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about an identical incident that took place between two of them
[i.e. non-Jews] and following their judgment the non-Jewish judges
decided that he should be put to death in accordance with the law
of a murderer, by sword. In the utmost secrecy they [then] told the
executioner that he should strike the defendant’s neck with the flat
part of his sword not with its blade, for exactly what he did should
be done to him. When he was struck he fell down on his face but
he then rose to his feet utterly unharmed. The judges told him that
he was thus exempted even from any Heavenly punishment because
he had received the punishment he deserved.” The Chavos Yair adds:
“But according to Hashem’s laws in His holy Torah it is the other way
around.” [Meaning, according to Torah law it is forbidden to scare
someone who caused his colleague’s death in case he dies and he is
not liable to be put to death by a human court. The judges’ assertion
that he had thus atoned for any heavenly punishment also lacked
substance for he caused his colleague’s death whereas he only suffered
from fright.]

The Chavos Yair concludes by saying: “If he frightened him in
some way that ought not to pose any danger, minimal repentance is
sufficient, for this is not worse than throwing a stone at someone that
ought not to kill [but that nonetheless killed him], yet he is never-
theless in need of some repentance for he is no better than someone
who causes a death, [for example,] who sends an agent [to perform
some mission for him] and the agent is killed on his way, where the
dispatcher needs some repentance.”

Let us now turn to our case. It is clear that there are no grounds
for claiming damages in beis din from the woman for the disability
caused to the storeowner because she didn’t harm him directly. She
does not even bear that much guilt in Heaven’s reckoning, because the
store owner is guilty of negligence in regard to himself by becoming
so seriously distressed over his monetary loss. It is possible that this
case of the bowl’s breakage is less serious than the case discussed by
the Mishneh Halachos (above) in which Reuven built a wall and
darkened his neighbor Shimon’s apartment. There, Reuven caused
Shimon physical distress whereas here the woman only damaged

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