Bava Kamma 68: Valuing Freedom

We continue to learn the Gemara from our last Mishna back in daf 62.  The rabbis attempt to establish halachot regarding double payment and four or fivefold payments after an animal has been stolen.  Their arguments are lengthy because of the vast number of possible options that might influence this category of theft.  

For example, the thief might sell the stolen animal, forcing him to pay four or fivefold payments due to his two crimes.  And if a person steals an animal but sells it for a period of only thirty days, that extra payment is not required.  Further, if a second thief steals the animal from the first, the second their pays only the principal (the animal's worth) to they first thief.  The rabbis continue with similar but slightly different examples of liability for theft.

One of the more interesting arguments includes the question of a kidnapped person compared with a stolen animal. One of the arguments disputing the validity of that comparison is the question of despair.  While a person may despair the loss of an animal, a person will never despair the loss of a person, whether it is a family member or whether it is oneself.  The rabbis understand that people are different from animals: while both animals and some people can be owned, we never lose hope that people will be returned to us.  We can't help it.