תלמוד בבלי מסכת קידושין דף נו עמוד ב
It is not the mouse who steals, but the hole steals! Yet but for the mouse, what harm is done by the hole! — It seems rather that where the transgression lies, there we impose a penalty. [Translation by Uri L’Tzedek]
Suggested Discussion Questions:
1. Why does the text initially assume that the hole steals and not the mouse? Why does it conclude that the mouse is the culprit?
2. Is it fair to blame people because of their circumstances? At what point do people switch from passive to active?
Time Period: Rabbinic (Maccabees through the Talmud)