One would think that the phrase “my home is my castle” – (originally and correctly: „For a man´s house is his castle“, a preserved dictum from Sir Edward Coke 1552 – 1634, English barrister, judge, and politician who is often considered the greatest jurist of the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras) – is a proverb which reflects the idea that a person’s home is a place of safety, privacy, and sanctuary, where they have the right to feel secure and be free from intrusion or harm.
Well. This is correct, but the chronology of its origins is inaccurate. it has indeed a much earlier source…
We read on Shabbat:
כִּֽי־תַשֶּׁ֥ה בְרֵֽעֲךָ֖ מַשַּׁ֣את מְא֑וּמָה לֹא־תָבֹ֥א אֶל־בֵּית֖וֹ לַעֲבֹ֥ט עֲבֹטֽוֹ׃
„When you make a loan of any sort to your compatriot, you must not enter the house to seize the pledge“
Why not ? After all, he owes the money? So why should the lender or his representative not be allowed to go in and choose the right item in order to pay the debt which is owed? Because – The Torah recognised that “A person’s home is his castle” – long before modern law discovered this important and humane principle. A person must have one place – his own home, in which he is entitled to feel safe from any intrusion.
Of course there are some exceptional circumstances which both the Jewish law – as well as the modern law would allow the entry into someone’s home – but the principle guidance is as above.
Best wishes and Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Chaim Michael Biberfeld