Responsa for Gittin 110:13
<big><strong>גמ׳</strong></big> השתא בהרוגי המלחמה לא היה בה סיקריקון מהרוגי מלחמה ואילך יש בה סיקריקון
<b><i>MISHNAH</i></b>. THERE WAS NO SICARICON<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' This word is usually regarded as being connected with the Latin sicarius, and is explained to mean a Roman soldier who threatened to kill a Jew but let him go on being given some of his property. Jastrow, however, very plausibly suggests that it is a corruption of [G], the Imperial fiscus which after the war of Bar Cochba confiscated and appropriated the property of Jews who had fought against the Romans. ');"><sup>11</sup></span>
Teshuvot Maharam
Q. Certain Jews received permission from their overlord to imprison and torture their fellow Jews in order to extort money from them. They threw a few Jews into prison and, by threatening to kill them, made them bind themselves by a herem to pay a certain amount of money to their captors. Must the captives fulfil their promise after they are released?
A. No, the herem is not binding upon them since they accepted it under pressure, and since they probably thought that the threats of murder would not be carried out, that the overlord would probably not agree to murder, and that the captors themselves would be afraid to commit murder, a sin punishable by God and man. However, in order to be doubly certain, and for the sake of appearances, the captors should be asked to free the others from the herem; and knowing that the herem is not binding anyway, the captors should not hesitate to do so. But, if the captors refuse to free the captives of the herem, the latter are free from obligation anyway, and need not even seek absolution by a scholar.
SOURCES: Pr. 595, 938; Mord. Gitt. 395; Tesh. Maim. to Haflaah, 7; Agudah Sheb. 14. Cf. Weil, Responsa 53; Isserlein, Pesakim 73; ibid. 252.
A. No, the herem is not binding upon them since they accepted it under pressure, and since they probably thought that the threats of murder would not be carried out, that the overlord would probably not agree to murder, and that the captors themselves would be afraid to commit murder, a sin punishable by God and man. However, in order to be doubly certain, and for the sake of appearances, the captors should be asked to free the others from the herem; and knowing that the herem is not binding anyway, the captors should not hesitate to do so. But, if the captors refuse to free the captives of the herem, the latter are free from obligation anyway, and need not even seek absolution by a scholar.
SOURCES: Pr. 595, 938; Mord. Gitt. 395; Tesh. Maim. to Haflaah, 7; Agudah Sheb. 14. Cf. Weil, Responsa 53; Isserlein, Pesakim 73; ibid. 252.
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Teshuvot Maharam
Q. Certain Jews received permission from their overlord to imprison and torture their fellow Jews in order to extort money from them. They threw a few Jews into prison and, by threatening to kill them, made them bind themselves by a herem to pay a certain amount of money to their captors. Must the captives fulfil their promise after they are released?
A. No, the herem is not binding upon them since they accepted it under pressure, and since they probably thought that the threats of murder would not be carried out, that the overlord would probably not agree to murder, and that the captors themselves would be afraid to commit murder, a sin punishable by God and man. However, in order to be doubly certain, and for the sake of appearances, the captors should be asked to free the others from the herem; and knowing that the herem is not binding anyway, the captors should not hesitate to do so. But, if the captors refuse to free the captives of the herem, the latter are free from obligation anyway, and need not even seek absolution by a scholar.
SOURCES: Pr. 595, 938; Mord. Gitt. 395; Tesh. Maim. to Haflaah, 7; Agudah Sheb. 14. Cf. Weil, Responsa 53; Isserlein, Pesakim 73; ibid. 252.
A. No, the herem is not binding upon them since they accepted it under pressure, and since they probably thought that the threats of murder would not be carried out, that the overlord would probably not agree to murder, and that the captors themselves would be afraid to commit murder, a sin punishable by God and man. However, in order to be doubly certain, and for the sake of appearances, the captors should be asked to free the others from the herem; and knowing that the herem is not binding anyway, the captors should not hesitate to do so. But, if the captors refuse to free the captives of the herem, the latter are free from obligation anyway, and need not even seek absolution by a scholar.
SOURCES: Pr. 595, 938; Mord. Gitt. 395; Tesh. Maim. to Haflaah, 7; Agudah Sheb. 14. Cf. Weil, Responsa 53; Isserlein, Pesakim 73; ibid. 252.
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