Welcome to the Judaism community on Codidact!

Will you help us build our community of learners? Drop into our study hall, ask questions, help others with answers to their questions, share a d'var torah if you're so inclined, invite your friends, and join us in building this community together. Not an ask-the-rabbi service, just people at all levels learning together.

Review Suggested Edit

You can't approve or reject suggested edits because you haven't yet earned the Edit Posts ability.

In **Kuntresei Shiurim** _Bava Basra_ *Kuntres* 9 *Shiur* 1 § 4 by [**Rav Gustman**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yisroel_Zev_Gustman), he brings a couple of sources related to your question.
First, he brings the [**Yad Ramah** *Bava Basra* 26a § 107](https://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=14003&st=&pgnum=109) by [**Rav Meir HaLevi Abulafia**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meir_Abulafia), who writes:
> דאסור למיגרם מידי דאתי מיניה היזקא לאינשי אי משום לפני עור לא תתן מכשול ואי משום ואהבת לרעך כמוך
>
> It is forbidden to do anything which will cause damage to another. Either because of the prohibition of *lifnei iver*, or because You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
**Rav Gustman** is bothered that what relevance is there here to *lifnei iver*[^1]? He understands it to mean that one is causing *themself* to stumble, in the prohibition of damaging others. **Rav Gustman** says we see from here that just like it is prohibited to cause others to stumble in prohibitions because of *lifnei iver*, so too it is forbidden to cause oneself to stumble.
He brings another source for this idea from **Teshuvos Beis Ephraim** _Yoreh Deah_ § 54 by [**Rav Ephraim Zalman Margaliyos**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ephraim_Zalman_Margolioth):
> ופשיטא דאסור מדאורייתא לעשות דבר המביאו בהכרח לידי עבירה שהרי אפילו לגרום לחבירו לעשות איסור אסרה התורה וכו' שאסור משום לפני עור וכו' ואף שאפשר שזה לא יעשה האיסור וק"ו בן בנו של ק"ו שאסור ליתן לפני עצמו מכשול ודאי שיבא בהכרח לידי עבירה דאורייתא או דרבנן
>
> It's obvious that it's biblically forbidden to do anything that leads one to definitely transgress a prohibition. For behold, the Torah prohibited even to cause another person to transgress a prohibition...it's forbidden due to *lifnei iver*...even if it's possible the person won't transgress! All the more so it's forbidden to place a definite stumbling block before oneself, such that they'll definitely transgress a biblical or rabbinic prohibition.
I just want to point out that both of these sources are either dealing with or explicitly mention cases where there will **definitely** be a transgression caused. In your specific question of buying forbidden meat, I don't know if that would be called a definite. Maybe it depends on how much of an addict this person is for forbidden meats. But at the very least, we see this concept exists, at least in some form. It requires further study to see exactly how equivalent *lifnei iver* to others is to *lifnei iver* to oneself.
For what it's worth, I also found on *Otzar HaChochmah* that the editor of **Reshimos Shiurim**, the teachings of [**Rav Yoshe Ber Soloveitchik**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_B._Soloveitchik), on **Yevamos** 5b [fn. 194](https://tablet.otzar.org/en/book/book.php?book=170918&pagenum=121) has a relevant point. The **Brisker Rav** brings that according to the **Ba'al HaMeor**, it is biblically forbidden to cause oneself to have to enter a situation of *pikuach nefesh* (saving a life) on *Shabbos* where they'll have to transgress biblical prohibitions (albeit permissibly, as is the case with *pikuach nefesh*). The editor suggests the source for the prohibition could be *lifnei iver*. Again, I'm not sure if this is referring to a definite cause of *pikuach nefesh*, but it sounds like even where it is only a likely possibility. This could be more relevant for your meat purchase question.
[^1]: The editor of the *sefer* writes that they don't understand the question, or why **Rav Gustman** goes to such lengths to come up with a fancy explanation. The simple reading would seem to be the prohibition of literally placing a stumbling block before another (causing damage).

In **Kuntresei Shiurim** _Bava Basra_ *Kuntres* 9 *Shiur* 1 § 4 by [**Rav Gustman**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yisroel_Zev_Gustman), he brings a couple of sources related to your question.
First, he brings the [**Yad Ramah** *Bava Basra* 26a § 107](https://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=14003&st=&pgnum=109) by [**Rav Meir HaLevi Abulafia**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meir_Abulafia), who writes:
> דאסור למיגרם מידי דאתי מיניה היזקא לאינשי אי משום לפני עור לא תתן מכשול ואי משום ואהבת לרעך כמוך
>
> It is forbidden to do anything which will cause damage to another. Either because of the prohibition of *lifnei iver*, or because You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
**Rav Gustman** is bothered that what relevance is there here to *lifnei iver*[^1]? He understands it to mean that one is causing *themself* to stumble, in the prohibition of damaging others. **Rav Gustman** says we see from here that just like it is prohibited to cause others to stumble in prohibitions because of *lifnei iver*, so too it is forbidden to cause oneself to stumble.
He brings another source for this idea from **Teshuvos Beis Ephraim** _Yoreh Deah_ § 54 by [**Rav Ephraim Zalman Margaliyos**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ephraim_Zalman_Margolioth):
> ופשיטא דאסור מדאורייתא לעשות דבר המביאו בהכרח לידי עבירה שהרי אפילו לגרום לחבירו לעשות איסור אסרה התורה וכו' שאסור משום לפני עור וכו' ואף שאפשר שזה לא יעשה האיסור וק"ו בן בנו של ק"ו שאסור ליתן לפני עצמו מכשול ודאי שיבא בהכרח לידי עבירה דאורייתא או דרבנן
>
> It's obvious that it's biblically forbidden to do anything that leads one to definitely transgress a prohibition. For behold, the Torah prohibited even to cause another person to transgress a prohibition...it's forbidden due to *lifnei iver*...even if it's possible the person won't transgress! All the more so it's forbidden to place a definite stumbling block before oneself, such that they'll definitely transgress a biblical or rabbinic prohibition.
I just want to point out that both of these sources are either dealing with or explicitly mention cases where there will **definitely** be a transgression caused. In your specific question of buying forbidden meat, I don't know if that would be called a definite. Maybe it depends on how much of an addict this person is for forbidden meats. But at the very least, we see this concept exists, at least in some form. It requires further study to see exactly how equivalent *lifnei iver* to others is to *lifnei iver* to oneself.
For what it's worth, I also found on *Otzar HaChochmah* that the editor of **Reshimos Shiurim**, the teachings of the [**Brisker Rav**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yitzchok_Zev_Soloveitchik), on **Yevamos** 5b [fn. 194](https://tablet.otzar.org/en/book/book.php?book=170918&pagenum=121) has a relevant point. The **Brisker Rav** brings that according to the **Ba'al HaMeor**, it is biblically forbidden to cause oneself to have to enter a situation of *pikuach nefesh* (saving a life) on *Shabbos* where they'll have to transgress biblical prohibitions (albeit permissibly, as is the case with *pikuach nefesh*). The editor suggests the source for the prohibition could be *lifnei iver*. Again, I'm not sure if this is referring to a definite cause of *pikuach nefesh*, but it sounds like even where it is only a likely possibility. This could be more relevant for your meat purchase question.
-----------------
[^1]: The editor of the *sefer* writes that they don't understand the question, or why **Rav Gustman** goes to such lengths to come up with a fancy explanation. The simple reading would seem to be the prohibition of literally placing a stumbling block before another (causing damage).

Communities

Review Suggested Edit