Q&A from the Bais HaVaad Halacha Hotline

Rough Drawing

February 13, 2025

Q After the winner was announced at our school fundraising raffle, it was discovered that a computer glitch had caused a few names to be omitted. Is the result valid, or must the drawing be redone?

A The Chavos Ya’ir (61) recounts that his talmidim held a raffle on Purim for a silver cup, selling tickets for one reichsthaler. After the drawing it was discovered that one name had been left out. That person was compensated with a few reichsthalers from the winner, but others argued that the lottery was invalid.

The Chavos Ya’ir ruled that the raffle was indeed invalid, because the outcome of a lottery is not random but Divinely orchestrated, but only if it was conducted fairly. The Aruch Hashulchan (C.M. 174:12) concurred.

The Chavos Ya’ir adds that the same applies if one name was found to appear twice: The result is voided, whether the double entrant won or not.

This ruling applies only if the missing entrant’s ticket purchase was successful (e.g., his credit card was charged). If the transaction wasn’t processed, that person is not considered a participant in the raffle, and the omission of his name doesn’t invalidate the result.