Qitzur Shulchan Arukh – 184:1

סִימָן קפד – הִלְכוֹת נִזְקֵי הַגּוּף

184: Laws of Bodily Injury

א: אָסוּר לְאָדָם לְהַכּוֹת אֶת חֲבֵרוֹ. וְאִם הִכָּהוּ, עוֹבֵר בְּלֹא תַעֲשֶׂה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר,”וְהָיָ֛ה אִם־בִּ֥ן הַכּ֖וֹת הָרָשָׁ֑ע” וְגוּ’ “אַרְבָּעִ֥ים יַכֶּ֖נּוּ לֹ֣א יֹסִ֑יף פֶּן־יֹסִ֨יף” וְגוֹ’, אִם הִקְפִּידָה הַתּוֹרָה בְּהַכָּאַת הָרָשָׁע שֶׁלֹּא לְהַכּוֹתוֹ יוֹתֵר עַל רִשְׁעוֹ, קַל-וָחֹמֶר בְּהַכָּאַת צַדִּיק. וְכָל הַמֵּרִים יַד עַל חֲבֵרוֹ לְהַכּוֹתוֹ, אַף -עַל-פִּי שֶׁלֹּא הִכָּהוּ, נִקְרָא רָשָׁע, שֶׁנֶאֱמַר,”וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ לָֽרָשָׁ֔ע לָ֥מָּה תַכֶּ֖ה רֵעֶֽךָ”, “לָמָּה הִכִּיתָ” לֹא נֶאֱמַר, אֶלָּא “לָמָּה תַכֶּה”, אַף-עַל-פִּי שֶׁעֲדַיִן לֹא הִכָּהוּ, נִקְרָא רָשָׁע. וְכָל מִי שֶׁהִכָּה אֶת חֲבֵרוֹ, הֲרֵי הוּא מָחֳרָם בְּחֵרֶם הַקַּדְמוֹנִים, וְאֵין לְצָרְפוֹ לְמִנְיַן עֲשָׂרָה לְכָל דָּבָר שֶׁבִּקְדֻשָּׁה, עַד שֶׁיַתִּירוּ לוֹ בֵּית-דִּין אֶת הַחֵרֶם, כְּשֶׁמְּקַבֵּל עָלָיו לִשְׁמֹעַ דִּינָם. וְאִם אֶחַד מַכֶּה אוֹתוֹ אוֹ לְישְׂרָאֵל אַחֵר וְאִ אֶפְשָׁר לְהַצִיל אֶת עַצְמוֹ אוֹ אֶת חֲבֵרוֹ מִיַד מַכֵּהוּ אֶלָּא עַל יְדֵי שֶׁיַכֶּה אוֹתוֹ, מֻתָּר לְהַכּוֹתוֹ

A person is prohibited from hitting his friend, and if he does hit him, he violated a prohibition. As it says, “If” the court “must give the wicked person lashes, [the judge will knock him down and whip him before him according to his evil in number.” A maximum of under “forty times you shall hit him, no more; [lest you exceed hitting him for these, a great smiting, and your brother will be ashamed before you].” (Devarim 25:2-3) If the Torah was careful with the corporal punishment of someone evil that he should not be hit more than his wickedness [merited], a fortiori with the hitting of a righteous person!

Whomever raises a hand against his friend to hit him, even though he didn’t actually hit him, is called “a wicked person”. As it says, [that Moshe “went out on the 2nd day” from Par’oh’s palace “and he saw two men, Hebrews, arguing,] and he said to the wicked one, “Why will you hit your peer?” It does not say, “Why did you hit?” but rather “Why will you hit?” Even though he didn’t hit him yet, he is still called a wicked person.

Whomever hits his friend, he is excommunicated with an excommunication of the ancients. One does not include him to a minyan of ten for any declaration of sanctity until a beis din releases him from the excommunication, when he accepts upon himself to listen to their ruling.

If someone is hitting him or another Jew and there is no way to save himself or his friend from the hand of his attacker accept by hitting him [the attacker], it is permissible to hit him.

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  1. Dmitry Kreslavskiy says:

    So how does this work? If a person is a home abuser, G-d forbid, and hits his wife, that means he cannot be counted towards a minyan? So what happens if he davens with another group of 9 unsuspecting people? Is such davening not considered davening with a minyan?

  2. micha says:

    I think you’re right. I think the people would be beshogegim not davening with a minyan. (Unless a rasha, like a qatan, could be counted in extremis at the 10th toward a minyan with sefarim present.)

    It’s certainly worth bouncing of the chevrah on Avodah.

    -micha

  3. Dmitry Kreslavskiy says:

    Not sure what Avodah is exactly… Thanks for the reply.

  4. micha says:

    If you notice, I wrote “Avodah” as a link. Avodah is an email discussion group that AishDas runs.

    The discussion the ensued by my repeating this post there is under the subject line Counting a Wife Beater Toward a Minyan“. (Click on that link to be taken to that subject line within Avodah’s index.

    -micha

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