[Avodah] Is there any issur here al pi halacha?--selling/buying of kidneys

[Zev Sero]

On 3/11/2011 11:01 AM, Micha Berger wrote:
> OTOH, RZS appears to believe that public resources are a different issue
> than brokering resources that never reach the public pool.

My basis is simple dinei mamonos. The reason there are objective criteria
for the public kupah is because it's the property of the whole community
who are taxed for it, not of any individual, and certainly not of the
gaba'im; thus no individual has the right to allocate it according to his
subjective preferences. The Torah says that each person has the right
to allocate *his* kodoshim as he pleases, not those of other people.
Therefore the gaba'im need objective criteria for how they should spend
the community's kupah, and the mishnah gives them some.


On 3/11/2011 11:23 AM, Ari Kahn wrote:
> if it is of any value - my conclusion is that in terms of halacha -
> without taking into consideration the Dina Malchuta Dina issue; it is
> permissible to sell an organ - but troublesome morally. The donating
> of the organ to save a life is a huge mitzva, to take money for it is
> in fact taking money to perform a mitzvah - which does not negate the
> mitzva, but does minimize it.

Proof that taking money for a mitzvah makes it smaller: the SA (OC 38)
says that all those who are engaged the STaM industry, not only sofrim
but also distributors and retailers, are "oskim bemitzvah" and therefore
exempt from any other mitzvah unless it falls into their laps.  But the
caveat is that they must be doing it exclusively for the mitzvah, taking
only their expenses; the moment they take money for themselves they are
oskim in their parnassah and lose their exemption.

-- 
Zev Sero
zev at sero.name