Stealing Mitzvot

This is as it is taught in a baraita: The verse states with regard to one who slaughters an undomesticated animal or a bird: “He shall pour out the blood thereof, and he shall cover it with dust” (Leviticus 17:13). This teaches that the one who poured the blood, i.e., the one who slaughtered, shall cover the blood. An incident occurred involving one who slaughtered an undomesticated animal or bird, and another preempted him and covered the blood, and Rabban Gamliel deemed him liable to give ten golden coins to the one who slaughtered the animal, as he prevented him from performing the mitzva.

It is taught in another baraita: The verse states: “And he shall pour out its blood and cover it with earth,” indicating that with that which he poured out the blood he shall cover it, i.e., he must use his hand, and he may not cover it with his foot, so that mitzvot will not be contemptible to him. It is taught in another baraita: The verse states: “And he shall pour out its blood and cover it with earth,” indicating that the one who poured out the blood shall cover it. An incident occurred involving one who slaughtered an undomesticated animal or bird and another individual preempted him and covered the blood, and Rabban Gamliel deemed him obligated to give ten gold coins to the one who performed the act of slaughter.

1. He could not have gotten out of paying the ten gold pieces by giving him another bird to slaughter. (Why not?)

Covering the blood of this bird would be a different Mitzvah. The first Mitzvah is gone, and it therefore is a "crooked thing that cannot be fixed."

2. However, nowadays we do not judge cases where we would obligate paying ten gold pieces, as we do not consider ourselves the messengers of the Rabbis (with Semichah) regarding cases where one party did not lose any money, as stated in Bava Kama (84b).

A person who would take someone else's Aliyah to the Torah would be exempt from paying ten pieces even without this fact (c), and even if the victim would seize the ten gold pieces from him we would take them away, being that everyone is obligated to read the Torah. This was also explained by the Riva.....

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(13) The following rule applies when a person, without the consent of the owner, slaughters an ox that was condemned to be slaughtered because it injures others,or cuts down a tree that was condemned to be cut down because it causes damage to others. He is liable to pay the owner as dictated by the judges, because he prevented him from performing a mitzvah.
If the person who caused the damage claims that the owner told him to slaughter the animal or cut down the tree, he is not liable since it was intended for that fate.

(14) Similarly, if a person slaughters a beast or a fowl, and another person covers the blood without the consent of the slaughterer, he is liable to pay a fine as dictated by the judges.
There are authorities who rule that in such instances a fine of a fixed amount, ten gold pieces, should be paid. For they ruled that anyone who prevents a colleague from performing a positive commandment - that he is fit to perform - by performing it first, should pay the owner ten gold pieces.

A dilemma was raised before the Sages: Are these ten gold coins compensation for the stolen mitzva or are they compensation for the stolen blessing recited over the mitzva? The Gemara elaborates: What is the practical difference? The difference is with regard to a similar case involving Grace after Meals. If you say the coins are compensation for the mitzva, then with regard to Grace after Meals, since all its blessings constitute one mitzva, one would be obligated to give only ten gold coins. But if you say they are compensation for the lost blessing, then with regard to Grace after Meals the compensation is forty gold coins, since Grace after Meals comprises four blessings. What is the conclusion?

(6) For a person to attain this good, it is proper that he first exert himself strenuously to acquire it, namely, to exert himself to cling to the blessed G-d through the power of deeds whose consequence is this end. These deeds are the commandments.