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Parshas Bechukosal: The Cheirem on Reading Another's Mail No definitive Halacha LeMa'aseh conclusions should be applied to practical situations based on any of these Shiurim.
The Posuk towards the end of this Parsha states that any human being who is declared as "Cheirem" cannot be redeemed, but must be put to death (VaYikra 27:29). The word "Cheirem" can have several possible meanings; in the context of the surrounding Pesukim, it would seem here to mean dedicated or devoted. Rashi (Ibid. s.v. Kol and s.v. Mos) thus learns that this Posuk (Ibid.) is saying that although a person may dedicate an item, or the value of an item, whether animate or inanimate, to the Beis HaMikdash (and it is then subsequently declared as "Hekdesh") or to the Kohanim, if one dedicates the value of a person about to be executed by Beis Din, that pledge need not be redeemed because the person must be put to death. As such, he has no monetary value, and therefore this "Cheirem" is worthless. This interpretation reflects one view in the Gemara in Erchin (6b). According to another opinion there, the word "Cheirem" is understood to mean "doomed" or "set aside for destruction," and the Posuk (Ibid.) is explained to be saying that if a person is doomed to be executed by Beis Din, he cannot be ransomed for money and freed, even if the money is to be given to Hekdesh, but he must rather be put to death. Either way, this law would then be just another detail within the laws of Erchin, or endowment values, which make up most of the last section of this Parsha (Ibid. Perek 27). The Ramban, however, in his commentary on this Posuk (Ibid.), has a completely different understanding. He seems to learn the word Cheirem in both senses, saying that if one dedicates to Hashem any of his own belongings, whether man, animal or a field, it becomes Kodesh, holy, and cannot be redeemed. But if he declares as Cheireim human beings which are not his, such as if one goes out to war and makes such a pledge about his enemies, then these people must be destroyed. The intention of this Cheirem is that the enemies should be doomed to be destroyed, and as such, they are, with their belongings, off-limits to everybody. Based on this, the Ramban (Ibid.) says that if a Jewish king or the Sanhedrin, who have the right to make laws, declare a certain city as Cheirem, or if they declare any activity to be Cheirem, one who violates this declaration may be put to death. In other words, if the Jewish leaders forbid something otherwise permissible by declaring it as Cheirem, this prohibition cannot be changed, and one who violates it is subject to a death decree. Such declarations are known as "Chermei Tzibbur", and with this idea, the Ramban (Ibid.) explains various episodes found in Tanach. "Cheirem" here would then also mean "off-limits", and the Posuk (Ibid.) is saying that the Beis Din may declare certain things off-limits, and one who violates these restrictions is cursed with a decree of death. This would then be a source in the Torah for the Rabbinic right to outlaw certain activities, either in a particular community or all over, and place a "Cheirem", including a declaration of liability to death, on one who ignores the law. It should be noted that other Rishonim, while agreeing with this principle that Beis Din may prohibit something with the power of a Cheirem, do not agree that the source for this is found explicitly in the Torah (See Chiddushei HaRitva on Kesuvos 37b s.v. Echad). When the authorities do proclaim a prohibition with the power of a Cheirem, one who violates it is not actually put to death by Beis Din, but he is removed from the community, and various Halachos, described by the Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh Deah 334:2), apply to him. Among the more famous examples of a Cheirem are those instituted by Rabbeinu Gershom (known as the Maor HaGolah), the leader of Ashkenazic Jewry in approximately the year 1000; some are recorded in the Be'er HaGolah (Yoreh Deah Ibid. end of the Siman). One restriction which he imposed with the power of a Cheirem was the ban on reading other people's mail without their permission. The Shiltei HaGiborim in Shevuos (Bottom of 17a in the Rif) among others, records that there was a practice to actually write on one's letters that there is a Cheirem against others who read it. However, it seems clear from the Kol Bo (Siman 116) and the Be'er HaGolah (Ibid.) that the Cheirem is in force even if nothing specific is written on the letter. Some Poskim say that one reason for this prohibition is that one who opens another's mail most likely is doing so for his own benefit, in which case he is like one who borrows without permission and, as indicated by the Gemara in Bava Metzia (41a) and codified by the Rambam (Hilchos Gezeilah V'Aveidah 3:15) and by the Shulchan Aruch (Choshen Mishpat 359:5) such a person is treated by the Halacha as a thief (See Sheilos V'Teshuvos Toras Chaim Chelek 3 Siman 47). Such action is therefore forbidden even for the purpose of a Mitzvah, particularly since one can cause damage to another by revealing his.secrets. Other Poskim add that looking to find out the private affairs of another is an extension of the prohibition of Rechilus, a form of slander, or of Geneivas Da'as, a form of dishonesty (See Sheilos V'Teshuvos Hilchos Ketanos Chelek 1 Siman 276). The Be'er HaGolah (Ibid.) writes, however, that if the letter was discarded, one may then read it. The assumption, presumably, is that if one discards a letter without destroying it, he apparently does not care that others might read it. But some Poskim forbid this too because although the recipient may have discarded the letter and may not mind if others read it, the sender might mind (See Sheilos V'Teshuvos Hilchos Ketanos Ibid Siman 59). The aforementioned Shiltei HaGiborim, earlier in this essay (Ibid.), discusses whether one who intentionally violates a decree introduced by Rabbeinu Gershom is immediately considered to be in Cheirem or actually must specifically be placed in Cheirem by the Rabbonim in his area, and he presents this as a dispute between the Rishonim. The Ramo (Yoreh Deah Ibid. Sif 22) rules that this person is indeed to be treated immediately as one who is in Cheirem, with all the laws that apply to such a person. |