A thought on פרשת מסעי
"...arei miklat tihiyena lachem v'nos shama...""...there will be cities of refuge for you and the killer shall escape there..." (35:11)
We understand the concept of the Cities of Refuge. Those who committed the tragic act of accidental killing were commanded to flee to these self-contained urban havens, living out their years in exile amidst their hosts, the Levites.
The Recanati sheds light on some of the deepest intricacies of this mitzva. The role of the Levi, in our mystical tradition, is to represent the midda of din. Whereas a Kohen embodies the midda of chesed, kindness, it is the task of the Levi to be precise, exacting and focused on order and control. This was their role in the upkeep and supervision of the mikdash, and this was because the Levites served to reflect middas ha'din from Above in their dedicated actions below.
We might assume that the person whose accident led to another's death needs to be in the city of the Levi because he deserves din for his carelessness. That would make sense in a mathematic manner. The Recanati disagrees: notice that the Levi is not dealing in a harsh or punitive manner with the killer. He is sheltering him, caring for him and protecting him from the hostile mob who may be out to avenge the death that he brought about! How does the justice-bound Levi take on this benevolent and caring role, so different than his traditional din format?The Recanati explains that whereas the killing was an accident, it was no "accident" that these two people had the tragic encounter. Clearly, there was a middas ha'din behind the decree that one person should die. Meanwhile, for whatever reason, the other person somehow had to take on the role of facilitating that death. Whatever history or past problem that person had as a demerit, it somehow had a role in his being given the unfortunate and tragic role which was needed to implement the "accident" of the other's death.
In that sense, while not an innocent "pawn" in the process (since there was a reason that he needed to be part of the tragedy), he did not plan to hurt anyone. He did not chose to kill anyone. The Divine plan drew him in to the picture, and the rest was horrible history.
Having been taken into a role that he never would have chosen, the Torah dictates that his subordinate role in bringing about din for someone who deserved din now warranted that he be given some compassion. Those whose mission is to represent din, the Levites, were now assigned the task of welcoming in a cohort, someone who also enacted din. Rather than treat him with harsh and punitive displays of din, it is the task of the Levi to harbor and shelter this person. He too, in a profoundly painful way, has acted in the service of HaShem.
For that role, however tragic and traumatizing, he is shown a level of chesed.
Wishing you a good Shabbos. D Fox
We understand the concept of the Cities of Refuge. Those who committed the tragic act of accidental killing were commanded to flee to these self-contained urban havens, living out their years in exile amidst their hosts, the Levites.
The Recanati sheds light on some of the deepest intricacies of this mitzva. The role of the Levi, in our mystical tradition, is to represent the midda of din. Whereas a Kohen embodies the midda of chesed, kindness, it is the task of the Levi to be precise, exacting and focused on order and control. This was their role in the upkeep and supervision of the mikdash, and this was because the Levites served to reflect middas ha'din from Above in their dedicated actions below.
We might assume that the person whose accident led to another's death needs to be in the city of the Levi because he deserves din for his carelessness. That would make sense in a mathematic manner. The Recanati disagrees: notice that the Levi is not dealing in a harsh or punitive manner with the killer. He is sheltering him, caring for him and protecting him from the hostile mob who may be out to avenge the death that he brought about! How does the justice-bound Levi take on this benevolent and caring role, so different than his traditional din format?The Recanati explains that whereas the killing was an accident, it was no "accident" that these two people had the tragic encounter. Clearly, there was a middas ha'din behind the decree that one person should die. Meanwhile, for whatever reason, the other person somehow had to take on the role of facilitating that death. Whatever history or past problem that person had as a demerit, it somehow had a role in his being given the unfortunate and tragic role which was needed to implement the "accident" of the other's death.
In that sense, while not an innocent "pawn" in the process (since there was a reason that he needed to be part of the tragedy), he did not plan to hurt anyone. He did not chose to kill anyone. The Divine plan drew him in to the picture, and the rest was horrible history.
Having been taken into a role that he never would have chosen, the Torah dictates that his subordinate role in bringing about din for someone who deserved din now warranted that he be given some compassion. Those whose mission is to represent din, the Levites, were now assigned the task of welcoming in a cohort, someone who also enacted din. Rather than treat him with harsh and punitive displays of din, it is the task of the Levi to harbor and shelter this person. He too, in a profoundly painful way, has acted in the service of HaShem.
For that role, however tragic and traumatizing, he is shown a level of chesed.
Wishing you a good Shabbos. D Fox
posted by Rabbi Dr. Fox at 11:53 PM
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