Shlomo and Kalman planned a trip during winter vacation. “We’ll meet at the bus station and board together,” they decided.

Shlomo arrived at the bus station half an hour early, but Kalman got delayed on the way. As departure time approached, Kalman called Shlomo.

“I’ll be there in ten minutes,” he said. “Get on the bus meanwhile, and save me a seat next to you toward the back.”

Shlomo boarded the bus and settled in. He put his knapsack on the seat next to him, saving it for Kalman.

As time wore on, the bus became more and more crowded. Shortly before departure time, Kalman contacted Shlomo again.

“I just bought my ticket and am waiting on line,” he said.

With relief, Shlomo saw that Kalman was about to board. Before Kalman boarded, though, there were no longer any other seats available.

Another young passenger asked Shlomo to move his bag and allow him to sit.

“I’m saving the seat for my friend, who’s about to board,” said Shlomo.

“It was nice of you to look out for your friend,” said the passenger. “However, I’m first, and there are no other seats available.”

“But my friend already bought his ticket,” protested Shlomo. “He’s also entitled to a seat, and he asked me to save the seat on his behalf!”

“Who gave you the right to save him a seat?” argued the other passenger. “First come, first served!”

Meanwhile, Kalman boarded the bus. “There’s my friend,” said Shlomo, pointing up the bus. “He’s coming down the aisle.”

The other passenger, though, removed Shlomo’s knapsack from the seat and sat down.

“What are you doing?” said Shlomo. “You have no right to touch my knapsack.”

“You fellows are rude,” the other passenger said to Shlomo. “You should have been decent enough to remove the knapsack yourself.”

Kalman came over. “I asked you to save me a seat next to you,” he said to Shlomo.

“I did, but all the other seats were taken,” said Shlomo. “This fellow insisted he had a right to the seat.”

When Shlomo and Kalman returned to yeshivah, they asked Rabbi Dayan about the incident.

“Did Shlomo have a right to save the seat for me?” asked Kalman.

“The Gemara (B.M. 10a; Kesuvos 84b) teaches that even in cases where a creditor can seize property from his debtor, another person cannot grab on his behalf if there are limited assets and additional creditors may lose out,” replied Rabbi Dayan. “This is referred to in halacha as ‘tofes l’baal chov b’makom shechav l’acherim.’

“The Shulchan Aruch rules that the other person may not seize the property even if he was an agent of the creditor, who instructed him to seize the property on his behalf (C.M. 105:1).”

“How does this apply here?” asked Shlomo.

“Each person who buys a bus ticket is entitled, when he pays, to any available seat,” explained Rabbi Dayan (see C.M. 198:6). “Many authorities compare saving a seat for your friend to grabbing property on his behalf at the expense of other passengers, who also have a right to that seat. Thus, you may not save him the seat if there are no comparable seats available.”

“What if I had bought both tickets?” asked Shlomo. “Does that make a difference?”

“In that case, some contemporary authorities permit saving the seat,” said Rabbi Dayan. “You are then entitled to utilize two seats and, theoretically, could even use one seat for your knapsack if you needed to. Others consider this unfair when other people need the seat (see Sma 105:2).

“Of course, these rules apply in the absence of any explicit conditions of the bus company or common practice among people,” concluded Rabbi Dayan. “Therefore, if the company explicitly states that one may not save seats under any circumstances, those terms are binding on the passengers. Alternatively, if the common practice considers it acceptable to save seats for immediate family — spouse, parents/children — who are getting on at the same stop, it is permissible (see Mishpetei HaTorah 1:85).”