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Why does the Torah (תורה) impose a fivefold penalty for stealing an ox but only fourfold for a sheep? The shiur argues that the extra payment isn't about the ox's economic value—already factored into its price—but about depriving the owner of his daily work and sense of purpose. Work itself, not just its financial output, provides essential fulfillment and meaning to human life.
The shiur examines a Gemara (גמרא) from Bava Kamma where Rav Meir teaches that the heightened penalty for stealing an ox (five times its value versus four times for a sheep) demonstrates "gadol melacha"—the great importance of work. The fundamental difficulty is straightforward: an ox's capacity for labor is already reflected in its market price. If an ox costs twenty-five times what a sheep costs, that premium already accounts for its ability to plow and pull heavy loads. Why, then, does the Torah (תורה) add an extra knas (penalty) on top of the standard fourfold payment? Rabbi Zweig rejects the notion that we're concerned about the ox's lost fulfillment or that the Gemara is addressing indirect financial loss (grama) from reduced crop yields. Such indirect damages are too speculative—dependent on rain, wind, and other variables beyond anyone's control. Instead, the shiur proposes that the extra penalty compensates for something more fundamental: the owner's loss of his ability to work.
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Bava Kamma (discussion of theft penalties for ox vs. sheep)
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