For the source text click/tap here: Bava Batra 26
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How much does one need to distance his tree from another’s property? One reason for the distance is to leave room for the neighbor to plow. If one’s roots grow into a neighboring field, one can cut them to a certain distance depending on why one is cutting them (what one needs the space for).
Rava bar Rav Chanan refused to cut down his fig trees because Rav Chanina’s son died because he cut down a fig tree. There is a prohibition from the Torah to cut down fruit bearing trees. It is not clear, however, that the prohibition should apply in this case.
We explore the prohibition Deut 20 in the context of war and seagoing a city, which brings to just war theory and the ethics of collateral civilian casualties.