The Torah contains many areas of law that are not necessarily 'Religious' as we would see them today. But there are times when making the laws of a community that such laws were necessary to keep order. Below we see two verses from Exodus; the Israelites have recently left Egypt and are finding themselves in a place where they must form their community not only around religious practices, but also around certain social norms and laws. Here we are presented with a scenario of someone leaving unattended a pit they have dug and left open as a danger to the community.
Source Title
(לג) וְכִי יִפְתַּח אִישׁ בּוֹר אוֹ כִּי יִכְרֶה אִישׁ בֹּר וְלֹא יְכַסֶּנּוּ וְנָפַל שָׁמָּה שּׁוֹר אוֹ חֲמוֹר.
(33) And if a man shall open a pit, or if a man shall dig a pit and not cover it, and an ox or an ass fall therein,
(לד) בַּעַל הַבּוֹר יְשַׁלֵּם כֶּסֶף יָשִׁיב לִבְעָלָיו וְהַמֵּת יִהְיֶה לּוֹ.
(34) the owner of the pit shall make it good; he shall give money unto the owner of them, and the dead beast shall be his.
The Mishnah is a discussion of law based on The Law, or The Torah. The Rabbis took the words of the Torah and extrapolated it's meaning into the following scenarios:
(א) המניח את הכד ברשות הרבים ובא אחר ונתקל בה ושברה, פטור.ואם הזק בה, בעל החבית חייב בנזקו.נשברה כדו ברשות הרבים, והחלק אחד במים, או שלקה בחרסיה, חייב.רבי יהודה אומר, במתכון, חייב.באינו מתכון, פטור.
(1) [If] one places a jar in a public domain and another comes and trips on it and breaks it, he is exempt [from damage to the jar]. And if he was injured by it, the jar's owner is liable for his damages. [If] one's jar broke in a public domain and another slipped in the [spilled] water, or was injured by its shards, [the jar's owner is] liable. Rabbi Judah says, if done intentionally, he is liable. If unintentional, he is exempt.
(ב) השופך מים ברשות הרבים, והוזק בהן אחר, חייב בנזקו .המצניע את הקוץ, ואת הזכוכית, והגודר את גדרו בקוצים , וגדר שנפל לרשות הרבים, והוזקו בהן אחרים, חייב בנזקן.
(2) [If] one pours water in a public domain, and another is damaged by it, he is liable to pay damages. One who hides thorns or glass [in the public domain], or one who builds his fence [bordering the public domain] with thorns, or a fence that falls into the public domain -- if others were injured, he is liable to pay their damages.
(ג) המוציא את תבנו ואת קשו לרשות הרבים לזבלים, והוזק בהן אחר, חייב בנזקו, וכל הקודם בהן זכה .רבן שמעון בן גמליאל אומר, כל המקלקלין ברשות הרבים והזיקו, חייבין לשלם, וכל הקודם בהן זכה.ההופך את הגלל ברשות הרבים, והוזק בהן אחר, חייב בנזקו.
(3) [If] one brings his straw [or thatch] into the public domain [with the intent of letting it rot, so that he could use it as fertilizer] and another was damaged by them, he is responsible for the damage. And [furthermore], anyone who first [takes possession] of them is entitled [to the straw]. Rabbi Simeon son of Gamaliel says, anyone Who causes a nuisance to public domain [by placing things in it] and they caused damage [even if the action is permitted] is liable to be responsible to pay, and anyone who first [takes possession] of them is entitled to them. [If] one turns over dung in the public domain and another is then damaged by it, he is responsible for the damage.
(ד) שני קדרין שהיו מהלכין זה אחר זה, ונתקל הראשון ונפל, ונתקל השני בראשון, הראשון חייב בנזקי שני.
(4) [In the case of] two potters who were walking one behind the other, and the first tripped and fell, and the second tripped on the first, the first [potter] is liable for the damage to the second [potter].
(ה) זה בא בחביתו, וזה בא בקורתו, נשברה כדו של זה בקורתו של זה, פטור, שלזה רשות להלך ולזה רשות להלך.היה בעל קורה ראשון, ובעל חבית אחרון, נשברה חבית בקורה, פטור בעל הקורה.ואם עמד בעל הקורה, חייב.ואם אמר לבעל החבית עמוד, פטור.היה בעל חבית ראשון ובעל קורה אחרון, נשברה חבית בקורה, חייב .ואם עמוד בעל חבית, פטור.ואם אמר לבעל קורה עמד, חייב.וכן זה בא בנרו וזה בפשתנו.
(5) This one came [in the public domain] with his barrel and this one came with his beam. This one's barrel was broken on this one's beam. He [the beam's owner] is exempt, because this one has permission to walk [in the public domain] and this one [also] has permission to walk. If the beam's owner was first [walking in front], and the barrel's owner last [walking behind], then if the barrel broke on the beam, the beam's owner is exempt. [However,] if the beam's owner stopped, then he liable. But if he said to the barrel's owner, "Stop," then he is exempt. If the barrel's owner was first and the beam's owner last, then if the barrel was broken by the beam, he [the beam's owner] is liable. [However,] if the barrel's owner stopped, then he [the beam's owner] is exempt. But if he said to the beam's owner, "Stop," then he [the beam's owner] is liable. And the same rule applies to the one who comes with his candle and the other one with his flax.
(ו) שנים שהיו מהלכין ברשות הרבים אחד רץ ואחד מהלך, או שהיו שניהם רצים, והזיקו זה את זה, שניהם פטורין .
(6) [In the case where] two people were traveling in the public domain, one running and the other walking, or if both were running, and they damaged each other, both are exempt.
(ז) המבקע ברשות היחיד והזיק ברשות הרבים, ברשות הרבים והזיק ברשות היחיד, ברשות היחיד והזיק ברשות היחיד אחר , חייב .
(7) [If] one was splitting [wood] in a private domain and [thereby] caused damage in the public domain, or [split wood] in the public domain and caused damage in a private domain, or [split wood] in a private domain and caused damaged in a different private domain, he is liable.