Torah then and now ~ Shavuot Session I Build a parapet / gun regulation

(16) Do not deal basely with your countrymen. Do not stand by the blood of your fellow: I am Ad-nai.

(14) Anyone who can save and does not save transgresses 'do not stand by the blood of your neighbour'. So too one who sees his friend drowning in the sea, bandits attacking him or a bad animal attacking him and he is able himself to save him or he could hire others to save him but he does not; one who hears idol worshippers or informers plotting harm for him or laying a trap for him and he doesn't tell his friend and inform him; or if he knows that an idol worshipper or a thug are on their way to his friend and he could appease them on behalf of his friend to change their intention and he doesn't appease him; and so too any similar case; One who does any of these transgresses 'do not stand idly by your neighbour's blood'.

(15) The one who sees a pursuer going after his friend to kill him or after a woman to rape her and is able to save [the pursued] and does not, this one has cancelled a positive commandment: "and cut off her hand' (Deut. 25:12) and has transgressed two negative commandments: "do not turn away your eyes" (Deut. 25:12) and "do not stand idly by your neighbor's blood" (Lev. 19:16.)

(16) And even though we do not give lashes on negative commandments because there are no "deeds" in them, nevertheless they are very serious, since every person who kills a soul from Israel is considered as having destroyed the entire world, and every person who sustains/establishes one soul from Israel is considered as having established the entire world.

The roof is like every other thing that has danger in itself, and which is possible that a person will make a mistake with it and die. An example is having a pit in one's property, whether it has water or not - one is obligated to make a wall of ten tefachim (80cm./32 in.) around it, or a covering over it, so a person won't fall in it and die. And so too any stumbling block in which there is a danger to life: it is a positive mitzvah to remove it, and to guard against it, and to be exceedingly cautious about it, as it is written "take care of yourself and guard your life" (Deut. 4:9). And if one has not removed the stumbling blocks that bring people to danger, one has cancelled a positive commandment and transgressed "do not bring bloodguilt" (Deut. 22:8).

(12) It is forbidden to sell to a gentile any instrument of war; nor may you sharpen their swords, nor may you sell them any knives, manacles, iron chains, nor bears, lions, nor anything that could cause damage to the public. But you may sell them shields to be used defensively.

(16) He used to say: It is not your responsibility to finish the work, but neither are you free to desist from it. If you have learned much Torah, your reward will be much; and the Master of your work is trustworthy to pay you the wage for your activity. And know, the giving of reward to the righteous is in the future to come.

MISHNA: A burglar who is found breaking into a house may be killed by the owner of the house with impunity (see Exodus 22:1). He too is sentenced on account of his ultimate end, as it is presumed that if the owner of the house would resist the burglar, the burglar would kill the owner of the house. If the burglar was breaking into a house, and in the course of doing so he broke a barrel, if there is blood-guiltiness for killing him, i.e., if the homeowner would be liable for killing him, the burglar is liable to pay for the value of the barrel. An example of this is if a father broke into his son’s house, in which case it is presumed that even if the son resists his father, his father would never kill him, and therefore the son may not kill his father, and if he does so he is liable. If there is no blood-guiltiness for killing him, i.e., if the homeowner would be exempt from punishment for killing him, the burglar is exempt from paying for the barrel. GEMARA: Rava says: What is the reason for this halakha concerning a burglar who breaks into a house? He explains: There is a presumption that a person does not restrain himself when faced with losing his money, and therefore this burglar must have said to himself: If I go in and the owner sees me, he will rise against me and not allow me to steal from him, and if he rises against me, I will kill him. And the Torah stated a principle: If someone comes to kill you, rise and kill him first.

(7) When a person breaks into a home - whether at night or during the day - license is granted to kill him. If either the homeowner or another person kills him, they are not liable.
The license to kill him applies both on the Sabbath and during the week; one may kill in any possible manner. This is all implied by Exodus 22:1, which literally reads: "He has no blood."

(8) The license mentioned above applies to a thief caught breaking in or one caught on a person's roof, courtyard or enclosed area, whether during the day or during the night. Why does the Torah mention "breaking in," because it is the general practice for thieves to break in at night.

(9) Why did the Torah permit the blood of such a thief to be shed, although he is only attempting to steal money? Because it is an accepted presumption that if the house-owner arises and attempts to prevent the thief from stealing, the thief will slay him. And thus the thief entering his colleague's house to steal is in effect a pursuer seeking to kill his colleague. Therefore, he should be killed, whether he is an adult or a minor, or a man or a woman.

(10) If it is clear to the house-owner that the thief who breaks in will not kill him and instead is only seeking financial gain, it is forbidden to kill the thief. If the house-owner kills him, the house-owner is consi- dered to be a murderer.
This is alluded to by Exodus 22:2, which states: "If the sun shines upon him..." - i.e., if it is as clear to you as the sun that he is at peace with you, do not kill him. Therefore, a father who breaks into his son's home should not be killed. But a son who breaks into his father's home may be killed.

(11) Different rules apply with regard to a thief who stole and departed, or one who did not steal, but was caught leaving the tunnel through which he entered the home. Since he turned his back on the house and is no longer intent on killing its owner, he may not be slain.
Similarly, if he is surrounded by other people, or by witnesses, he may not be killed, even if he is still located within the domain which he broke into. Needless to say, if he is brought to the court he may not be killed.

(12) Similarly, a person who breaks into a garden, a field, a pen or a corral may not be killed, for the prevailing presumption is that he came merely to steal money, for generally the owners are not found in such places.

(13) Whenever license is not granted to kill a thief, we should remove stones from an avalanche that fell upon him on the Sabbath. If he destroyed utensils while inside the house, he is liable for the damages. When, however, license is granted to kill a person, and he broke utensils while in the home, he is not liable for the damages, as explained above.
This concludes "The Laws of Theft" with God's help.

One does not raise small animals in a settlements in the land of Israel, and pigs and dangerous dogs are not to be raised anywhere - and there are four paragraphs about this.

(2) Pigs are not to be raised in the land of Israel anywhere, even for their skin, and there is no need to say that one cannot sell them or their flesh.

(3) It is forbidden to raise a vicious dog unless it is kept chained at all times, with a metal chain. And if one lives in a town near the border, it is permissible to raise it, and to keep it chained in the day and let it roam in the night. Ramah: And now that we live among non-Jews, there are those who say that this is permitted at all instances, and "go see what the people are saying" but if the dog is so vicious that one worries it would attack people, it is forbidden to raise it, unless it is kept chained at all times.

(4) A person who received as inheritance dogs or pigs is not obligated to sell all of them at once, but sells them slowly.