Musar for Bava Kamma 235:5
<big><strong>מתני׳</strong></big> האומר לחבירו גזלתיך הלויתני הפקדת אצלי ואיני יודע אם החזרתי לך אם לא החזרתי לך חייב לשלם אבל אם אמר לו איני יודע אם גזלתיך אם הלויתני אם הפקדת אצלי פטור מלשלם:
— Said Abaye: What is meant<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' By the passage quoted. ');"><sup>8</sup></span> is this: 'A loan can be demanded in any place, whereas a lost article [which was found] or a deposit cannot be demanded save in the proper place.'
Shenei Luchot HaBerit
I believe that in the many instances when the Talmud justifies certain rulings by the statement אדם חשוב שאני, that we apply different yardsticks to morally high-ranking people, the Talmud wants to emphasize that the law is different when applied to such people. It is not merely a voluntary abrogation of one's rights. When the Talmud speaks of "doing one's duty in the eyes of Heaven," however, it is something else again. Such considerations apply where for one reason or another the human tribunal is unable to enforce a certain ruling.
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