JUSTICE - No. 65

28 No. 65 JUSTICE The question of the entitlement of a teacher to receive his wages when the students fled the city due to an epidemic had been considered about 100 years earlier by RabbiYaakov Molin, an Ashkenaz scholar of the 15 th century (Responsa of the Maharil, siman 41). He applied principles devolving from the Talmud in the case of the laborers, and according to him, in the case of frustration of the contract, the student’s parent is completely exempt from payment. Most of the halakhic scholars adopted the position of the Talmud and the Maharil; however, some of them were concerned that the position of the Maharam of Rottenberg regarding a state of disaster would result in both parties encountering some form of loss. The position, after all, recommends that the parties should be required to reach a compromise. A good example of this may be found in the words of Rabbi Moshe Sofer, the Chatam Sofer, 33 one of the great halakhic scholars in Germany and Hungary of the late 18 th and early 19 th century, who ruled regarding the cessation of studies due to war: And I myself said I do not know what the rule of the Torah is [i.e., I do not want to rule solely according to the law] and I pay my workers their full wages without deducting even a cent. And you should carry out the law by way of compromise, to pay half and the teacher will lose half. As in other areas of law, Jewish law supports decision- making not only according to the law but rather in finding a compromise and deciding beyond the letter of the law, which is a basic principle of Jewish law, and expresses the substance of the Torah of Israel whose “ways are ways of pleasantness and all of its paths are peace” (Proverbs 3:17). Conclusion At present, nearly a year after the initial outbreak, the coronavirus pandemic remains in the realm of the unknown. Unfortunately, it seems that the worldwide reach of the virus, as well as its continued impact on all aspects of our lives, will be with us for many years to come. As a result, legal questions will continually arise that need to be addressed. As always, a study of the rich sources of Jewish law can instruct us in the ways in which Jewish law scholars dealt with similar, even if not identical, phenomena. These can serve as a source of inspiration for the solution of questions arising out of the pandemic in our own times. n Professor Aviad Hacohen is the President of The Academic Center for Law and Science; former dean of its Law School, and Senior Lecturer in Con st itutional Law and Jewish Law at the Faculty of Law of the HebrewUniversity of Jerusalem; Senior Research Fellow, Van-Leer In st itute, Jerusalem. is lower than that of the others: And should we withhold from someone, saying that this case is not a state of disaster because not everyone fled, but rather only a minority, and if so we do not call it coercion because he should not have fled just as others did not flee! … faint of heart is dangerous in a time of epidemic, …even though there were many who are courageous and do not fear, in any event, those who fear are in danger and they should flee for their lives. See supra note 3, Aviad Hacohen,Viruses and Epidemics. 33. In his work the B OOK OF M EMORY , Jerusalem 5717-1957, p. 51, in which he documented Memories of the Events and Wars, Miracles and Wonders that Occurred and Happened in the Holy Community of Pressburg in 5569- 1809, the Napoleonic wars against Austria.