Do we trust people to do the right thing? The Case of ב”ק עא) מעשה שבת) 

Dr. Elana Stein Hain - [email protected]

Halakhah is a system designed for people to follow. And people are flawed!! We can be dishonest, self-serving, exploitative, etc. (How) should halakhic rulings try to correct for how people might exploit legal leniencies in dishonest ways? The case of ruling on whether an item changed/made by Shabbat violation may be used by Jews is one site where this question is addressed. We examine it in this brief shiur.