Illustration Credit: Rivka Tsinman
Commentary פַּרְשָׁנוּת
כִּי יִגְנֹב אִישׁ שׁוֹר אוֹ שֶׂה וּטְבָחוֹ אוֹ מְכָרוֹ
חֲמִשָּׁה בָקָר יְשַׁלֵּם תַּחַת הַשּׁוֹר וְאַרְבַּע צֹאן תַּחַת הַשֶּׂה׃
If a person steals an ox or a sheep, and slaughters it or sells it, that person must pay five oxen for the stolen ox, and four sheep for the stolen sheep.
Why is the penalty for stealing and slaughtering an ox more than the penalty for doing that to a sheep? What makes the crime worse if it’s with an ox?
אָמַר רַבִּי מֵאִיר בּוֹא וּרְאֵה כַּמָּה חֲבִיבָה מְלָאכָה לִפְנֵי מִי שֶׁאָמַר וְהָיָה הָעוֹלָם. שׁוֹר שֶׁיֵּשׁ לוֹ מְלָאכָה מְשַׁלֵּם חֲמִשָּׁה, שֶׂה שֶׁאֵין לוֹ מְלָאכָה מְשַׁלֵּם אַרְבָּעָה.
רַבָּן יוֹחָנָן בֶּן זַכַּאי אוֹמֵר: הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא חָס עַל כְּבוֹדָן שֶׁל בְּרִיּוֹת. שׁוֹר, לְפִי שֶׁהוֹלֵךְ בְּרַגְלָיו – מְשַׁלֵּם חֲמִשָּׁה. שֶׂה, לְפִי שֶׁהוּא טוֹעֲנוֹ עַל כְּתֵפוֹ – מְשַׁלֵּם אַרְבָּעָה.
R. Meir says: This shows how much God values work. Since an ox is a working animal (it can pull a plow), the penalty for stealing an ox is more harsh. Sheep don’t do work, so the penalty is less.
R. Yohanan ben Zakkai says: The Holy Blessed One cares about human dignity.
For stealing an ox, which walks by itself, the penalty is five. For stealing a sheep, which thieves have to carry on their shoulders, the penalty is only four (since that can be a little embarrassing, and that’s already a kind of punishment).
- What does R. Meir think about the value of work? Why is it fair to have to pay a bigger penalty for an animal that does work? How would it impact the owner to lose an animal that works, as opposed to an animal that doesn’t?
- Why would R. Yohanan ben Zakkai suggest that the Torah cares about a thief’s feelings? What can that teach us?
Here’s a third possibility:
Ibn Ezra (Spain, 900 years ago)
כִּי לֹא יוּכַל לְהַסְתִּיר הַשּׁוֹר כְּמוֹ הַשֶּׂה, וְלֹא יוּכַל לְגָנְבוֹ רַק הָרָגִיל יוֹתֵר בְּאֻמָּנוּת הַגְּנֵבָה.
It’s much more difficult to hide a stolen ox because it’s much bigger than a sheep, so only an experienced and skilled thief could do that (and that person deserves a harsher punishment).
- Why should more experienced thieves have to pay higher penalties than less experienced thieves? Is it fair to treat different thieves differently?
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