RAV KOOK ON Mishpatim Part 2: Legislating Kindness

The Borrower’s Liabilities Rabbi S. R. Hirsch wrote that the laws governing a borrower are ‘perhaps the most difficult of all the rules of Jewish civil law to comprehend.'1 I borrowed a pencil from my friend, but it rolled off the table and broke in half. Do I need to pay for a new one? “If a person borrows something and it breaks or dies... the [borrower] must make full restitution. However, if the owner was with him, he need not make restitution.” (Ex. 22:13-14) A borrower is accountable for all types of damage or loss — even for completely unpreventable accidents. Even if the pencil I borrowed was swept away in a tornado, I am still obligated to buy a new one for my friend. This comprehensive liability appear s to be unreasonable. If I had not borrowed the pencil, it would still have been lost when the tornado struck. Why should I have to pay? As the Talmud in Baba Metzia 36b puts it: “What difference does it make to the Angel of Death where it is located?”