It says in the gemarah that one can aquire a cow by death.
How can one acquire something by death, as the tana kamma says that the shomer sachar acquires the cow when the cow dies?
Shmuel Shalom, London, United Kingdom
Dear Shmuel,
Obviously, as you mention, death is not a form of Kinyan. The Kehilas Yakov of the Steipler Gaon (Bava Metzia 29) explains that in the beginning the Sho'el was also responsible to the owner if the Shomer Sachar is responsible. However, when an Ones occurs, like death, the Torah releases the first Shomer from liability and so the Sho'el is also released toward the owner and is now responsible only to the Shomer Sachar, so it is as if the Shomer "acquired" control of the Sho'el's responsibility through the death (Ones) of the animal.
All the best,
Reuven Weiner