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he was seen with a gentile woman or that he was moser someone to inherit his victim is only because of a Rabbinic decree, and therefore
the authorities.” if it is impossible to get the assets away from him, they remain with
If an unsubstantiated rumor that does not cease spreads, claiming him as an heir, and not as stolen money.]
that someone is accepting bribes or benefiting illegally in other ways Another proof that a murderer inherits his victim is from maseches
from the institutions he supervises, it is proper to subject the case to Kesubos (102b) where the Sages decreed that one does not place a
investigation. As the Biyur Halachah (ibid., s.v. im) writes, “a ’rumor minor orphan with someone who may inherit him (i.e. make him into
that does not cease’ is when for a day–and-a-half he is slandered by his legal guardian), because of an actual case where the relative of the
the entire city, and he has no enemies in town, and the public accepts orphan slaughtered him in order to inherit him. If we say that the
the rumors and they do not stop.” murderer does not inherit his victim, what good did slaughtering the
The Biyur Halachah continues that this is a difficult matter to un- minor orphan do for them?
derstand. How does “a rumor that does not cease” make it permissible [See also Targum Yonasan ben Uziel (Bereishis 27:41) who explains
to fire a cantor? In any event, he loses money because of this and even the verse, “The days of mourning for my father have come, and I will
a substantiated rumor does not make it permissible to cause someone kill my brother Yaakov.” He writes that Eisav thought, “I will not do
a loss of money. The Biyur Halachah concludes there that regarding what Kayin did, who killed Hevel, and then my father had Shes born
the cantor, it “is likely that the congregation would not want to hire to him. I will wait until the days of mourning for my father pass and
a man with such sexual levity that a rumor spreads that he behaved then I will kill Yaakov and I will inherit him.” We see from here that
immodestly, and he should have guarded himself not to come to this the murderer does not lose his right to inherit his victim.]
situation.”
Perhaps the source for the assertion that one must guard oneself 1 SuMMaRy and Conclusions
from any suspicion is from the Gemara (maseches Shabbos 127b): Our
Rabbis taught: A pious man once ransomed a Jewish maiden from 1. According to the basic halachah, a murderer can inherit his vic-
captivity… And he said to them… of what did you suspect me… the tim. Therefore the physician (who killed his wife) inherits her,
Torah scholars were once in need of something from a Roman no- in spite of the suspicion and gossip that he killed her in order to
blewoman (matron), where all the great men of Rome were found… inherit her.
and he said to them… of what did you suspect me… (See there for
the complete story.) These two stories in the Gemara teach us that 2. However, the beis din has the power to take away the right of
every individual is obligated to ensure that others do not suspect him. a murderer to inherit his Jewish victim. Just as a beis din has
Therefore, the Biyur Halachah concludes that the fact that he did not the power to decree that an apostate cannot receive an inheri-
guard himself from suspicion and the rumors spread make it permis- tance and that it is instead passed on to his Jewish son or to his
sible to fire him from his position. brother, so too, a beis din has the power to revoke the rights of
inheritance of a murderer so that his victim’s assets are inherit-
ed by the next in line.
160 1 Medical-HalacHic Responsa of Rav ZilbeRstein Physician shortened his wife’s life 2 181 # 20818
