Q&A: Between Compulsion and an Unintentional Act Close to Compulsion
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
Between Compulsion and an Unintentional Act Close to Compulsion
Question
Hello Rabbi,
What is the difference between compulsion and an unintentional act close to compulsion?
Answer
I didn’t understand the question. Are you looking for a criterion? In my opinion, there isn’t one. It depends on the degree of compulsion involved. When it is completely under compulsion, it is compulsion; and when it is not completely so, but there is some element of negligence, it is an unintentional act close to compulsion. Of course, there are cases of compulsion that are not connected to an unintentional act at all—for example, lack of information in Jewish law or in the facts of reality.