Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”LTo sponsor an episode please visit: https://itistaught.com/support-this-project/To get the daily chumash summaries in your email click here https://substack.com/profile/182692001-sarede-rachel-switzer?utm_source=profile-page.Subscribe on SpotifySubscribe on Apple PodcastsPlease consider leaving a review on the platform of your choice!For comments and inquiries, email itistaught@gmail.comLaws Concerning Damages Incurred to Others' Property and PossessionsIf a person lets their cattle loose and as a result the cattle damages another's property via trampling on it or grazing from it, the owner of this cattle must pay the owner of the field for the damages. If they pay in land, the owner of the cattle must take from the best of his land.If a person starts a fire in their field but it then spreads to another person's field and burns the thorns there to cause a bigger fire, this person must pay for the damages incurred.If a person lends something to someone else and then the trustee claims that someone stole the goods from him, if the thief is caught - the thief must pay back both the owner of the goods and the trustee. If the thief is not caught, the trustee must go to court to testify that he did not steal the goods. If witnesses testify that the trustee was actually the one who stole the goods and the judges condemn him on this basis, he must pay double the value of the goods to the owner. However if these witnesses are found to be false, these witnesses must pay double the value of the goods to the trustee. The trustee is only forced to testify however if he admits to stealing part of (but not all of) the goods.When a person gives someone an animal to guard and the trustee says that the animal had died or was injured or captured and there were no witnesses to the death, the trustee must testify to this, as well as to the fact that he did not put this animal to his personal use, in which case he would have breeched the contract he had regarding the loan. Once he testifies as such, he is not responsible to pay anything to the owner and the owner must let it go. However if the animal was stolen from him, he must pay the owner for it. If this animal was torn apart by wild beasts, the trustee should bring the torn animal to court as evidence. Wild beasts include such things like a wolf, lion, bear or serpent. If however the animal was torn by a milder animal such as a cat, fox or marten, the trustee is liable and must pay, as he could have protected the animal from these but didn't.If a person borrows an animal from another and then the animal dies or is injured, the borrower must pay compensation to the owner. However if the owner of the animal had been working for the borrower at the time of this loan, even if it was a type of work that was unrelated to the work the animal was doing, and even if the owner was not present at the time of the animal's death, the borrower is exempt from paying. If the animal was hired and not borrowed, it is unclear as to whether the hirer would have to pay compensation and how much, and there are different opinions about it. Rabbi Meir says he would have to pay as if he were a Shomer Chinam, and Rabbi Yehudah says he would have to pay as a Shomer Sachar.If a man coerces a virgin girl to sleep with him, he must pay for her appropriately (i.e. write a ketuba for her) and marry her. If her father does not want this man to marry his daughter, the man must pay the father in 50 shekels of silver.A witch (male or female, though in those times it was more common for women to be witches) should be put to death by the court.Anyone who is intimate with an animal must be put to death by stoning.Anyone who performs any kind of act that could be considered a sacrifice to an idol (or is the same as the type of sacrificial acts that the Jews would perform in the Temple) shall be put to death. Acts that merely display good feelings towards an idol but aren't actually forms of worship (sweeping the floor in front of an idol, sprinkling water in front of it, or hugging or kissing it) are not liable for death.Do not heckle or steal from a convert, for you were strangers* in Egypt. And you should never rebuke someone for a fault that you have.*Side note: The word גר which translates as "convert" or "stranger" refers to anyone who was born in a different land than they live in.Do not mistreat a widow or orphan. There is a difference of opinion as to whether this law of mistreating people applies to everyone or specifically to widows and orphans. Rashi is of the opinion that it applies to everyone but that widows and orphans are particularly mentioned as it is more common to mistreat people who are weaker in power (having no one to defend them) such as these. If you do mistreat them, G-d will punish you so that you die and your own wives shall be "widows" and your children will be "orphans*".*Side ...
