(21 — 35) "And if the ox of a man butt" — Included in "goring"

Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael Mekhilta Tractate Nezikin 12:1

Curated by The Jewish Mythology Team · Published January 20, 2025

(21:35) "And if the ox of a man butt": Included in "goring" is butting, pushing, lying upon, kicking, and biting. These are the words of R. Yoshiyah. Abba Channan says in the name of R. Eliezer: Goring, butting, pushing, lying upon and kicking. Whence is biting derived? It is written (36) "and its owner did not guard it." Now does this not follow a fortiori, viz.: If when he guards it he is liable, how much more so when he does not guard it! What, then, is the intent of "and its owner not guard it"? Scripture makes him liable for an additional guarding. And which is that? (Guarding against biting.)

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