Usually when you are invited away for a Shabbos (Sabbath) lunch, you bring a food item or something similar, to help chip in for the meal.
When I go, I am usually busy during the week not having time to shop + drop off, or I just can’t carry it there day of, so instead I will either buy them something after the fact (something I know they need/can use) or I will just send them a check, usually for an amount more than what I ate…or what I would have been.
Surprisingly I got an email from Chase last week, that one of my payments was declined.
I had sent a check for a lunch in November, via Chase Pay (in which they mail the check for me (saves on postage 😉 )), and it hadn’t been cashed within 90 days, so Chase refunded me my money.
I don’t mind taking my money back, but if someone gives you a check, why wouldn’t you just cash it right away…instead of letting it go to waste.
More and more banks these days are offering “Check Depositing” in their mobile apps…so if your bank offers that, you should get on it, it’s a great feature!
Aviously 
maybe they thought it wasn’t necessary and they did not want to accept it. People might have you just because they enjoy your company.
That seems unlikely :p but actually I had asked them before when they asked if I could bring something, I said I’ll send a check instead, and they agreed…
Personally, I would find it slightly odd to receive a check from someone after having them for a meal. If you want to bring a dish or a bottle of wine, that’s great. But to get something after the fact is unnecessary (but appreciated nonetheless!). However, actually paying for the meal itself would make me feel uncomfortable – I invite people because I want to have them over for a meal, and definitely would not want the person to feel obligated to give me anything at all in return. Just my two cents.
In this case I had asked the people “I don’t have time to pick something up, can I send a check instead?” and they said “Yes”!
Which is why I found it strange that they never cashed it.
Well to start with – I’d find it strange that someone would be so willing to accept a check from someone after having them over for a shabbos lunch.. strikes me as rather odd.
Anyways, maybe they never cashed it because they felt weird about it, or possibly just forgot about it. Either way, the whole thing seems rather odd indeed…
I’ve been to 2 kinds of meals in my long life. the first kind is where everyone is broke and everyone must cook something, or the total dollar amount is divided by the # of people. the second kind is thrown by people with money who won’t flat out say they want anything, but you’re supposed to bring them candy or wine. This check idea seems to blend the 2 together.