Bava Kamma 98: Indirect Actions and Liability

Mean-spirited actions that do not directly cause damage are exempt.  Amud (a) walks through a number of examples.  These include throwing someone's coins in translucent water,* slitting the ear of another person's cow,** hammering a person's coin,*** or hitting a person near their eye or ear where that person becomes blind or deaf.  In each of these cases, the action of a thoughtless or ill-willed person has led to damage; that damage was not caused immediately and directly by the action, however. 

The rabbis share cases where promissory notes must be rewritten by witnesses to reflect true financial loss due to an injury.  They debate whether or not items that cause financial loss hold intrinsic monetary value.  And what about promissory notes - what value do they hold?  The rabbis also consider when items are returned to their owners and when people face other consequences as well.  

Physical evidence of damage is required.  Produce that has rotted is not returned to its owner unless the rotted produce is understood to hold value.  In that case, the stolen produce is returned in addition to the consequence ordered by the court.  If all of the produce has rotted, and that rotten produce has no value, only the useful portion of the produce is returned to its owner.

A new Mishna teaches us that craftspeople are held responsible for damages that are done while they are repairing items like chests, boxes or cabinets.  They pay for the cost of the damage they have caused.  Similarly, one who demolishes or builds a wall is responsible for any damage done to the stones while working.  However, if the wall collapses from a different direction while he is working, he is not responsible for those damages.  Only damage done by stones that fall due to the force of his blows is his responsibility.  

The Gemara questions the differences between building a vessel that has been commissioned and repairing an vessel with a nail.  The rabbis consider the materials in question, likely wood, and they wonder exactly how much a craftsperson should be liable for in such circumstances.  Were they given the wood to use for the repair?   Or only the item to be repaired?  


* where one can easily find their coins, as opposed to murky waters
** where the cow cannot be used as a sacrifice but is otherwise useful
*** where the coin has changed shape but is adequate for other use