi Dayan. “Some authorities maintain that even the Rema concedes that the vow creates a legal obligation when the assets exist (Sma 212:21; Pischei Teshuvah 212:9 citing Chasam Sofer). Furthermore, if the father already set aside the money, the heirs are required to give it (Nesivos 250:4; Tzedakah U’mishpat 4:28-29).”

“What about the issue of honoring my father?” asked Dov.

“If a person instructed his children to give the money, there is kibbud av in fulfilling his words,” replied Rabbi Dayan. “Fulfilling his charity pledge also brings him great merit and is a tribute to his neshamah (Pischei Teshuvah 252:3).”