Bava Kamma 50: Public and Private Pits; Liability When There Are Changes After the Fact

The Gemara considers whether or not a person is liable for damages incurred because s/he uncovered a pit if s/he did not actually create the pit.  Is the action of 'uncovering' enough to warrant damages?  Or is the action of digging the pit a requirement?  What about an ownerless pit?  And what about a pit that is on private property but its entrance is in the public domain?  What about when a pit is created to lay foundation?  And what about when a pit is widened?  Who is responsible for damages that are incurred in this larger pit?

The rabbis then speak about people who transferred wells to the public domain to be used as a well for water.  Stories are told of people falling into those cisterns.  This is a wonderful lead-in to a discussion about ways in which we are told of G-d's compassion and care for us.

Before we begin a new Mishna, the rabbis tell us about a man throwing stones into the public domain.  A rabbi chastises him for this behaviour, but in an an unusual manner - this story focuses on the ridiculousness of throwing stones into the public domain.

A new Mishna teaches us that if an ox and a donkey fall into a pit, the owner of the pit is liable.  This is the case if the pit takes the form of a ditch, a cave, a trench, or a channel.  The pit must be at least 10 handbreadths deep; enough to kill an animal.  We are reminded that if an animal is killed, the owner of the pit is exempt.  However, if the animal is injured, the owner is liable.

The Gemara discusses how the pit might injure or kill an animal. Were there lethal fumes held in the pit?  Was the ground hard enough to kill the animal(s) upon impact?  Does the size and shape and depth and length of a pit determine its lethality?  How might these factors affect the liability of the pit's owner?  And what if the animal were compromised - for example, what if the animal becomes a treifa because of its fall and thus it must be killed within twelve months?  Should that affect the liability of the pit's owner?

It is difficult to imagine such cases happening frequently.  It is simple to imagine other cases, though, where responsibility, liability and ownership are key factors.  These more bizarre and unusual cases allow the rabbis to understand protocol in much more complicated and ubiquitous cases.