[Avodah] bribes

[Micha Berger]

On Thu, Jun 18, 2009 at 05:14:34PM -0400, Zev Sero wrote:
: No, there isn't.  The only problem is lifnei iver, and mesayea` yedei
: ovrei avera.  Both are of limited application, depending on the
: circumstances.   It seems to me pure wickedness to prosecute someone
: for paying a bribe, as the civil law does, since the payer often has
: no choice in the matter...

About as "pure wickedness" as charging a starving man for stealing
bread. Still, theft is both immoral and a crime.

...
: An important distinction to draw, in general, is whether the bribe
: induces the official to do something he shouldn't, or something
: that he should have done without being paid...

I'm not sure why you say that mesayei'a is of limited application.
Pursuit of din is one of the 7 mitzvos; without there being an
overriding chiyuv making it dechuyah, how can it ever be mutar to
entice someone to subvert his legal or penal system? I therefore
think your entire first category is included. (Given that the
law in question is moral al pi haTorah.)

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             One who kills his inclination is as though he
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