The Mitzvah Shiur #410 Cities of Refuge

(1) The commandment on the court to send one who smites a soul inadvertently from his city to the cities of refuge and upon the killer himself to go there: That the courts of Israel were commanded to send one who smites a soul inadvertently from his city and restore him in the cities of refuge, as it is stated (Numbers 35:25), "and the community shall restore him to his city of refuge, etc. and there he shall remain until the death of the high priest." And also the smiter, he too, is included in this positive commandment, as it is stated about him (Numbers 35:28), "For he shall dwell in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest."

(2) It is from the roots of the commandment [that] since the iniquity of killing is very weighty, as the destruction of the world [comes] through it, to the point that they, may their memory be blessed, said (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Murderer and the Preservation of Life 4:9) that one who kills a soul volitionally - even if the did all of the [other] commandments - is not saved from judgement, as it is stated (Proverbs 28:17), "A man oppressed by bloodguilt will flee to a pit; let none give him support"; therefore it is fitting for one who killed, that since such a great mishap as this came through his hand, that he should endure the pain of exile for it, which is almost equal to the pain of death - as a person is separated from his friends, and from his birthplace and [instead] dwells with strangers all of his days. And there is also benefit to the world with the commandment - as Scripture elucidates - since he will be saved from his blood avenger through this, such that he not kill him when he has no guilt on his hands; as behold, it was inadvertent. And there is another benefit in the thing, such that the relatives of the slain not see the slayer, the killer, regularly with their eyes in the place that the evil was done. And all 'the ways of the Torah are pleasantness.'

MISHNA: To where are the unintentional murderers exiled? They are exiled to cities of refuge, to three cities that were in the east bank of the Jordan and to three cities that were in the land of Canaan, i.e., Eretz Yisrael, as it is stated: “Three cities shall you give beyond the Jordan and three cities shall you give in the land of Canaan; they shall be cities of refuge” (Numbers 35:14).

And roads were aligned for them from this city, i.e., all cities, to that city, i.e., they would pave and straighten the access roads to the cities of refuge, as it is stated: “Prepare for you the road, and divide the borders of your land, which the Lord your God causes you to inherit, into three parts, that every murderer may flee there” (Deuteronomy 19:3). And the court would provide the unintentional murderers fleeing to a city of refuge with two Torah scholars, due to the concern that perhaps the blood redeemer, i.e., a relative of the murder victim seeking to avenge his death, will seek to kill him in transit, and in that case they, the scholars, will talk to the blood redeemer and dissuade him from killing the unintentional murderer.

Rabbi Meir says: The unintentional murderer also speaks [medabber] on his own behalf to dissuade the blood redeemer, as it is stated: “And this is the matter [devar] of the murderer, who shall flee there and live” (Deuteronomy 19:4), indicating that the murderer himself speaks. Rabbi Yosei bar Yehuda says: Initially, either one who killed another unintentionally or one who killed another intentionally would hurry and flee to the cities of refuge, and the court in his city would send for him and would bring him from there to stand trial. For one who was found liable to receive the death penalty in court for intentional murder, the court would execute him, and for one who was not found liable to receive the death penalty, e.g., if they deemed that the death occurred due to circumstances beyond his control, they would free him. For one who was found liable to be exiled, the court would restore him to his place in the city of refuge, as it is stated: “And the congregation shall judge between the murderer and the blood redeemer…and the congregation shall restore him to his city of refuge, that he fled there” (Numbers 35:24–25), indicating that he had been in a city of refuge before his trial.

GEMARA: The Sages taught: Moses designated three cities of refuge in the east bank of the Jordan, and corresponding to them, Joshua designated three cities of refuge in the land of Canaan. And the cities were aligned like two rows of vines in a vineyard: In Eretz Yisrael there was Hebron in Mount Judea, corresponding to Bezer in the wilderness; Shechem in Mount Ephraim, corresponding to Ramoth in the Gilead; and Kadesh in Mount Naphtali, corresponding to Golan in the Bashan. From the term “And you shall divide [veshilashta]” (Deuteronomy 19:3), it is derived that the three cities in Eretz Yisrael will serve as three [meshulashin] lines of demarcation dividing the length of the land into four equal parts, in a manner that the distance from the southern border of Eretz Yisrael to Hebron, the southernmost city of refuge, will be like the distance from Hebron to Shechem, and the distance from Hebron to Shechem will be like the distance from Shechem to Kadesh, and the distance from Shechem to Kadesh will be like the distance from Kadesh to the northern border. The Gemara questions the distribution of the cities: Why were there three cities designated on the east bank of the Jordan, where two and a half tribes resided, and three cities designated in Eretz Yisrael, where more than nine tribes resided? Abaye said: In Gilead, which is located on the east bank of the Jordan, murderers are common.

Rabbi Pineḥas ben Ya’ir would say: Torah study leads to care in the performance of mitzvot. Care in the performance of mitzvot leads to diligence in their observance. Diligence leads to cleanliness of the soul. Cleanliness of the soul leads to abstention from all evil. Abstention from evil leads to purity and the elimination of all base desires. Purity leads to piety. Piety leads to humility. Humility leads to fear of sin. Fear of sin leads to holiness. Holiness leads to the Divine Spirit. The Divine Spirit leads to the resurrection of the dead. And piety is greater than all of them, as it is stated: “Then You did speak in a vision to Your pious ones” (Psalms 89:20).

(12) Why were the Levites not allotted land in Eretz Yisrael or a share in its booty along with their brethren? Because they were singled out to serve the Lord and minister to him, to teach his upright ways and just laws to many people, as it is written: "They shall teach thy laws to Jacob, and thy instruction to Israel" (Deuteronomy 33:10). For this reason, they were separated from worldly affairs: they fought no battles like the rest of Israel; they inherited no land; they won nothing by means of their physical ability. They are indeed the Lord's army, as it is written: "Bless, O Lord, his substance" (11). He, blessed be he, has won them for himself, as it is written: "I am your portion and your share" (Numbers 18:20).

Therefore, the mothers of High Priests would provide those exiled to cities of refuge with sustenance and garments so that they would not pray that their sons would die.