Q&A: Invitation to a Duel
Invitation to a Duel
Question
I had a huge fight with someone and I want to challenge him to a duel with bare hands, with a referee and a deposit. It would be permitted to hit hard, but there would be a few restrictions. Is there any halakhic prohibition involved? I’m intentionally asking about Jewish law to spare me the moral preaching. We’re talking about definite pain, maybe a broken rib or nose, and maybe in a rare case a concussion, but nothing beyond that. The goal is to vent the anger. Thank you very much. You can think of it like regular boxing.
Answer
There is a prohibition against injuring a person. However, if he agrees, then perhaps it is possible. That is the case with monetary matters, and regarding bodily injury there is room to understand that in the final analysis this is possible (Bava Kamma 93a, and Choshen Mishpat 421:12). And if it is mutual, then all the more so one can understand it that way. But clearly it is not proper to behave this way.
This also needs to be discussed from the standpoint of danger (I assume there isn’t a medical team standing by as there is in organized competitions, and even there it probably doesn’t fully get out of the realm of danger), and also from the standpoint of the law (in my opinion this is against the law, and in the end most of the payment for the injuries falls on the state and the health funds). The consent can also be discussed, because seemingly this is no better than an asmakhta, since it is clear that the main consent is given מתוך the belief that he will win, or at least not be defeated.