By: Nathan Kotler

The Gemara says that in a shared courtyard, each party can oblige the other to build a wall between them, because the damage is evidence that the damage was caused. But if so, the question arises: Can the other party claim that over the years the first party forgave him for the damage by remaining silent, and if so, he has the right to use the courtyard without a wall?

The answer is that there is no presumption for the injured party (B"B 23:1) and therefore even if the first has been silent for several years, he can still force the second to build a wall. Visual damage is one of the five types of damage that do not have a presumption, "And why did they differentiate these damages from other damages, since a person's mind cannot tolerate damage from these and his presumption that he did not forgive those who caused the damage is permanent" (Rambam, 33 Shekhin 11:4).

What these types of damage (the smoke and the smell of the chair house and the dust, etc.) have in common is that they are not only financial damages, but they are also bodily damages. And the same is true of visual damage, which is bodily damage, because it prevents the person from behaving freely in his yard.

I heard from my father, my teacher, Rabbi Zvi Shalom Kotler, that the source of the vision damage is actually at the end of the chapter 'Owning the Houses': "Rabbi Yochanan, who said: 'And Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel dwelling among his tribes,' what did he see? He saw that the doors of their tents were not directed toward each other, he said: These are worthy that the Divine Presence should rest upon them."

The Shekhinah can only serve where there is sensitivity to others, as the Sages said, "Rav Yehuda said: He who wants to be a Hassid must observe the laws of Danzikin [=A person who wants to be a Hassid must be careful not to harm others]" (Bava Kama 30:1).

Without a basic manners and morality, there is no Torah and no spirituality (Avot 3:17). Therefore, to be a Hasid is first and foremost to observe the laws of Danzikin, to be very careful not to harm anyone, as we noted that the early Hasids would restrain their ends and glassware within their fields so as not to harm passersby and returners (ibid.). Hasidism does not begin with matters between a person and the place, but rather Hasidism begins with matters between a person and his fellow man.

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