[Avodah] ein shliach le-dvar averiah

[Zev Sero]

On 1/06/2011 4:58 PM, Daniel M. Israel wrote:
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> But RnTK's claim has nothing to do with shlichus!  And I don't know if the halacha would credit your presumption that the risk was remote.  So the question is, what is the halachic status of someone who puts someone else's life at risk?  For example, what if anything, would be the punishment for someone who blindly throws rocks into an area in which someone is standing?  Is he chayiv for anything if he doesn't actually hit the person?

"Ein shliach lidvar avera" is not just a specific rule in one case; it's
a general rule that people are moral agents, and nobody is responsible
for what another person does.  That includes things that are not averos
at all; each person decides for himself what to do, and nobody else can
be held responsible, even if he induced that person to do it.  What he
can be responsible for is lifnei iver, giving someone bad advice, and
he's responsible for that whether the person followed the advice or not.

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