Maritime Law in Halacha

Jettisoning

1. If a ship is caught in a storm- it may be necessary to throw cargo into the water to stabilize the boat. It is permitted to throw luggage to save the ship and its passengers.
2. In such a case- each passenger throws off a percentage of cargo equaling their percentage of weight
   1. for example- if one person's luggage is ten percent of the total cargo by weight aboard the ship, this person must throw off ten percent of the luggage thrown off.
   2. After the fact, even if the luggage was not thrown off according to this method, the passengers compensate one another for luggage they should have had to throw.
      1. Some say that the passengers only compensate for the thrown off luggage in certain cases.
         1. They say that if the boat is overweight- any cargo on the boat has the status of rodef. They say that any owners of cargo thrown overboard are not compensated.
            1. Others say that is only true if the cargo thrown off the ship was distinct from the cargo left aboard the ship.
               1. Some say that the cargo which was placed last on the boat last
               2. Some say the cargo which was registered last

Rambam vs. Raavad

The Rambam says that if a ship is about to break and one passenger throws cargo overboard to save the ship, the passenger who throws the cargo is not liable. The Rambam says that the passenger is permitted to throw the cargo overboard since "the weight in it is like a pursuer (rodef) going after them to kill them."

The Ravaad argues the baggage is not considered a rodef. The Talmud only considered a donkey a rodef, and the case of luggage is not comprable to a rodef.

The Magid Mishnah, a commentator on the Rambam, explains that the Rambam is referring to a specific luggage case. There are two situations when luggage needs to be thrown overboard

1. the ship is in a storm and needs to be lightened
2. the ship is overweight

The Magid Mishnah explain that the Rambam refers to the luggage as a rodef where the ship is overweight. If the ship is overweight, then the luggage is the key reason for the boat being in danger, and therefore the luggage is a rodef. If the luggage is thrown overboard while the ship is in a storm- the Rambam would agree that the costs of the thrown over luggage has to be distributed equally.

The Nimukei Yosef argues that the Maggid Mishnah's answer simply doesn't cut it. Even if we were to say that the Rambam is referring to a case where the ship is overweighed with luggage, it does not give carte blanche to throw pieces of cargo overboard. No cargo is no more of a rodef than any other piece of cargo- we are not sure which piece of cargo was the one that made the ship overweight. In the donkey case, we consider the donkey a rodef since the wild donkey was clearly the chief cause of the danger onboard the ship. In short- the Nimukei Yosef and the Ravad argue that in order for something to be considered a rodef it must be clearly distinguishable in it danger.

Donkey Responsibility

We pointed out that there is a dispute whether cargo is considered rodef. The opinion that considers cargo to be a rodef compares the cargo case to the donkey case, where the donkey is permitted to be killed because it is a rodef.

Why is the donkey a rodef? The Tshuvot Maimoniot says that the donkey is a rodef only if it was dangerous for a donkey to have been been brought aboard a ferry. If the normal socially practice is for a donkey to be brought aboard a ferry- the donkey cannot be later considered a rodef.

The Beit Yosef questions this ruling. In halacha a person is permitted to kill a dangerous animal even if the animal has not yet attacked people. The Beit Yosef questions how the Tshuvot Maimoniot can say that the donkey is not a rodef based on the context, even thought practically speaking, the donkey poses a real life danger.

The Darchei Moshe explains that the donkey is different because the donkey is not a dangerous animal. The Darchei Moshe says that the Tshuvot Maimoniot allowed the passenger on the ship to throw the donkey overboard. However, the Tshuvot Maimoniot required that the passengers split the cost of the donkey unless the donkey was formally a rodef.