“Shaul, are you almost ready for the wedding?” Mrs. Halperin called upstairs to her husband. “It’s not far, but we can’t be late!”

“I’m ready,” answered Mr. Halperin. “I just hope that the car won’t give us problems; it’s been acting up recently.”

“Maybe check it now,” said Mrs. Halperin.

Shaul went out to the car and turned the ignition, but heard only some clicking. He knocked on his neighbor’s door. “Hi, Label. I’m sorry for troubling you, but our car needs a boost and we have a wedding tonight.”

Label maneuvered his car into position and connected the cables, but to no avail.

“I guess the battery finally died,” said Shaul. “I don’t know how we’ll get to the wedding!”

“You can borrow our car,” said Label.

“Thanks,” replied Shaul appreciatively.

Mr. Halperin took the keys. “We couldn’t get the car to start,” he told his wife, “but Label offered to lend his car.”

“That’s very nice of him,” she said. “I don’t like borrowing cars, but we need to get to the wedding.”

The Halperins were driving home from the wedding when they heard, “thump, thump.”

“What’s that noise?” Mrs. Halperin asked with alarm.

“Sounds like something with the tires,” said Shaul. “I’d better pull over and check.”

He got out and examined the tires. The front left tire was low on air and producing a hissing sound. Mr. Halperin located a large nail protruding between the ridges. “Must have been a nail on the road,” he said. “I’ll have to put on the spare.”

“Shaul, do you think they can patch the tire?” his wife asked.

“I don’t know,” he replied. “It’s a big nail and made quite a gash. The tire may have to be replaced.”

“I wasn’t planning on spending $100 to get to the wedding,” lamented Mrs. Halperin. “We could have taken a car service there and back for half the price!”

“I wonder if we’re actually responsible to pay,” said Mr. Halperin. “We weren’t negligent at all; we had no control over this.”

The next morning, Shaul met Rabbi Dayan in shul and related what had happened the night before.

“Are we responsible to replace the tire even though it was not our fault?” he asked.

“The Torah describes four types of shomrim (caretakers): unpaid, hired, a renter, and one who borrows,” answered Rabbi Dayan. “A person who borrows an animal or item is responsible for it, even if it is ruined through uncontrollable circumstances. For example, had lightning knocked a tree down on the car while you were at the wedding, you would have been responsible (Choshen Mishpat 340:1). However, our Sages taught that if the item is ruined or damaged through routine usage, the borrower is exempt. This is called in halacha, ‘meisa machamas melacha’ – died on account of usage (C.M. 340:1).”

“What is the basis for this exemption?” asked Shaul.

“It is based on logic,” Rabbi Dayan explained. “The item was not borrowed to sit idle; it was meant to be used. Therefore, the borrower is exempt from damage that results from usage (B.M. 96b). Some explain that this exemption includes any uncontrollable damage that ensues from routine usage, and here the nail was a result of routine driving (C.M. 340:3 and SM”A 340:8). Others, however, explain that the exemption applies only if the item malfunctioned, such as if the tires had worn out and burst, in which case the lender is considered partly at fault for having lent an item unfit for normal tasks (Shach 340:5-6).”

“What is the halacha, then?” asked Mr. Halperin.

“You are legally exempt, based on the first explanation,” said Rabbi Dayan. “Nonetheless, you might want to pay, at least partially, for the tire, out of appreciation to your neighbor for having lent you the car. On the other hand, if you already replaced the tire out of pocket, you cannot ask the lender for reimbursement, since you are responsible according to the second explanation.

“Of course, the borrower is exempt only if he used the item properly, in the manner for which it was lent,” Rabbi Dayan concluded. “Had you driven through a junkyard and blown the tires, you would have been responsible. Similarly, if the nail made a small hole that could have been patched and you continued driving until the tire got completely ruined, you would be responsible to replace the tire according to both opinions.”