by Simon Jackson | Jul 22, 2005
Simon Jackson Legal Advisor to Torah Mitzion Special attention to beauty was dedicated by the founders of the new neighborhoods of Jerusalem outside the city walls. In planning the new “Mea Shearim” neighborhood in 1889, its founders stipulated that: “The...
by Simon Jackson | Jun 24, 2005
Simon Jackson Legal Advisor to Torah Mitzion The Mishnah (Bava Batra 2:7) states that “a tree must be distanced 25 amot from the edge of a city.” The Gemara (Bava Batra 24b) cites Ullah’s reasoning for this law – “for the sake of the city’s beautification.”...
by Simon Jackson | Jun 17, 2005
Simon Jackson Legal Advisor to Torah Mitzion “Hashem spoke to Moshe… Command the Children of Israel that they shall give to the Levites…cities for dwelling and open space for the cities all around them… The cities shall be theirs to dwell in, and their open...
by Simon Jackson | Jun 10, 2005
Simon Jackson Legal Advisor to Torah Mitzion In an earlier column on “Smoking and the Hypersensitive,” we cited the Talmudic case of Rav Yosef (Bava Batra 23a). Rav Yosef was a highly sensitive individual who could not bear the thought of eating dates which had...
by Simon Jackson | May 27, 2005
Simon Jackson Legal Advisor to Torah Mitzion Who owns the water in the sea and springs? The Tosefta (Bava Kamma 6:15) determines that the water is hefker, i.e. it belongs to everyone. Masechet Bava Kamma (80b) lists ten regulations instituted by Joshua with the...
by Simon Jackson | May 13, 2005
Simon Jackson Legal Advisor to Torah Mitzion Smoking and the Hypersensitive In Bava Batra 23a, the Gemara tells the story of Rav Yosef who had a grove of small date palms, in the shade of which bloodletters would sit (in their own property) while they drew...
by Simon Jackson | Apr 29, 2005
Simon Jackson Legal Advisor to Torah Mitzion “Yishuv A” sued its neighbour “Yishuv B” on the grounds that when the latter irrigated fields using a mixture of reservoir and sewage water this detrimentally affected the quality of life of its residents, due to the...
by Simon Jackson | Apr 15, 2005
Simon Jackson Legal Advisor to Torah Mitzion The great 13th century Posek, Rabbeinu Asher ben Yechiel (the Rosh), was once asked a question concerning Reuven “who dug a hole in his yard for rainwater to collect, and now a large amount of water has accumulated,...
by Simon Jackson | Apr 1, 2005
Simon Jackson Legal Advisor to Torah Mitzion Chazal took pains to enact regulations to safeguard the cleanliness of the public domain. Before the invention of sewer systems, sewage and other waste was stored in septic pits or channeled through pipes away from...
by Simon Jackson | Mar 18, 2005
Simon Jackson Legal Advisor to Torah Mitzion One of the sources which underscores the paramount importance of cleanliness and hygiene is found in the opinion of Rabbi Yossi, cited in the Tosefta at the end of Masechet Bava Metzia: “Where a spring originates...
