[Avodah] defense against rape or assault

[Micha Berger]

On Sun, Sep 01, 2013 at 01:29:00PM -0400, M Cohen wrote:
: RZS writes ..that one may take "life" to mean "life or limb",
: Or that that rape of a single woman who is tehorah and not related to her
: attacker can also be regarded as included in arayos, 
: and in the right the Torah gives to kill the would-be rapist of an ervah.

: I see no evidence whatsoever of this.

See the beraisa quoted on Sanhedrin 73a (and the mishnah 73b) -- any
arayos that would carry a chiyuv misah or kareis. Even if the person
himself would not be. See Sefer haMitzvos (lav 293) which says even a
qatan would be killed.

And we actually learn dimin about a rotzeiach from a heqesh from someone
pursuing a naarah me'orasah. Rape of a na'arah me'orasah (at least) is
considered in the same category of evil-ness as murder.

And then a little bit furhter on, we get the beraisa saying it's also
numerous other arayos (and? including? MZ).

...
: He shows that the nirdaf (and family) could hit an attacker in rtn in cases
: of assault
...
: (ie they 'know' that the attack is not a case of attempted murder or arayos,
: but 'just' to rape a penuaya or beat them)

But there is no way to know that raping a penuya won't lead to fighting
and a fatal blow. Following R' Yehudah (which the Or Sameiach argues
is the din, Rotzeiach 1:13, invokig the above din about a qatan rapist)
that someone attempting to rape a penuyah is a rotzeiach. Which makes the
question you're asking to abstract for it to be likely addressed anywhere.

GCT!
-Micha

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