[Avodah] Maakeh

Micha Berger micha at aishdas.org
Wed Jan 3 10:02:25 PST 2007


On Wed, 3 Jan 2007 07:30:05 -0500, "Michael Kopinsky" <mkopinsky at gmail.com> wrote:
> But in any case, as I said before, it seems that the only thing that is
> objectively chayav in ma'akeh regardless of danger is the roof of a
> residential building....

1- I thought it was any privately owned building. As long as there is a
gavra to be the mechuyav.
2- I also thought it includes any platform or staircase in a residential
building with a > 10 tefachim drop.

Thus, if it were a yachid's store rather than a shul that had the platform,
it would require a maakah. Even if people didn't normally walk on that
platform.

> Other things, such as scary dogs and deep pits,
> necessitate preventative measures (not necessarily a 10 tefachim fence),
> only when they are subjectively considered dangerous.

Midin maakah, or midin bor bereshus harabbim?

I argued on Avodah a while back that maakah isn't directly about safety. If
it were, it would be a chiyuv on the cheftzah. However, the chiyuv is on the
gavra, which is why I phrased #1 (above) the way I did. So, I suggested that
maakah is an exercise in learning the importance of safety, rather than an
exercise in safety itself.

Tir'u baTov!
-mi

-- 
Micha Berger             One who kills his inclination is as though he
micha at aishdas.org        brought an offering. But to bring an offering,
http://www.aishdas.org   you must know where to slaughter and what
Fax: (270) 514-1507      parts to offer.        - R' Simcha Zissel Ziv





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