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Lifesaving and theft

שו”תCategory: moralLifesaving and theft
asked 7 years ago

I’m sure you’ve already addressed this, but I couldn’t find it either in the IRS or on the website. What’s wrong with believing that it’s permissible to lie (for example, falsify the date of travel insurance abroad) in order to receive the payment needed to be saved?
Thanks in advance.

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מיכי Staff answered 7 years ago

I didn’t understand the question. After all, it’s outright theft. Are you asking if it is permissible to steal in a piku’n? This is a question asked in the Gemara in 1962 (Is it permissible for a person to save himself with his friend’s money) and the answer is no. Although most of the Rishonim wrote that there is an obligation to pay but it is permissible to do so, Rashi’s method is that it is absolutely forbidden. Either way, you must pay and you are not allowed to simply steal in order to be saved. This is also what was ruled in the Toshuva.

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