The prohibition “You shall not covet”
8. The prohibition is not violated when the item in question is offered for sale. Even if a person is unsure whether the item is for sale, it is permissible to ask about this or request that it be sold to him. The Torah forbids only persuading the owner and exerting pressure.
If the shop owner does not want to sell this item at the moment and you try to persuade him, then, according to some opinions, the prohibition “You shall not covet” is also violated in this case.
9. If someone holding an important position (with a special standing in society) wants to acquire an item, it is quite likely that he will not be refused, so he must be much more cautious in these matters.
**** Mr. Smoker works as a manager at a large factory. Dozens of workers are under his supervision. He is considered intelligent and strong-willed, but he cannot overcome his smoking habit. Things have reached the point where he has begun looking into paid treatments that could help him break this harmful habit.
He decided that he needed to stop buying cigarettes, and now every day is a real ordeal for him.
Sometimes he cannot hold out and runs around the factory looking for smokers. He must be very careful not to violate the Torah's prohibition, because among those he asks for a cigarette there may be people who give him one only because they want to please their boss. Had it been someone else, they would not have given him one. In other words, his special position compels some workers to give him something without particularly wanting to.