‫הלכות נזקי ממון‬

‫פרק שביעי‬
Siman: ‫איזה סכום‬

Context:

In this perek the Rambam lists all the cases where two possible amounts could be paid.

‫פסוקים‬:

(‫כט( "ולא ישמרנו‬:‫"שמות כא‬

The owner of a ‫ מועד‬animal only pays for damages if there was no ‫ שמירה‬at all

(‫לו( "והמת יהיה לו‬:‫"שמות כא‬

The ‫ ניזק‬retains the animal’s carcass

(‫לה( "וגם את המת יחצון‬:‫"שמות כא‬

If the carcass increased in value the ‫ ניזק‬and ‫ מזיק‬split the increase.

(‫לד( "כסף ישיב לבעליו והמת יהיה לו‬:‫"שמות כא‬

The ‫ מזיק‬is responsible to transport the carcass back to the ‫ניזק‬.

Concepts:

1. ‫ב‬:‫(תמות במקומה עומדת צד (ז‬

A ‫ תם‬animal that becomes a ‫מועד‬, retains its’ status as a ‫תם‬. Therefore, if it is a
‫ מועד‬for its’ left horn, then ‫ שמירה פחותה‬exempts the owner from paying ‫נזק שלם‬.
He is not exempt for the ‫ תם‬payment of ‫חצי נזק‬, unless he watches the animal
with ‫שמירה מעולה‬. As discussed earlier, the owner of a ‫ תם‬animal is only exempt
if he guards his animal with ‫שמירה מעולה‬.

2. ‫ב‬:‫(קם ליה דרבה מיניה (ז‬

If one action is a violation of a ‫ לאו‬that you can be ‫ חייב מיתה‬for and any another
punishment, the perpetrator is not punished. For example, if someone burnt
another’s haystack on Shabbos, he would not pay him for the haystack, since the
fire as a violation of Shabbos is an act he is ‫ חייב מיתה‬for.

This principle of "‫ "קים ליה דרבה מינה‬does not apply to animals.

3. ‫ח‬:‫(שמין לנזיקין (ז‬

Damages for ‫ נזיקין‬is the depreciation that was caused. If the animal was a ‫מועד‬,
its owner pays the full depreciation (‫ (נזק שלם‬if it was a ‫תם‬, its owner pays half
the depreciation (‫(חצי נזק‬.

4. ‫ח‬:‫(פחות הנבילה של הניזק (ז‬

If the ‫ נבילה‬decreases in value from the time it was killed until the time of the
court case, the additional loss in value is absorbed by the ‫ ניזק‬and is not added
on to the damages that the ‫ מזיק‬caused. Any further depreciation is the ‫’ניזק‬s
fault because he could have sold his ‫ נבילה‬immediately. However, if the ‫ ניזק‬was
 injured (not killed(, and it continues to deteriorate from the time of the initial
damages the additional deterioration is an expense the ‫ מזיק‬must pay for. In this
case the ‫ ניזק‬is not negligent for holding onto the animal because he hopes it will
recover.

5. ‫ח‬:‫(שבח הנבילה חולקין אותו (ז‬

If the carcass of the dead animal increases in value, that increase in value is split
between the ‫ מזיק‬and the ‫ניזק‬. Half the ‫’נבילה‬s increase in value is deducted from
what the ‫ מזיק‬pays. The ‫ מזיק‬receives half the increase because he is
considered the ‫’ניזק‬s partner in the ‫נבילה‬.

6. ‫ח‬:‫(והמת יהיה לו (ז‬

The ‫ נבילה‬belongs to the ‫נזיק‬, and it is the responsibility of the ‫ מזיק‬to deliver the
‫ נבילה‬to the ‫ניזק‬. The depreciation is only evaluated once the ‫ ניזק‬gets the ‫נבילה‬
into his ‫רשות‬. In other words, if it continues to deteriorate in the ‫’מזיק‬s pit, the ‫ניזק‬
is not causing that depreciation and therefore it is included in the damages the
‫ מזיק‬pays for.