Translation:Shulchan Aruch/Choshen Mishpat/370

Paragraph 1- There are matters that the rabbis prohibited because of robbery, and one who violates them is a rabbinical robber. Those matters include pigeon flying and dice-playing. How so? One may not have a pigeon fly in civilization because it will take other’s money illegally. When one sends a male it will bring a female from another nest, and when one sends a female, it will bring a male. This does not only apply to pigeons, but to any other bird, undomesticated animal or domesticated animal that does the same thing, and one who does these things would be a rabbinical robber.

Paragraph 2- What qualifies as dice-playing? Those that play with wood, pebbles or bones and make a condition with each other that whomever defeats the other in that game will take such and such amount. Similarly, if one plays with domesticated or undomesticated animals or birds and makes a condition that whichever animal defeats or outruns the others will take such and such amount from the other, or anything similar, it would all be prohibited and would be rabbinical robbery.

Paragraph 3- There are those who say that if one dice-plays with a gentile there is no issue of robbery. There is, however, a prohibition of participating in idle matters that a person should not participate in his entire life. Rather, he should involve himself with matters of wisdom and of advancing the world. This opinion disagrees with the earlier one sand says that one is not disqualified unless he has no other trade. If he has another trade, however, even if he plays with a Jew he would not be disqualified. See above 207:13. The custom has already spread in accordance with the latter opinion to dice-play and the only one disqualified is someone who has no other trade. If someone plays on trust, whether he is required to pay is discussed above in Siman 207.

Paragraph 4- If one lays out a net with that has no receptacle, and he traps an undomesticated animal, bird or fish and someone else comes and takes it, that is rabbinical robbery. If it has a receptacle, he would be a biblical robber.

Paragraph 5- If a poor person was picking olives that were shicha on the top of an olive tree, and they fell to the ground, and someone took them before he picked them up, that would be rabbinical robbery. If they already were in the poor person’s hands, it would be bona-fide robbery and we would remove them from the robber.

Paragraph 6- If one robs a bees’ nest or prevents them from going to their owner and it comes to his possession, it is rabbinical robbery.

Paragraph 7- Anyone who has rabbinical robbery in their possession would not have the items removed by judges.