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Sefer Chafetz Chayim םייח ץפח רפס
Hilchot Esurei Rechilut תוליכר ירוסיא תוכלה
Kelal Tet - Halachah 1 ה הכלה - ט ללכ

the Lav of “Do not stand by passively” includes monetary matters, most ףאד ,ע"צ הזב קפוסמ םאד .'וכו עדוי אוה םא )זט(
certainly included in this Lav is an obligation not to passively stand by
and leave his fellow Jew to eventually sustain a monetary loss just as it יפל םוקמ לכמ ,ןניקזחמ אל יעישרב ישניא יקוזחאד
does obligate him not to sit by passively when someone’s life is in danger. השעיש דואמ יוצמ ה"ועב וניניעב ןיאור ונאש המ
The Torah’s intent in instructing us in this Lav is not to abandon or leave
a fellow Jew alone to allow him to suffer a life-threatening loss, just as ש"מו .וילע ול הלגמ אוהש שיאהל ןיד יפ לע אלש
the Baraitah illustrates in its example of someone drowning in a river, לכ יכ ,ןכ תושעל רבדה ןוכנו רתומ םינפב כ"חא
that the Torah obligates one to save him \ her; for in the Torah there is no
mention at all of “testimony” in that Lav. (The issue was not ‘witnessing’ הזב םג םיכייש ליעל םיכיישש תורבסהו תויארה
or ‘witness testimony,’ the issue was- Not standing by passively while שיאהש קר ז"יע קזיה םוש ודגנכשהל עיגי אלש ןויכ
someone’s life was in danger of drowning). And that which the Baraitah
illustrated “withholding testimony” (which could imply that the Lav is .ומצע תא רומשי אוה ול רפסמ אוהש
only regarding ‘testimony’) comes to teach us that the Lav of “Do not
stand by passively” applies in monetary matters even if this person already הוצמ )ב"ע ו"פ אמוי( ורמא אלש .השעמ השעיו )זי(
gave his money to unscrupulous men who are now disputing his claim to
return his money and that this witness must testify in court and help the הלחתכל ריהזהל ןינעל אלא םיפנחה תא םסרפל
plaintiff recover his money. And if this witness is lax and does not give ,דספה ידיל אובי אלש ידכ ומע רבחתהל אובי אלש
testimony, he now violates this Lav of “Do not stand by passively.” And
all the more so in our case, that Shimon, who is seeking to hire Plony yet עבט תא עדוי אוהו ,ומע רבחתנ רבכ םא וליפא וא
does not know his character (his lack of honesty) and routinely assumes ןינעל ורובידל שוחי קרש ול רפסמ אוהש שיאה
he is trustworthy. Yet Reuven does know Plony as being a thief and even
though Reuven is a “solitary witness” it is obviously a mitzvah to go and קזיה ודי לע ול בבוסיש אל לבא ,ומצע תא רומשל
report what he knows to Shimon in order that Shimon not lose his wealth וילע דיעמ היה םא וליפא ול אב היה אלש המ שממ
(at the hands of Plony). VOL-4 .דבל ד"בב
(Even though in this context of “withholding testimony” the Lav of “Do
not stand by passively” is valid only if two witnesses are present (who )א"ע ב"י ףד( תותירכב ןניסרגד הממ הז לע היארו
withheld testimony), because if that was not so there would be no proof
that his testimony would help him (the “victim”), as the gemara implies ,יתאמטנ אל רמוא אוהו תאמטנ םינש ול ורמא םאד
in Masechet Babba Kamma (56a) that a single witness who withholds רתוי ומצע לע ןמאנ םדאד הדוהי 'ר םש רמאקו
his testimony is liable (only) at the hands of Heaven. And if you were
to suggest that the Lav of “Do not stand by passively” is applicable in םש( ןניסרגו ,הילע םש יגילפ םימכחו םידע האממ
all circumstances even if there is only one witness, because through his רמא ,הדוהי 'רכ הכלה ןמחנ בר רמא ארמגב )ב"ע
testimony the victim might have been able to recover his money if the
other defendant declined to take an oath, then the gemara’s question ,ומצעלו ומצע ןיבל וניב אלא הרמא אל ףסוי בר
would remain, (namely) “It is a Torah imperative!” (Please see that אוהש הדוהי 'ר רמא אל שריפש י"שרב םש ןייעו
reference). There, the only support the defendant could receive was from
the testimony of two witnesses who (are the only ones that could) recover ומצע ןיבל וניב תורהט לוכאל אלא רוהטו ןמאנ
his (the plaintiff’s) money now being held by the man he is contending ילוזלזל יתא אמליד לכאי אל םירחא ינפל לבא
against in this court case. But here in our discussion, where the subject is
“preventing a loss” before it started taking place, and Reuven in conveying עגונ אוהש תורהט לוכאל ןמאנ ,ומצעל .תורהטב
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