Sefer Chasidim: Worse Than Robbery

Some things are worse than robbery, although, in a strictly legal sense, they are not robbery. For example, a guest who avails himself of a person’s hospitality may be guilty of robbery, because the host may be a miser, (Chullin 7b) and he is ashamed to send the guest away. Or if a guest comes to a poor man who does not have enough food for himself, but he is ashamed to say so. Morally, this is plain robbery. And so we read, “Do not eat of a stingy man’s food; ‘Eat and drink’ he says to you, but he does not really mean it.” (Proverbs 23:6) It is very difficult for this guest to do Teshuva, because if he offers to pay, the host will be ashamed to keep it. Sefer Chasidim #316 – Translated by Avraham Yaakov Finkel