Posted on 08/18/23
The Torah describes how the unintentional murderer must flee to a city of refuge "lest the redeemer of the blood chase after the killer, for יחם לבבו — his heart will be hot, and he will overtake him for the way was long, and he will strike him mortally — and there is no judgment of death upon him, for he had not hated from yesterday and before yesterday."(דברים יט ו)
The role of the blood redeemer — or perhaps more accurately, avenger — has always intrigued me. Do we believe in revenge? Isn't every occurrence of inadvertent death directed from upon high? Perhaps regarding an intentional killer, we can accept that we have a responsibility to hold him accountable for the choice he made to be the one who took another's life. But when dealing with an unintentional act, even assuming a certain level of negligence on the part of the perpetrator, can we justify allowing the raging emotions of the victim's relatives to be vented by permitting him to kill the accidental murderer. The verse seems to indicate that we must take into consideration the 'natural' reactive wrath of the family and permit them to exact justice. Is that the Torah way?
If it is simply about placating human emotion, how is it that when the murderer flees and succeeds in entering the city of refuge, he has nothing to fear? Did the anger of the deceased kin suddenly dissipate? If it is truly rampant emotion, who is to say they can control it?
The Torah sets aside cities of refuge so that the unintentional murderer can escape the avenging relatives. The earlier quoted verse seems to define this person as one who is innocent and deserving to escape when it describes the fugitive as acquitted because — 'there is no judgment of death upon him, for he had not hated from yesterday and before yesterday.' He had no previous rift with the one he accidentally killed and thus not judged to die.
The Ritva however claims that the subject in the verse is the blood redeemer, with the verse asserting that he is exempt from culpability in killing the unintentional murderer of his relative 'for he had not hated from yesterday and before yesterday.'(מכות י:)
The blood redeemer may only kill the unintentional murderer if he harbors no personal resentment towards him. The Ritva adds that his sole purpose must be to לגאול את דמו — to 'redeem his blood'.
We begin to sense that there is much more going on here than simply permitting the pain of the relatives to find validation. It is a holy mission which requires a precise focus on the redemption of the murdered one's blood, not an unleashing of personal angst.
The famed disciple of the Ramchal, Rav Moshe Dovid Valle, inquires what is the nature of this 'redemption of blood' and how is that accomplished by killing the murderer?
He directs us to the very first murder in the history of the world, when Kayin killed his brother Hevel. The Torah reports how G-d says to Kayin, "The voice of your brother's blood is screaming to Me from the ground." (בראשית ד י)
We were gifted a world run by a Creator that conveys His will, calling for justice, since G-d is just.
When the equilibrium of the universe is disrupted by a vile act of murder — the quashing of a human life who deserved to live and now deprived of G-d's benevolence — it screams out for justice. The balance of justice must be corrected. In the case of an intentional murderer, it returns to its former state when he is executed.
In the case of the unintentional murder there is a process by which the sleight negligence on the part of the unintentional murder must be addressed by allowing him to be chased and find refuge in one of the designated cities. It is at that moment that the scales are righted, the unintentional murderer not condemned to death, but sentenced to live among the Levites who comprise the population of these cities, with the reign of G-d's measure of judgment portrayed justly. The soul of the murdered one finds solace in the accurate implementation of justice, now viewing his murderer as merely the innocent 'ax in the hand of the Hewer', and finally redeemed.
In the event the blood redeemer succeeds in killing the unintentional murderer, then evidently that was aligned with the גזירה עליונה — decree from on high, that the unintentional murder warranted that punishment, and the carrying out of justice, thus providing redemption to the 'blood' of the victim.
No wonder, according to the Ritva, the blood redeemer may never be motivated by anger or vengeance per se, and only driven by a deep-seated desire to promote the Honor of Heaven and the maintenance of Torah driven Divine justice, bringing the world to its former healthy balance.
There are many attempts to explain why the exiled unintentional murderer is released from his sentence in 'exile' upon the death of Kohen Gadol, the High Priest.
Maimonides in his Guide to the Perplexed (III 40) offers a fascinating idea.
As the verse indicates the hot-hearted blood redeemer is driven to chase the murderer. In the event the entire Jewish community suffers the tragic loss of the beloved and inspiring High Priest, the collective grief is so great that one quickly forgets his own personal suffering, and we are no longer concerned that his passion will drive him to avenge his relative's death.
A person who killed another person unknowingly must go into exile because the anger of “the avenger of the blood” cools down while the cause of the mischief is out of sight. The chance of returning from the exile depends on the death of the High Priest, the most honored of men, and the friend of all Israel. By his death the relative of the slain person becomes reconciled; for it is a natural phenomenon that we find consolation in our misfortune when the same misfortune or a greater one has befallen another person. Amongst us no death causes more grief than that of the High Priest…
Does the Rambam mean to say that one finds comfort when others are suffering as well? This would echo the oft quoted sentiment, צרת רבים חצי נחמה — collective suffering is half relief? This exact sentiment is unsourced in Chazal. Is it even a healthy attitude to feel comforted because others are suffering too?
Perhaps Rambam is expanding on the theme touched on by the Ritva and Rav Valle.
We react when we feel we are victims of injustice because it shakes our sense of wellbeing. If we can somehow correct the unfairness, by righting the wrong and punishing the offender, it provides us a path towards restored hope.
But there are times when tragedies are so overwhelming, affecting a wide swath of society, that we realize there is something beyond our ken, that isn't personal, but rather part of the masterplan of Divine Providence that we must simply accept.
When the Kohen Gadol, an individual who cared deeply for each Jew, who inspired and uplifted a nation instilling every individual with hope, purpose, validation, and direction, was taken from us, it rattled the equilibrium of our lives.
The only way to recover from that shock was to forsake our own personal frustrations and place our minds and hearts with absolute faith in G-d without doubt or demands for clarity.
We do not find comfort in the suffering of others but rather are uplifted to new heights of collective commitment to the will of G-d although we cannot fathom His plan.
Even the 'blood' of those mistreated find redemption in this renewed unconditional allegiance.
The 'hot heart' represents man's quest for understanding suffering and making some sense of it.
There is only one other reference in all of Torah to a hot heart.
In Psalms (39 4), King David contemplates the suffering he has endured. He describes how חם לבי — hot grew my heart, in my contemplations blazed a fire, begging for clarity.
Yet later in that chapter he simply asks G-d to hear his prayer and not be mute to his tears, for a sojourner am I with you, a settler like all my forefathers.
He accepts the impermanence of this world and its confusions, but pines to one day be a settler as the forefathers in the World to Come.
We must also find solace in the fact that each one of us faces arduous challenges summoning us to greater plateaus in service of G-d.
It is with that passion that we can unburden ourselves of the unfairness in our lives knowing there is great hope in our future.
באהבה,
צבי יהודה טייכמאן