Chapter 2, Mishna 2
INTRODUCTION:
The Torah teaches us that someone who kills another be'shogeg
(accidentally) is exiled to an Ir haMiklat- city of refuge (There are a
total of six of these cities- three each on each side of the Jordan River.).
This is because even though he didn't kill on purpose, he should have- and could
have- been more careful. Therefore, he has some responsibility for what
he's done. When he is in an Ir haMiklat, he is protected.
However, he is required to stay there until the Kohen haGadol dies.
HOWEVER, there are two categories of someone who kills
accidentally who do NOT go to an Ir haMiklat.
1) SHOGEG KAROV Le'MAYZID:
This is someone who may not have meant to kill someone, but he did
something so foolish and dangerous that it's ALMOST like he did it on purpose
(For example, he threw a knife into a crowded room.). He is not ALLOWED
to go the Ir haMiklat, and will therefore not be protected.
2) SHOGEG KAROV Le'ONES: This
is someone who did something accidentally that normally would never, ever
cause someone else to die. Because he had no responsibility at all, he
does not HAVE to go to Ir HaMiklat and is also protected.
NOW ONTO THE
MISHNA....
הַזּוֹרֵק אֶבֶן לִרְשׁוּת
הָרַבִּים וְהָרַג, הֲרֵי זֶה גּוֹלֶה.
רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר בֶּן
יַעֲקב אוֹמֵר, אִם מִכְּשֶׁיָּצְאתָה הָאֶבֶן מִיָּדוֹ הוֹצִיא הַלָּז אֶת ראשׁוֹ
וְקִבְּלָהּ, הֲרֵי זֶה פָּטוּר.
זָרַק אֶת הָאֶבֶן לַחֲצֵרוֹ
וְהָרַג, אִם יֵשׁ רְשׁוּת לַנִּזָּק לִכָּנֵס לְשָׁם, גּוֹלֶה. וְאִם לָאו, אֵינוֹ
גוֹלֶה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (דברים יט) "וַאֲשֶׁר יָבא אֶת רֵעֵהוּ בַיַּעַר," מָה
הַיַּעַר רְשׁוּת לַנִּזָּק וְלַמַּזִּיק לִכָּנֵס לְשָׁם, יָצָא חֲצַר בַּעַל
הַבַּיִת שֶׁאֵין רְשׁוּת לַנִּזָּק (וְלַמַּזִּיק) לִכָּנֵס לְשָׁם.
אַבָּא שָׁאוּל
אוֹמֵר, מַה חֲטָבַת עֵצִים רְשׁוּת, יָצָא הָאָב הַמַּכֶּה אֶת בְּנוֹ, וְהָרַב
הָרוֹדֶה אֶת תַּלְמִידוֹ, וּשְׁלִיחַ בֵּית דִּין
Someone who throws a rock into a public area and
accidentally kills someone is exiled (to an Ir haMiklat- City of Refuge).
Rebbe Eliezer Ben Yaakov (who
lived in the generation of Usha) says that if
after the person threw the rock, someone then
stuck his head out and was killed by the rock, the thrower is exempt and
doesn't have to go to exile.
Click
here for a hard question you should be asking (and one you have to answer)......
If someone throws a rock into his OWN courtyard
(which is his own property) and accidentally kills someone, and the victim had
permission to be there, then the thrower is exiled (to Ir haMiklat).
But if the person did not have permission to be there, the thrower isn't exiled.
This is learned from the verse, "that came upon his fellow in the forest."
(Devarim 19:5)
Just like both the
damaged (nizak) and the damager (mazik) had permission to be
there, the thrower doesn't have to go to exile if the person he accidentally
killed does NOT have permission to be on his property.
Abba Shaul (who also lived in
the generation of Usha) says that just like a wood chopper who is allowed to
be there is (in many cases) exempt from exile, so- too- is a father who
disciplines his child, a teacher who disciplines his student or the Bet Din's
agent who is flogging a convicted criminal.
(This, says the Bartnerua, is because these people are doing a mitzvah.
However, as the Tosofot Yomtov points out, this is only in the case where the
person does the mitzvah properly. Parents are NOT allowed to beat
children. As the Tosofot Yomtov notes, if the Bet Din's agent does
flogging more severely that he is supposed to, he is indeed guilty.)
NOW CLICK HERE FOR A QUESTION...
Mishna Makkot homepage
www.fuchsmizrachi.org