Feature Tidbit Second Guessing G-d One of the mitzva topics of Mas'ei is IR MIKLAT, the Cities of Refuge. Aside from the better-known details of the topic - for example, that someone who kills b'SHOGEG, inadvertent (marked by unintentional lack of care) killing, is sent to a city of refuge, where he must stay until the death of a (not "the") Kohen Gadol. Are you aware that ANYONE who is responsible for the taking of a life flees to, or is sent to, an IR MIKLAT. This includes the intentional murderer and one who killed totally by accident without any contributory negligence. The "killer" is taken from the IR MIKLAT to stand trial. If the court decides that the person is completely free of any guilt or responsibility, then he is freed. If the killing is deemed a premeditated murder, the guilty party is to be executed. Only if the verdict of the court is SHOGEG, will the person be returned to IR MIKLAT to remain there, as mentioned above. Okay, let's zero in on one specific mitzva among those related to IR MIKLAT. Picture the following... There is a mid-sized city with a local hospital. The hospital is famous all over the country and abroad because of the head of surgery. He is a doctor with a fantastic reputation, and com pletely well-deserved. Everyone in town is proud of their hospital and its chief. One day, Dr. So-and-so is on the golf course in Caesarea and misses a particularly easy putt. In a display of anger and frustration, the good doctor throws his golf club and it hits a bystander in the head and kills him. Assuming that the Beit Din (of 23 judges) concludes that this is a case of SHOGEG, the doctor will have to be exiled to a city of refuge. During the judges' deliberations, one of them brings up the point that has been bothering them all. We don't want to lose the doctor. He's a great doctor and he's great for our fair city. There is general agreement with the sentiment, and another judge offers and alternative to IR MIKLAT. He suggests that the doctor be placed under house arrest. That he live at the hospital, continue to serve the community, perform surgery. This way, we don't lose the doctor, but he is appropriately dealt with as far as the golf club death. Nice try, fellows, but it won't work. Tempting idea. Apparently, G-d knew that we would come up with the idea, because He expressly prohibits doing other than IR MIKLAT for a SOGEG killer. By the way, if the killer lives in an Ir Miklat in the first place, he would be sent to another one. If would not do to remain in his home town. Okay, that's the rule. But, why? Maybe, because we don't understand the whole idea of IR MIKLAT in the first place. We have a limited human understanding. We think we know what G-d had in mind with these mitzvot, but we don't know everything - and we cannot know everything. IR MIKLAT is one of only two mitzvot that the Torah labels CHUKAT MISHPAT. This is an almost paradoxical term, with MISHPAT being that kind of mitzva that is logical, based on common sense, easy to understand, and with CHOK being that kinnd of mitzva whose reasons are not given to us, nor can we completely figure them out on our own. There is an element of CHOK in the logically understood concept of com bining exile with protective custody for the SOGEG killer. And the clever alternative treatment of the doctors case pre-supposes that we under stand the whole issue. And we don't. And then, there is the NISHAMA angle. Perhaps the person's soul needs to go through a specific experience in order to be properly "cleansed" of its blemishes. IR MIKLAT and only IR MIKLAT accomplishes this, let us say. Then we do the doctor a great misservice by second-guessing G-d. There are mitzvot that DO lend themselves to our more complete understanding. IR MIKLAT is not one of them. [The
Matot-Mas'ei Homepage]
This site maintained by Avi Kehat. email: avik@iname.com |
