Yeshiva
Beit Midrash
- Family and Society
- Financial Laws and Tzedaka
- Theft and Damage
Benny’s ruminations were interrupted suddenly, as a ball unexpectedly came within inches of his face. Instinctively, Benny hit the ball out of the way. A loud "owww!" drew Benny’s gaze from the sunset toward the sidewalk.
There, to Benny’s great surprise, was a man lying on the ground, clutching his face!
"Whaa? Are you OK?" Benny stammered.
"Not really" came the muffled groan. "The ball you hit away from you just knocked me over."
Benny helped the man to his feet. The two of them assessed the damage. The man was more startled than hurt. His glasses, on the other hand, looked like they could use some serious help. Or, more accurately, like they were beyond help.
"I know you didn’t mean to knock me over, but I really think that you should pay me for breaking my glasses."
If Benny had been startled by the offending projectile, he was even more shocked by the man’s suggestion. Did Benny really have to compensate the man for breaking his glasses? After all, Benny had just been trying to protect himself!
Answer of Rabbi Zalman Nechemia Goldberg, zt"l:
It seems that Benny is obligated to pay for the broken glasses. If he had been hit by the ball, instead of pushing it away, it might have hurt him a little. However, this action does not meet the criteria for "self-protection."
However, if the object flying toward Benny had been a rock, and not a ball, it seems that Benny would have been exempt from paying the man for the damage to his glasses. This is because a person is not expected to take a hard hit, without trying to defend himself. Therefore, such an action would be considered "self-protection," and the resulting damage would be considered "oness" (forced, i.e. against the will of the damager), and he would, therefore, be exempt from paying.
Summary:
Benny has to pay for the glasses.
(הערה- ראה ספר חשוקי חמד, בבא קמא כט., עמ' רח, שדן במקרה דומה).
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Hosha'ana Rabba FLYDUBAI & HOSHANA RABBA- ANI VAHU HOSHIA NA- I & HIM SAVE US
"Ani vaHu Hoshia Na", "I and Him, Save Us". We don't just pray to Him, but we also pray to and for ourselves that we should emulate and educate our children to have that instinctive altruism with which He created the world. President Trump seemed amused about Yaniv Hayon, our PLUMBER who confidently worked with G-d like Superman (he learned from a pilot on a TV show!) to save 174 lives on the Dubai hijacking, but we in Israel are totally accustomed already 78 years to our plumbers, teachers, garbage-men, rabbis, farmers & doctors being Hashem's shlichim! This is what Zionism is about.
Moreshet Shaul Hashem Is your Shadow – part I
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 420 – an address from 1941
P'ninat Mishpat A Non-Contractor in Changing Times – part I
(based on ruling 85128 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
Moreshet Shaul Our King on Rosh Hashana, Our Father on Yom Kippur.
Based on Aroch Siach, p. 221 (Rav Shaul Yisraeli)
