[Avodah] Is there any issur here al pi halacha? - New York man pleads guilty to selling Israeli human organs

[Rich, Joel]

On 2/11/2011 12:08 PM, Rich, Joel wrote:
> It's not so clear to me that "ownership" is the issue. For example, a
> poor talmid chacham/kohain and a wealthy woman/convert/am haaretz are
> drowning and you can only save one, the wealthy one offers a million
> dollars to save them. Can you do halachically do that?

Not only that, but even if nobody is offering money and you are donating
your water, you can give it to whomever you like. "Ve'ish es kodoshov lo
yihyu".  There are no rules.  How much more so that which you are not
makdish but are selling.  (Selling the water for a profit may reduce
your mitzvah but it doesn't erase it.  The person who goes fishing on
Shabbos and quite by accident happens to save a person still gets the
credit for hatzolas nefashos, i.e. his intended avera turns into a mitzvah.)

-- 
Zev Sero        
==============================================
R' Chaim disagrees with you - see the gilyonot on yesodei hatorah 5:1  in the water case where he says you give it to the two of them and they both die.  Poskim also talk about not cajoling one person in the city to give up his life to save others.
KT
Joel Rich
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