Study Bava Kamma folio 27A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
פטורין. רבי יהודה בן בתירא אומר: בזה אחר זה – האחרון חייב, מפני שקירב מיתתו.
exempt, as it is impossible to sentence any one of them to death since no one person killed the victim and there is no death penalty for partially killing a person. R' Yehuda ben Beteira says: If they beat him sequentially the last one to beat him is liable for the death of the victim, because he brought the victim’s death closer. So too, in this case, although the first one threw the child, the one to impale him on his sword was the one to hasten his death, and therefore according to R' Yehuda ben Beteira he would be liable to receive the death penalty.
בא שור וקבלו בקרניו – פלוגתא דרבי ישמעאל בנו של יוחנן בן ברוקא ורבנן, דתניא: ״ונתן פדין נפשו״ – דמי ניזק. רבי ישמעאל בנו של רבי יוחנן בן ברוקא אומר: דמי מזיק.
The Talmud discusses a similar scenario: If one threw a child from a roof and a forewarned ox came along and impaled the child on its horns and the child died, the question of whether or not the owner of the ox is liable to pay ransom is dependent upon the dispute between R' Yishmael, son of R' Yoḥanan ben Beroka, and the Rabbis. As it is taught in a baraita: The verse: “He should give for the redemption of his life” (Exodus 21:30), indicates that he must pay the value of the injured party, i.e., the one who was killed. R' Yishmael, son of R' Yoḥanan ben Beroka, says: He must pay the value of the one responsible for the damage. Since the child that was thrown off the roof had no monetary value at the time he was gored by the ox, as it was as if he were already dead, the Rabbis would exempt the owner of the ox from paying ransom. According to R' Yishmael, son of R' Yoḥanan ben Beroka, the owner of the ox must pay his own value to the family of the victim.