THE JERUSALEM INSTITUTE OF JEWISH LAW
Rabbi Emanuel Quint, Dean

Lesson # 327 (Assaults, part 5) • Specific cases of Assault

In this lesson we shall almost conclude our discussions of assaults in tort law. We shall deal with some of the specific cases mentioned in halacha.

Reuven injures a person on Sabbat or a Holy Day
Reuven, whether intentionally or inadvertently, injures Shimon on Shabbat. Reuven does not have to pay Shimon for any of the five categories of payment, since had the assault been done intentionally and certain criteria were met Reuven would have faced the death penalty (for desecration of the Shabbat). If a Jew wounds anyone on Shabbat, and if the appropriate warnings have been given and witnesses are present, he is liable to the death penalty. He is guilty of the capital crime of extraction on the Sabbath. Bruising someone is a sub-category of this crime, since the violator extracts the blood and makes it form under the victim’s skin.

However, if Reuven bruises Shimon on Yom Kippur, he must pay for the various categories of payment since Reuven does not face the death penalty, nor a flogging for wounding a person on Yom Kippur, even if here is an appropriate warning and witnesses that it was done intentionally. If Reuven injures Shimon on any other Holy Day, if it was done intentionally and with a proper warning given by witnesses, Reuven does not have to pay compensation for the wounds, because he is flogged and a person who is flogged does not make a monetary payment for the same act. However, if there is no flogging because one of the criteria to flog a person is lacking, such as not having the requisite warning or the injury was inflicted inadvertently, or the requisite valid witnesses were not present, Reuven must make compensation for the categories of payments necessary for having injure Shimon.

Reuven injures a parent
If a person strikes a parent, causing a wound, he is liable to the death penalty. (Whoever strikes his father or mother is executed by strangulation. The offender is liable to the death penalty only if striking a parent results in a wound upon the parent.) Thus he is exempt from making any payments since he faces the death penalty, regardless of whether he struck his parent intentionally or inadvertently. If he strikes his parent without inflicting a wound, he must make the payments necessary the same as striking any other person. The foregoing may result in difficult situations. For example, a son or a daughter is a doctor or dentist and a parent is ill and should be treated by a doctor or dentist. Should the child treat the parent, the danger arises that blood may flow or a wound may be caused. A rabbi familiar with these laws should be consulted.

Reuven injures a pregnant woman
Reuven strikes Sarah, a pregnant woman, and she miscarries. Whether Reuven struck her intentionally or even unintentionally, Reuven must make the following payments: (1) To Sarah’s husband, Avraham the father of the child, payment for Sarah’s healing and her loss of income; (2) To Sarah: payment for injury, pain, medical expenses, and humiliation suffered by her.

In addition thereto, Reuven must pay to Avraham the father, the value of the miscarried child. The determination is made by Beth Din assessing how much Sarah is worth as a slave before she gave birth and how much she is now worth that she is no longer carrying the child. (A prospective purchaser of a slave who is pregnant will pay more for her since he may obtain a newborn slave upon her giving birth.) The difference is given to Avraham. If Avraham dies after the miscarriage but before payment is made, it is given to his heirs. If Avraham died before the miscarriage, the value of the child is paid to Sarah. If Sarah is married to a proselyte, Pesach, Reuven must pay the compensation to Pesach. If before the payment is made Pesach dies without any heirs, them Reuven does not have to make payment at all. If Pesach died before Reuven struck Sarah, the compensation belongs to Sarah. Some hold that in the last case compensation is paid to Pesach’s heirs, if he has any, and if not, to Sarah. (The only Jew who can die without heirs is a proselyte who did not have any children conceived after his conversion. Sarah is not his heir.) If Sarah was not Jewish at the time of conception but had converted to Judaism before the injury, the value of the child belongs to her.

Assume that Reuven assaults Sarah, a pregnant woman, and as a result of the assault both Sarah and the child die. Reuven does not make any payments, since he faces the death penalty for committing murder, in which case there is no compensation to be paid by him. If Reuven intended to strike Rivka and instead struck Sarah who is pregnant and Sarah and her child die, Reuven must pay for the value of the child, since Reuven does not face the death penalty for killing Sarah. There is an opinion that even in this latter case there is no payment.

Reuven injures his own child
If Reuven injures his own daughter he must pay her compensation for the categories of pain, healing and humiliation. There is an opinion that if Reuven provides for all her needs and she resides with him, he need not make these payments to her. If Reuven does not support his daughter he must also pay her for loss of income. Some authorities hold that even if he does support her, her loss of income belongs to her.

Reuven injures his adult son David. If David does not receive his support at Reuven’s table, up to all five categories of compensation are to be paid to David immediately and the payments belong to David. If David is a minor, land is purchased with the compensation and the income belongs to David. I would suggest that Beth Din appoint a guardian to oversee the investments of the money received in compensation. If David does receive his support from Reuven’s table and Reuven injures David, Reuven need not make any payments to David whether David is a minor or adult. There is an opinion that David must make up to four of the five categories of payments to David, excepting loss of income.

Reuven injures a deaf mute, a mentally deficient person or a minor
It is said that it is inadvisable to clash with a deaf-mute, a mentally deficient person, or a minor. If Reuven injures a deaf-mute, a mentally deficient person or a male minor, he must make full compensation for all of the categories of payment. (They make no payments.) There are exceptions: (1) There is no payment for humiliation in the case of a mentally deficient person; (2) a minor is not paid for humiliation unless he has some understanding of the humiliation; (3) Loss of income is not paid if the individual was not employable prior to the injury.
The topic of this lesson shall be concluded in the next lesson IYH.

The subject matter of this lesson is more fully discussed in volume X chapter 424 of A Restatement of Rabbinic Civil Law by E. Quint. Copies of all volumes can be purchased via email: orders@gefenpublishing.com and via website: www.israelbooks.com and at local Judaica bookstores. Questions to quint@inter.net.il.

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