Six Scenarios
Akiva Lane - akivalane@gmail.com
December 7, 2014
It was about eight in the evening when Rochel called. She and my good friend Shimon got married about a year ago, and they were happily married until Shimon was killed in a tragic car accident. They had no kids. She sounded panicky, and asked me to rush over right away with my two roommates, so we hopped into my car, and sped over there.
When we got to her apartment, it took a while to calm her down so she could talk coherently. “You know Shimon’s only brother Yossi. We never got along. He has a violent temper, and it’s gotten worse since he got out of jail. He called me this evening, and said he intends to do Yibum with me very soon, whether I like it or not – even if it means forcing himself on me. He said that I should get used to being stuck with him”.
Just then, we heard a car outside, and looked out the window. It was Yossi. I couldn’t be sure, but it looked like he had a gun in his hand.
Rochel went into panic mode. “Yossi’s life fell apart when he got into drugs. He thinks I’ll be a ready-made wife for him. I just remembered - he has a key to the door that we lent him! I’m scared of him, I hate him.”
I had to think fast. Suddenly I had a brainstorm. I learned Yevomos in High School, ironically with Yossi as my Chevrusa, before he went off the derech. The idea was that I could give Rochel some money - in front of my two roommates as Aidem - and I could Mekadesh Rochel! Then when Yossi barged in, I would tell him that I had just Mekadeshed Rochel, that she was now my wife, and that his Yibum wouldn’t work, so he should forget about it.
I remembered that in Yevomos 92b there’s a machloches between Rav and Shmuel whether kiddushin to a Yevamah leshuk –who still has a zikah to her Yavam - works. Rav claims that the possuk “Lo Teheh …Le Ish Zar” means that kiddishin won’t work, but Shmuel says that even though it’s a Lav, the kiddushin works.
I can at least make Rochel into a suffok Aishes Ish, taking away Yossi’s power to do Yibum. But this means that I would have to do a Lav – perhaps D’Oraisa, perhaps D’Rebanim. If I did this, probably Yossi would eventually calm down, and agree to give Rochel Chalitza. Then I could – if we wanted – give Rochel a get. This would clearly save Rochel from a horrible situation.
The thought crosses my mind of lying to Yossi – just telling him I Mekadeshed Rochel – but maybe my roommates will be afraid, and tell Yossi the truth. I’m confused. Can I do an action that is a Lav to save Rochel from Yossi?
I don’t have much time to decide. I hear Yossi running up the stairs. Questions rush through my head. Does the principle of Godol Avera Leshma apply? How about “Don’t stand idly by the blood of your neighbor”? Pinchus did the right thing by killing Zimri even though if he had asked the Hallacha he would have been told it was wrong. I have to decide quickly. What should I do?
Feb 19, 2016
Ever since the Maccabees defeated the Syrian Greeks and cleaned up the Temple, our family has been celebrating Pesach, Shavuous, and Succos in Yerushalayim. My wife, along with our children, parents, and cousin’s families make the trip from Lod where we all live. It feels wonderful bringing Korbonos again, and celebrating Yom Tov with all Klal Yisrael in the newly cleaned and tahar Bais Hamikdosh.
That is everyone except my cousin Shlomie. He doesn’t celebrate with us. Shlomie was deeply influenced by the Yivonim, and he is no longer Shomer Shabbos. We all love him, and still invite him to family simchas, but we know that he is ‘off the derech’. When he wants to argue with us about Greek philosophy vs. the Torah, we just roll our eyes and say, ‘Let’s not go through that again.’
A few weeks ago, some of the students from a local Yeshiva saw Shlomie picking apples from a tree on Shabbos. I happened to be walking by, when I saw 5 of the students come over to Shlomie and say to him, “We see what you are doing. Don’t you know that picking apples on Shabbos is a Melacha D’Oraisa, Chayiv Misah?”
Shlomie kept on picking the apples, putting the apples in a basket. He turned to them and said, “I don’t believe in Shabbos anymore. I don’t care.”
I wanted to intervene, and say to the Yeshiva Bochrim, “What are solving by doing this? We know that Shlomie is off-the-derech, but we hope that eventually he will ‘come around’? What will you solve by doing this?”
But it had already gone past the point of no return, and the Yeshiva students said, “We are officially giving you Hasrah. What you are doing is Chayiv Misah. It’s an averah D’Oraisa. If you don’t stop, we will testify against you in the Bais Din.”
Shlomie said, “I know it is Chayiv Misah, but I don’t believe in your religion or your Shabbos”. And he kept on picking the apples.
The next week the students went to the Bais Din to file a complaint, and the Bais Din started a proceeding. The trial is set for next week. There are 3 witnesses that are ready to testify against Shlomie.
But I have an idea that can save Shlomie’s life. I can say that I was there also. These students don’t know me. And here’s the plan. I will become the 4th witness, and I will also testify that I saw Shlomie pick the apples on Shabbos.
When the Beis din is deliberating as to whether Shlomie is guilty and possibly liable to the death penalty, I can come forward and say that I have some additional relevant information. Then I will reveal that I am Shlomie’s cousin. Not only will I be posul for the aidus that I gave, but this will also posul the whole group of 4 witnesses. Because if one witness in a group is posul as an aide because he is a relative, then the whole group becomes posul as aidem.
And then Shlomie will be off the hook. Can I follow through with my plan? Is it an avera, because I’m interfering with justice being done? Or is it a mitzvah because I can save Shlomie’s life? Should the Yeshiva students have minded their own business, and can I protect Shomie from them?
January 26, 2016
It was 1956, and Fred Stimmel was released from the Hungarian sanitarium where he had recovered after more than a decade of physical and psychological therapy. In 1944 he had been given up for dead in a field during a Nazi raid on his home town. He was severely wounded, but a farmer and his wife took him into their home until the war was over, and then brought him to the sanitarium.
Now that he was recovered, he wanted to know if his wife Masha – who he had just married a month before the Nazis had invaded their town – was alive. After some research, he found out that Masha had survived the war, and after the DP camps had moved to a relative in Cleveland, Ohio.
Fred had no other surviving relatives that he knew of. So with the money he had in an old bank account, he decided to travel to Columbus to re-unite with his wife. He did not contact Masha, but decided to surprise her. He thought that Masha probably wouldn’t recognize him – he now had a beard to cover the wounds that had been inflicted on his face during that night of horror.
When he arrived in Cleveland, he went to a kosher restaurant for lunch, and to inquire about Masha. He saw a man sitting alone at a table, and asked if he could join him. He asked the man, “Do you know a Hungarian refugee by the name of Masha Stimmel?”
The man answered, “As a matter of fact, I do. She used to live in my building. She arrived in Cleveland in 1947 after the DP camps, to live with her 2nd cousin. She had been married, but her husband died in the war. She went to a Bais Din, and there was one witness that had seen her husband killed in a field. The Bais Din said that on the basis of that one witness, that Masha could re-marry. She now lives in a different neighborhood with her new husband, and I hear that they have 5 wonderful children. Why, do you know her?”
Fred answered, “Not really. She is a friend of friend, who suggested that I might say hello to her on my short visit to Cleveland. But I probably don’t have the time anyway. Just curious.”
Fred was stunned. What should he do? Should he find a Rabbi, and explain the situation, and ask what he should do? His inclination was just to continue moving West, to go to California, and begin a new life. He would have to think about his own plans, whether he was hallachically permitted to remarry – in other words, to have a second wife.
But, he thought, why upset the apple cart? There’s a principle called Sheva Al Tasse, leave it well enough alone. What good would it do to reveal himself? He knew the Hallacha that Masha would have to divorce both him and her new husband, and her 5 children would be declared mamzerim.
Should he ask a sheila? He wasn’t inclined to do that. What good would it do? Was Masha living in sin? She had followed the ruling of the Bais Din, and had married based on the one witness, who had probably seen him lying – seemingly dead –in the field that night. She had done nothing wrong.
No, he decided, I’m not going to reveal myself. He said to himself, I’ll find a nice small community out West, with a nice shul, and begin a new life. This secret will remain with me. No good would come from me revealing it.
September 9, 2016
I hadn’t seen Dina since she got married 5 years ago. After she was married, she moved with her new husband to his farm in Tiveria. Dina and I had been neighbors in Yerushalayim when we were growing up, and our families used to share in the Yom Tov korbonot on Pesach and Succot. I must say, even though she was now only 23, she looked like she had been through the ringer.
“It’s been a rough 5 years”, Dina said when we met in the marketplace. “At first Ben was an OK husband, but then he started drinking, and he became verbally and even sometimes physically abusive. I’ve asked him for a get, but he refuses. I’ve gone to the Bais Din to try to force him to give me a get, but they concluded that things just weren’t bad enough. We don’t have any children. The farm fell into disrepair, probably because he wasn’t sober enough to take care of it, and it’s been taken by creditors. So we’ve moved to Yerushalayim with the hope that he’ll find work.”
“Dina”, I said sympathetically, “I hope that coming to Yerushalayim improves your life for the better. Shinui macom, shinui mazel.”
“Oh David,” she exclaimed. “I’m so glad that I met you. I have a plan for improving my situation, but I need someone like you to bring it about. Let me tell you my plan.” We sat down on a bench.
“Let’s pretend that we are a ‘couple’. Of course we won’t do anything, but it’ll be just for show. I know that word will get back to Ben, and he’ll fly into a rage with jealousy. Then he’ll give me the Sotah warning, telling me in front of aidem that I can’t be alone with you. I’ve found a small house that I can rent inexpensively, and we can go into that house together and make sure that people see us go in. I’ll make sure that either the back door is open when we enter, or that the elderly couple who owns the house are already in the house, telling them that I want to talk about the rental arrangements. Aidem will testify that we went into the house together, and think that we were alone together. I’ll become an official Sotah! I’ll go to the Bais Hamikdosh, and refuse to drink the bitter water, before Hashem’s name is erased. Then Ben will be forced to give me a get. I don’t care at all about not getting a Ketubah. Oh David, I’ve dreamt about this plan. Please help me!”
I’ve known Dina all my life, and she’s a good friend, and I trust her 100%. There’s no emotional feeling between us besides friendship, and I feel a strong sense of Areyus to help her out in her miserable situation. Is it hallachically and morally OK for me to carry out Dina’s plan with her?
April 7, 2016
There is a very nice family who lives next door, Moshe and Fraidy and their three daughters and son. We often invite each other for Shabbos meals, and our children play together. Last Pesach, our two families joined with a few other local families, and had a chabura for a Korban Pesach that we ate together in Yerushalayim.
However, ever since their son Shmuely was born, he has been trouble. Shmuely was always rebellious, and never listened to a word his parents said. Lately, he started stealing from his father to buy meat and wine, and he is often drunk.
I’ve learned Messechet Sanhendrin, and I know the Hallachas of a Ben Sorer Umoreh. Incredibly enough, I was noticing that Shmuely was exhibiting all the traits of a Ben Sorer Umoreh. In fact, I’ve learned these Hallachas with Moshe, Shmuely’s father.
A few weeks after Shmuely’s 13th birthday (he was officially bar mitzvah, but he refused to have a simcha celebrating it), Moshe knocked on my door. He said that Shmuely had again stolen money from him to buy meat and wine. Right then, we sat down and reviewed the hallachahs of Ben Sorer Umoreh. We came to the inescapable conclusion that Shmuely fit the description of a Ben Sorer Umoreh to a T.
I asked Moshe, “Are you and Fraidy willing to testify in the Bais Din against Shmuelly?” Moshe answered, “It says (Sanhendrin 71b) ‘A Ben Sorer Umoreh is tried on account of his ultimate destiny. Let him die innocent and let him not die guilty. For the death of the wicked benefits themselves and the world.’ I’m a man of Hallachah, and if that is what we’re supposed to do, then let Hashem’s Will be done. Fraidy and I discussed it, and we are willing to bring Shmuely to the Bais Din.’
But then I had a thought, based on the another limud (the previous Mishnah on Sanhendrin 71b). It says, ‘If the Ben Sorer Umoreh fled before his trial was completed, and then his pubic hair grew around, he is free.’ I suddenly realized, I could meet with Shmuely, and advise him to run away, to skip town for a few months, and then he would be able to return and not be Chayiv Misah.
Should I give Shmuely that advice? Is it better for Shmuely – and for everyone else – that he die now? Or is it better for him to run away for a few months, and then be a free man?
(This takes place some time in the future, when the law of the land in Israel is determined by the Bais Din).
November 4, 2018
Sometimes I take a walk for exercise on a small road near my house. Last week I was walking there, and I saw 2 cars on the side of the road, and there were 2 men in a heated argument. There happened to be another bystander already watching the fight. Suddenly I realized that one of the men who were arguing was Mel, one of my best friends. Then I noticed that Mel had a knife in his hand. The bystander next to me called out to Mel, “Don’t use that knife! You know that the punishment for murder is death!”
The other guy lunged at Mel, and Mel stabbed him, and the other guy fell over, blood flowing from his wound. The bystander and I moved closer, and I asked, “Mel, what happened?”
Mel answered, “This hot head cut me off while driving, then forced me over to the side of the road. He started yelling that I don’t know how to drive, and threatened to kill me. I ran to my car where I had a knife. Then this bystander came by, who told us both to stop fighting. The hothead then lunged at me, and in self-defense, I stabbed him.”
We could all see that the knife wound had been fatal, and the guy on the ground was dying. We called Hatzallah, but the guy was pronounced dead when Hatzallah came.
The bystander introduced himself. “I’m Yossi Levy.” He turned to Mel. “I warned you about the knife… but it’s too late now.” He turned to me, and said, “Circumstances have made us the 2 aidem to this event. We’ll have to let a Bais Din decide whether your friend is guilty or not guilty. Let’s trade contact information, so that we can both testify at a Bais Din about what happened.”
I went home with Mel in his car. He was very shaken, and said to me, “I’m sure you know that I’m telling the truth, that I only killed him in self-defense. But I’m concerned that Yossi, the other aid, didn’t understand that I was being attacked, and that the Bais Din won’t see it that way either, and that I may be Chayiv Misah in their eyes. The Bais Din will listen to my side of the story, and have to rely on you and Yossi, and neither of you saw what led up to the fight. I’m worried.”
I felt terrible. I had to testify as an aid in a Bais Din that might convict Mel of murder. Then Mel’s sister Rena came into the room. I’ve always liked Rena, and dated her off and on, and even asked her to marry me at one point, but she had been cool to the proposal.
Then I said, “Wait I have an idea. If Rena would be willing, I can marry her. That would make me a Possul aid, because then I would be related to you, and there would be no Bais Din.” I turned to Rena, “I know you’ve been unsure in the past, but I’d make a great husband, and you would be saving your brother from the Bais Din.”
Rena said, “Heck, I’ll go along with that. I can see your generous heart”, she said mildly sarcastically. “But first, let’s call up Rabbi Shapiro to find out if your making yourself into a Possul aid – by our getting married - would be OK hallachically”.