Philosophy

Dear Rabbi, I’ve been having a problem that’s been troubling me for the past year. An acquaintance of mine refused to get the COVID vaccine because of political disinformation he received. His family and friends begged him to get it, but he refused. Last year, he caught COVID and died. Had he gotten the vaccine, he probably would have survived or not even gotten it. He was only 44 years old and left behind a wife and children. He almost certainly got it from me. Several days before he got sick, he and I were at the same gathering. On that day, I was having a slightly runny nose. I did not want to miss the event, and I was in denial it was COVID, and I convinced myself and others it was allergies. My symptoms later worsened and I took a home test and it was positive. At least two people caught it from me, and he was one of them. From a Jewish moral standpoint, who is at fault for his death? Is it him, for failing to obtain a vaccine that would have prevented his death? Or is it me, who transmitted the disease to him. Does this make him a fool or me a murderer?

I have a neighbor several doors down who is disposing of his home exercise equipment into the trash. He has hired a professional trash collecting service to remove it from in front of his house later this week. I told him I am interested in having it if he doesn’t want it. I even offered to pay him for it. But he won’t allow that to happen. He says it is his wish that it go to the trash and no one else have it. The reason why he wants it in the trash is because he was injured on it, and he doesn’t want it to injure anyone else. I am willing to accept upon myself any responsibility of the risk of injury. I know the hazards of home exercise equipment, and I know how to prevent them. At the present time, it is sitting on a piece of land in front of his house that is considered the public domain. From a legal standpoint, it is now considered abandoned property and the secular law permits me to take it and it would not be considered theft. What does Jewish law say about this matter? Would taking what he has given up to the trash against his wishes be considered theft?

I know that one is forbidden to waste food. What are we supposed to do with food we have that no one in our household is interested in, no acquaintances are interested in, and no food banks will take?