A shepherd watches over a borrowed flock. One day a lion drops out of the hills, or a wolf from the hedges, and by the time the shepherd reaches the scene, the animal is torn to pieces. Is he liable? Must he pay for what no human hand could have stopped?
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Exodus (Exodus 22:12) gives the verdict: If it hath been torn by a wild beast, let him bring witnesses, or bring him to the carcase: because for that which is (so) torn he shall not make restitution. The law asks for proof — witnesses, or the carcass itself — but not for payment.
The Line Between Negligence and Misfortune
The Torah draws a careful line. Guardianship is real responsibility: a paid watchman cannot fall asleep and plead bad luck. But a wild beast is an act outside human control. The shepherd who did his job and still lost the animal has not failed.
Still, the law demands evidence. A torn carcass, or witnesses to the attack. Because the temptation is always there to blame the wolf for one's own carelessness, and the Torah will not let guardians hide behind imagined predators.
The Takeaway
Responsibility is not the same as liability. When you have done your part and disaster still comes, the Torah expects the community to hear the evidence and let the loss settle where it fell — on no one.