[Avodah] selling kidneys

[Zev Sero]

Eli Turkel wrote:

> However, harming oneself is allowed only to save a life.

Not so.  "Chovel be'atzmo" is allowed for many purposes.  The posuk
explicitly allows risking ones *life* for money; kol sheken merely
risking ones health is allowed.


> Thus several poskim point out that the Shylock contract obligating one
> to give a pound of flesh if payment is not made is a nonvaild contract.

The real reason it's not valid is 1) asmachta, 2) Shylock had no
actual use for the flesh, and his entire purpose was to take revenge
on Antonio, and of course 3) the issue was that he proposed not to be
"chovel" Antonio but to kill him, for which his consent would not
suffice because he had no right to commit suicide.


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Zev Sero                      The trouble with socialism is that you
zev at sero.name                 eventually run out of other people’s money
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