The end of this week’s parasha – and thus, the end of the Book of Numbers (Bamidbar) presents a lengthy discussion of the laws regarding the establishment of the cities of refuge (arei miklat) and the inadvertent murderer. What is the relevance of these laws to the conclusion of Sefer Bamidbar? One would have expected this section to appear in the legal portions in Chumash, such as Parashat Mishpatim. (In fact, a brief reference to the cities of refuge does actually appear in Parashat Mishpatim – Shemot 21:13.) Why does the Torah introduce the cities of refuge in our parasha?
Given the context of this section, Rav Yonatan Grossman explains: I would suggest that the presentation of the laws of the inadvertent murderer in our parasha focuses not on the murderer himself, but rather on the ramifications thereof to the LAND. The preceding section deals with the precise borders of the Land of Israel and the method of its distribution among the twelve tribes as well as the Tribe of Levi. In this context, the Torah reminds us that several cities are to be designated for the benefit of accidental killers. It is therefore not surprising that the section concludes: “You shall not defile the land in which you live, in which I Myself abide, for I God abide among the Israelite people” (35:34). This verse forms an appropriate conclusion for the regulations involving the conquest, occupation and distribution of the Land. Nevertheless, the dominating characteristic of this section is clearly its strictly legal quality. In this sense, it differs substantially from the other two discussions of the arei miklat in Chumash. First, let us briefly review the various references to arei miklat in the Torah.
The concept of the city of refuge for inadvertent murderers appears in the Torah for the first time (as noted earlier) very briefly in Parashat Mishpatim: “He who fatally strikes a man shall be put to death. If he did not do it by design, but God lead him to it, then I will assign you a place to which he can flee” (Shemot 21:12-3). We encounter these laws once again in our parasha, in the context of the division of the Land, and lastly in Parashat Shoftim, where the Torah goes through this topic at length (Devarim 19).
Rav Grossman teaches that the function of the arei miklat of Sefer Devarim is clear and straightforward – to provide REFUGE for the murderer from the avenger. That parasha therefore stresses the issues relevant to the murderer’s successful escape and the security afforded to him by the city. Accordingly, the avenger emerges here as a frenzied and erratic vigilant, from whom refuge must be provided. For the same reason, nowhere in Sefer Devarim is there a reference to any legal process associated with the cities of refuge. Residence in the city is simply an option open to the inadvertent murderer for his safety.
Our parasha presents a more novel, less intuitive aspect of the cities of refuge, one of EXILE. It emerges as an integral part of the legal process to be undergone by the murderer, and he therefore does not have the option of leaving. He not only escapes to the ir miklat, but, after he has been acquitted from premeditated murder, the court forcefully returns him to the city, since he did, after all, kill, albeit accidentally. He must remain there until the death of the high priest and may not be released on bail. In this parasha, the avenger fills an official role, that of the court executioner, if warranted. It now becomes clear why in Sefer Bemidbar, as opposed to Sefer Devarim, the laws involving the intentional murderer are intertwined with the procedures involving the accidental killer. A moral complaint is brought against both. Although their punishments understandably differ from one another, both cases appear here as two instances of a similar scenario, and both require penalty and atonement.
Devorah Abenhaim
