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The Good Samaritan: Jewish and American Legal Perspectives

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 April 2015

Anne Cucchiara Besser  and
Kalman J. Kaplan
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Abstract

The perspectives of Jewish law and Anglo-American law are compared with regard to good Samaritan responses to difficulty in three areas: a) return of lost property, b) rendering aid, and c) coming to the rescue of someone in danger. With regard to good Samaritan expectations for return of lost property, the two systems seem similar. However, a comparison of Jewish and American law with respect to rendering aid and coming to the rescue of someone in danger demonstrates that Jewish law encourages a duty to help in a manner unusual under Anglo-American common law. Exceptions in case law and statutory developments are discussed.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Law and Religion , Volume 10 , Issue 1 , February 1993 , pp. 193 - 219
Copyright
Copyright © Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University 1993

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130. The Samaritans, in contrast, were seen as schismatic to mainstream Judaism. John 4:9. They were noteworthy for their lack of welcome to all Jews including Jesus and his disciples. Luke 9:52-54. Thus, it seems quite strange that it is the Samaritan rather than the Jew who is given as an example of neighborliness. In reality, Jewish law's insistence on bystander intervention pushes toward being a “good Jew.” See also notes 42 and 48.

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