Negative Commandment 246 (Digest)
Stealing Land
"You shall not move back your neighbor's boundary marker"—Deuteronomy 19:14.
It is forbidden to tamper with a boundary marker separating two parcels of land, so as to claim part of a neighbor's property. One who does so has violated this Torah injunction—in addition to being guilty of theft.
This commandment only applies in the land of Israel. Outside of Israel, one who tampers with a land marker is only guilty of transgressing the generic prohibition against theft.
The 246th prohibition is that we are forbidden from stealing the boundaries of land, i.e., altering the line between our property and our neighbors', thereby enabling a person to claim that the other person's land is his own.
The source of this prohibition is G‑d's statement (exalted be He), "Do not move your neighbor's boundary marker."
The Sifri says: "It is already written 'You may not steal.' Why was it necessary to write the verse 'Do not move your neighbor's boundary marker'? To teach that anyone who moves his neighbor's boundary marker transgresses two prohibitions. You might think that this applies even outside Israel. The verse therefore continues '...in your inheritance in the land [that G‑d your L‑rd is giving you to occupy]' — in Israel it counts as two transgressions, but elsewhere it counts just as one." This [one transgression] refers to the prohibition "You may not steal." It is therefore clear that the Biblical prohibition applies only in Israel.
Negative Commandment 243 (Digest)
Abduction
"Do not steal"—Exodus 20:13.
It is forbidden to abduct one's fellow.
The 243rd prohibition is that we are forbidden from kidnapping any Jewish person.
The source of this prohibition is G‑d's statement in the Ten Commandments, "You may not steal."
In the words of the Mechilta: "This verse refers to stealing a person." The Talmud says in tractate Sanhedrin, "What is the source for the prohibition of kidnapping? R. Yoshiya says it is the verse, 'You may not steal.' R. Yochanan says it is the verse, 'They may not be sold as slaves.' In actuality, however, they both agree — one refers to the prohibition of kidnapping and the other refers to the prohibition of selling [the kidnapped person." The Talmud mentions these two prohibitions together] because the punishment is given only when the transgressor both kidnaps and sells — and if he does both transgressions, the penalty is strangulation. [The source for the punishment is] G‑d's statement (exalted be He), "If one person kidnaps and sells another, and [the victim] is seen in his hand, then [the kidnapper] shall be put to death."
The details of this mitzvah are explained in the 11th chapter of tractate Sanhedrin.
The text on this page contains sacred literature. Please do not deface or discard.
