{"id":48953,"date":"2018-07-09T17:41:37","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T14:41:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wall\/wall-152\/"},"modified":"2022-09-05T08:42:08","modified_gmt":"2022-09-05T05:42:08","slug":"wall-152","status":"publish","type":"wall","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wall\/wall-152\/","title":{"rendered":"chapter-Torah-Numbers-35"},"parent":0,"template":"","acf":{"type":"chapter","wall_id":"152","date":"20260330","book":"Numbers","chapter":"35","chapter_main_number":"152","books_group":"Torah","posts":[{"order":1,"id":"48968","color":"#f8ebe3","size":"1","name":"Numbers 35 - Judy Hammond ","post_title":"Numbers 35 - Judy Hammond","slug":"numbers-35-judy-hammond","old_id":"48968","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34686,"post_title":"Soundcloud","slug":"soundcloud","old_id":"34686","first_name":"","last_name":"","description":"","short_description":"","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34656,"alt":"","title":"491","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","width":300,"height":300,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","medium_large-width":300,"medium_large-height":300,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","large-width":300,"large-height":300,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","1536x1536-width":300,"1536x1536-height":300,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","2048x2048-width":300,"2048x2048-height":300,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","post_full_size-width":300,"post_full_size-height":300,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","home_baner-width":300,"home_baner-height":300}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"152","type_929":"4","show_author_image":true,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"The Audio Bible","tile_main_caption":"Numbers 35","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"read by Judy Hammond","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":"","tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/929-bible\/numbers-chapter-35-read-by-judy-hammond","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Numbers","chapter":"35","chapter_main_number":"152","date":"20260330","wall_id":"152"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":2,"id":"107704","color":"#f6edf6","size":"1","name":"Oops! ","post_title":"Oops!","slug":"oops","old_id":"107704","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":78133,"post_title":"Josh Blechner","slug":"josh-blechner","old_id":"78133","first_name":"Josh ","last_name":"Blechner ","description":"Josh first finished the Tanach during Yeshiva in Mevaseret Zion. He and his daughter studied the Tanach again for her bat mitzvah. Josh has taught many classes on Tanach throughout the years and currently in the New Rochelle 929 group. When not studying for 929, Josh works as an in-house lawyer in New Jersey.","short_description":"Josh has taught many classes on Tanach throughout the years and currently in the New Rochelle 929 group, and is an in-house attorney in New Jersey. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":78134,"alt":"","title":"josh blechner","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","width":276,"height":351,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner-236x300.jpg","medium-width":236,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","medium_large-width":276,"medium_large-height":351,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","large-width":276,"large-height":351,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","1536x1536-width":276,"1536x1536-height":351,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","2048x2048-width":276,"2048x2048-height":351,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","post_full_size-width":276,"post_full_size-height":351,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","home_baner-width":276,"home_baner-height":351}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"152","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"What to do with a manslaughterer, and what does Moses have to do with it?\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"


\r\nThe <\/span>arei miklat<\/span><\/i>, cities of refuge,<\/span> were special cities for the Levites who did not have a tribal portion in Canaan. These cities doubled as a place of refuge for individuals who committed unintentional murder. The Torah first hinted at these cities in Exodus:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

One who fatally strikes another party shall be put to death. If a man did so but not by design\u2014it came about by an act of God\u2014I will assign you a place to which he can flee (Ex. 21:12-13).\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The three cities that Moses established in the future tribal lands of Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh would not \u201cfunction\u201d until the people set up the three in the land itself.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Nonetheless, although Moses is not able to enter the land, God granted him the opportunity to establish something that only exists in the Land itself. In this way, when the people set up the three cities inside the land, Moses would \u201cget the credit\u201d for establishing a part of the holy land.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

R. Isaac Luria, the Ari, brings another reason why Moses was asked to set them up: Moses himself was the perpetrator of an accidental murder. Back at the beginning of Exodus, Moses witnessed an Egyptian task master striking an Israelite slave. He struck the taskmaster and killed him and then hid him in the sand. The next day when two slaves threaten to out Moses as the killer, Moses fled. Although it could be interpreted that Moses intentionally killed the taskmaster, the Arizal connects the <\/span>arai miklat <\/span><\/i>to the incident, implying that Moses killed unintentionally.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Honor killings have existed for centuries in many cultures and are still practiced in many parts of the world today. Most of these honor killings concern family slights for sexual indiscretions, not unintentional murder. The <\/span>arai miklat <\/span><\/i>were most likely a way to balance the local tradition of honor killings with a Torah desire for law and order. Therefore, the Torah is very careful to distinguish between a premeditated murder and an unintentional one, even going as far listing the type of weapons and force that would fall in each category. The <\/span>arei miklat <\/span><\/i>have a very narrow purpose under certain circumstances. By allowing for the protection against an honor killing, the Torah is also giving the green light to honor killing for the same \u201ccrime.\u201d But the Torah is quick to remind the people that anything else that falls outside of this narrow example must be properly adjudicated in a court of law.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":95123,"alt":"","title":"job32-oops mistake","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job32-oops-mistake.jpg","width":1920,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job32-oops-mistake-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job32-oops-mistake-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job32-oops-mistake-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job32-oops-mistake-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job32-oops-mistake.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job32-oops-mistake.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job32-oops-mistake-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job32-oops-mistake-630x420.jpg","home_baner-width":630,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"My bad...","tile_main_caption":"What to do with an accidental manslaughterer, and what does Moses have to do with it?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":95123,"alt":"","title":"job32-oops mistake","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job32-oops-mistake.jpg","width":1920,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job32-oops-mistake-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job32-oops-mistake-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job32-oops-mistake-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job32-oops-mistake-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job32-oops-mistake.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job32-oops-mistake.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job32-oops-mistake-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job32-oops-mistake-630x420.jpg","home_baner-width":630,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Numbers","chapter":"35","chapter_main_number":"152","date":"20260330","wall_id":"152"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"547","name":"Punishment","old_id":"947"},{"term_id":"737","name":"Crime","old_id":"1137"},{"term_id":"762","name":"Murder","old_id":"1162"}]},{"order":3,"id":"49109","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"2","name":"Alternatives to Incarceration: A Jewish Approach ","post_title":"Alternatives To Incarceration: A Jewish Approach","slug":"alternatives-to-incarceration-a-jewish-approach","old_id":"49109","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34257,"post_title":"Shmuly Yanklowitz","slug":"shmuly-yanklowitz","old_id":"34257","first_name":"Shmuly ","last_name":"Yanklowitz ","description":"Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz is the President & Dean of the Valley Beit Midrash, the Founder & President of Uri L\u2019Tzedek, the Founder and CEO of The Shamayim V\u2019Aretz Institute, the Founder and President of YATOM, and the author of thirteen books on Jewish ethics. Newsweek named Rav Shmuly one of the top 50 rabbis in America and the Forward named him one of the 50 most influential Jews. \r\n\r\n","short_description":"Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz is the President & Dean of the Valley Beit Midrash, the Founder & President of Uri L\u2019Tzedek","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34258,"alt":"","title":"sHMULY","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sHMULY.jpg","width":580,"height":580,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sHMULY-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sHMULY-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sHMULY.jpg","medium_large-width":580,"medium_large-height":580,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sHMULY.jpg","large-width":580,"large-height":580,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sHMULY.jpg","1536x1536-width":580,"1536x1536-height":580,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sHMULY.jpg","2048x2048-width":580,"2048x2048-height":580,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sHMULY.jpg","post_full_size-width":580,"post_full_size-height":580,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sHMULY-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"152","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Commitment to human dignity even for those who have violated the norms of society","post_main_content_content":"

One of Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik\u2019s most inspirational and relevant teachings was that: \u201c\u2026[<\/span>H<\/span><\/i>]<\/span>alakhah <\/span><\/i>[Jewish Law] is not hermetically enclosed within the confines of cult sanctuaries but penetrates into every nook and cranny of life. The marketplace, the street, the factory, the house, the meeting place, the banquet hall, all constitute the backdrop for the religious life\u201d (<\/span>Halakhic Man<\/span><\/i>, 94).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

As we look upon the myriad of challenges facing society, one of the more intractable is that of justice reform. The legacy of harsh punishment, rather than rehabilitation, has created systemic problems that we as a society have to reckon with for generations to come. Therefore, now is the time that those of us committed to Jewish law and values work to transform prisons and jails in America, so that they reflect and protect inherent human dignity, even for those that may not appear to deserve it.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Indeed, maximum-security prisons in the United States are some of the most miserable places on earth. Impenetrable cement cells, feeding through a hole, and the bare minimum of exercise are the norm for those residing in their barren cells. These conditions are not only inhumane\u2013they bring on and worsen mental illness and raise recidivism rates.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

And to be sure, the inhumanity of incarceration has no place in the Jewish tradition\u2013aside from temporary pre-trial detention (<\/span>mishmar<\/span><\/i>), the Torah has no model for prison as we understand it today, and only provides a number of alternatives. The only exception is a brief period when the Rabbis, under Roman influence, instituted a <\/span>kipa<\/span><\/i>, or temporary jail.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

One important model in the Torah is <\/span>eved ivri<\/span><\/em> where one works to repair harm that is done. Another biblical alternative proposed is that of the \u201cCity of Refuge\u201d\u2014<\/span>Ir Hamiklat<\/span><\/em>\u2014w<\/span><\/i>hich provides sanctuary for the unintentional murderer a protective community operating in almost all ways like a normal city.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Jewish commitment to human dignity even for those who have violated the norms of society can inspire us to affirm more of the alternatives to incarceration that exist in America, such as: work crews, electronic monitoring, probation, educational sentencing programs, drug rehabilitation, and house arrest. These less expensive (and more humane) options can work to address systemic problems in more sustainable and moral ways.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

We must be sure to maintain adequate and effective punishments for crimes, yes, but we must also remember the nuances of societal realities and cling to our tradition\u2019s value of compassion for the dignity of all human beings. Even criminals.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":49110,"alt":"","title":"num35-prison","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/num35-prison.jpg","width":1920,"height":812,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/num35-prison-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/num35-prison-300x127.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":127,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/num35-prison-768x325.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":325,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/num35-prison-1024x433.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":433,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/num35-prison.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":650,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/num35-prison.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":812,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/num35-prison-1200x508.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":508,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/num35-prison-993x420.jpg","home_baner-width":993,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Alternatives to Incarceration: A Jewish Approach","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Commitment to human dignity even for those who have violated the norms of society","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":49110,"alt":"","title":"num35-prison","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/num35-prison.jpg","width":1920,"height":812,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/num35-prison-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/num35-prison-300x127.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":127,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/num35-prison-768x325.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":325,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/num35-prison-1024x433.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":433,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/num35-prison.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":650,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/num35-prison.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":812,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/num35-prison-1200x508.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":508,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/num35-prison-993x420.jpg","home_baner-width":993,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Numbers","chapter":"35","chapter_main_number":"152","date":"20260330","wall_id":"152"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"476","name":"Compassion","old_id":"876"},{"term_id":"547","name":"Punishment","old_id":"947"},{"term_id":"587","name":"Dignity","old_id":"987"},{"term_id":"737","name":"Crime","old_id":"1137"}]},{"order":4,"id":"48996","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Cities, Ancient and Modern ","post_title":"Cities, Ancient And Modern","slug":"cities-ancient-and-modern","old_id":"48996","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34011,"post_title":"Jeremy Benstein","slug":"dr-jeremy-benstein","old_id":"34011","first_name":"Jeremy","last_name":"Benstein","description":"Dr. Jeremy Benstein is the managing editor of 929-English. He is one of the founders of the Heschel Center for Sustainability. He writes the MiliMiliM - Hebrew Corner on the site, and is the author of a book about the Hebrew language, \"Hebrew Roots, Jewish Routes: A Tribal Language in a Global World\" (Behrman House, 2019). ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"short_description":"Dr. Jeremy Benstein is the managing editor of 929-English, and is the author of a book about the Hebrew language, \"Hebrew Roots, Jewish Routes: A Tribal Language in a Global World\" (Behrman House, 2019). ","link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34232,"alt":"","title":"Jeremy Benstein","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1.jpg","width":1280,"height":720,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-300x169.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":169,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-768x432.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":432,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-1024x576.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":576,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1.jpg","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":720,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1.jpg","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":720,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-1200x675.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":675,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-747x420.jpg","home_baner-width":747,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"152","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Some urban planning wisdom from an unlikely source","post_main_content_content":"

If there\u2019s one social-environmental issue that seems uniquely modern it is the phenomenal growth of urbanization. As recently as 1900 the global urban population was only 10% (160 million), with 27 urban centers of over a million. Now, more than half the world\u2019s population-- over 3.5 billion-- live in cities, with at least 240 megalopolises.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But even though our situation is wildly different from antiquity, our ancestors asked the same questions about urban planning and design.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In the division of the Land of Israel among the tribes, one tribe remained essentially landless, relegated to urban areas: the tribe of Levi. Our chapter requires setting aside no less than 48 Levitical cities, and includes instructions for their layout, making it a significant prooftext for Biblical views on urban and regional planning.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The cardinal charge is to leave a sizable <\/span>migrash<\/span><\/em> around the built area of the city. <\/span>Migrash<\/span><\/em> is variously translated as pasturage, or unenclosed land. Rashi explains this to be \u201can empty open space for the beautification of the city\u2026\u201d -- a \u2018green lung\u2019 for the city and its inhabitants. Open space becomes a constituent element of urban form.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

A key component of this plan is the prohibition of rezoning. Maimonides, based on the Talmud (Arachin 33b), rules that it is forbidden to build in these open spaces, to expand the city at the expense of pastureland or fields. Moreover, he states categorically that Levitical cities are not a special case: this applies equally to all other cities in Israel.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, founder of modern Orthodoxy, regarding this urban inheritance, invokes Lev. 25:34 (\"a possession unto them forever\") and formulates a central environmental tenet of inter-generational responsibility: \u201cPrecisely because it [the city with its open spaces] has been given to them for all the generations, no generation is permitted to change it as it sees fit. The present generation is not the sole ruler over it, but the future generations are equal in their rights, and each is required to bequeath it to future generations in the same state in which they received it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Hirsch explained the rationale: \u201cThese laws are designed to maintain an urban population with a connection to agriculture\u2026 [They] served to prevent cities from growing into metropolises cut off from the fields [from their agrarian roots].\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This approach expands one\u2019s personal and collective sense of home, and therefore responsibility, far beyond the usual city limits. Ironically, the contemporary suburban model which has come to dominate the countryside is practically a privatized parody of the Levitical locale: a house with a lawn instead of a town and its surrounding commons. Rather than sustainable urban planning, this leads to sprawl, and alienation from each other and our environment.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Wise planning should re-embed the urban in the rural and the natural, with open spaces, green corridors, and a healthy agricultural sector thus strengthening communal ties, and preserving the world for ourselves, each other and future generations.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

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He is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at N.Y.U., and his writing has also appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Tablet Magazine, The New York Observer, and a range of other publications. He holds a doctorate in English Literature from Harvard and a law degree from Stanford.\r\n","short_description":"Ari Hoffman is a columnist for the Forward, where he writes about politics and culture, and is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at N.Y.U.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":36424,"alt":"","title":"Ari Hoffman","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ari-Hoffman-e1532985000400.jpg","width":1044,"height":1438,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ari-Hoffman-e1532985000400-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ari-Hoffman-e1532985000400-218x300.jpg","medium-width":218,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ari-Hoffman-e1532985000400-743x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":743,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ari-Hoffman-e1532985000400-743x1024.jpg","large-width":743,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ari-Hoffman-e1532985000400.jpg","1536x1536-width":1044,"1536x1536-height":1438,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ari-Hoffman-e1532985000400.jpg","2048x2048-width":1044,"2048x2048-height":1438,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ari-Hoffman-e1532985000400-871x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":871,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ari-Hoffman-e1532985000400-305x420.jpg","home_baner-width":305,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"152","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Sanctuary Cities - responding to trauma in the world","post_main_content_content":"

There is something about the Cities of Refuge in today\u2019s chapter that feels both emphatically archaic and distinctly modern. The notions of blood guilt, vigilante justice, the rights of family to avenge and places to offer sanctuary- these seem cut from Viking and medieval cloth, rough justice that the courts and magistrates replaced with process and procedure. Permanently populated by Levites, these cities were geographically dispersed and meticulously planned; presumably, they all looked the same, with the same blueprint. As with the ecclesiastical notion of sanctuary, they were a part of the law and an exception to it. They enabled a legal system to accommodate both formal innocence and deeper guilt in a way that our modern arrangement does not. They are reminiscent of the trials by combat and ordeal that we have excised from our jurisprudence, methods of ascertaining the truth less dependent on testimony than augurs and outcomes.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

At the same time, cities of refuge strike a modern chord. We live at a moment when the movements of people from places of danger to those of safety is a subject of near unrivalled import and debate. The law strains to respond to this reality, which encompasses border-crossings and global migration patterns. Cities have set themselves up as contemporary \u201csanctuary cities\u201d and refused to enforce federal immigration laws, an echo of the ancient idea that these are places aside and apart, urban exceptions that both respond to trauma in the world and offer a respite from it. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Like the Cities of Refuge in our chapter, sanctuary cities call into deep question the relation of law and morality, and the justification for making exceptions when contingency seems overwhelming. They ask us to meditate on the role of chance and accident in where we are born, where we leave, and where we go, the angle of an axe and the role of the bystander, who might end up with blood on her hands.
\r\n<\/span><\/p>\r\n

image:\u00a0Charles Foster, The Story of the Bible, commons.wikimedia.org\/w\/index.php?curid=18507159<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":49113,"alt":"","title":"Num35-Foster-FleeingToTheCityOfRefuge","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num35-Foster-FleeingToTheCityOfRefuge.jpg","width":300,"height":472,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num35-Foster-FleeingToTheCityOfRefuge-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num35-Foster-FleeingToTheCityOfRefuge-191x300.jpg","medium-width":191,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num35-Foster-FleeingToTheCityOfRefuge.jpg","medium_large-width":300,"medium_large-height":472,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num35-Foster-FleeingToTheCityOfRefuge.jpg","large-width":300,"large-height":472,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num35-Foster-FleeingToTheCityOfRefuge.jpg","1536x1536-width":300,"1536x1536-height":472,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num35-Foster-FleeingToTheCityOfRefuge.jpg","2048x2048-width":300,"2048x2048-height":472,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num35-Foster-FleeingToTheCityOfRefuge.jpg","post_full_size-width":300,"post_full_size-height":472,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num35-Foster-FleeingToTheCityOfRefuge-267x420.jpg","home_baner-width":267,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"A Sanctuary and a Refuge","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Sanctuary Cities - responding to trauma in the world","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":49113,"alt":"","title":"Num35-Foster-FleeingToTheCityOfRefuge","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num35-Foster-FleeingToTheCityOfRefuge.jpg","width":300,"height":472,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num35-Foster-FleeingToTheCityOfRefuge-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num35-Foster-FleeingToTheCityOfRefuge-191x300.jpg","medium-width":191,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num35-Foster-FleeingToTheCityOfRefuge.jpg","medium_large-width":300,"medium_large-height":472,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num35-Foster-FleeingToTheCityOfRefuge.jpg","large-width":300,"large-height":472,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num35-Foster-FleeingToTheCityOfRefuge.jpg","1536x1536-width":300,"1536x1536-height":472,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num35-Foster-FleeingToTheCityOfRefuge.jpg","2048x2048-width":300,"2048x2048-height":472,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num35-Foster-FleeingToTheCityOfRefuge.jpg","post_full_size-width":300,"post_full_size-height":472,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num35-Foster-FleeingToTheCityOfRefuge-267x420.jpg","home_baner-width":267,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Numbers","chapter":"35","chapter_main_number":"152","date":"20260330","wall_id":"152"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"423","name":"Politics","old_id":"823"},{"term_id":"467","name":"Ancient Law","old_id":"867"}]},{"order":6,"id":"49149","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"City of Refuge: Punishment or Protection? ","post_title":"City Of Refuge: Punishment Or Protection?","slug":"city-of-refuge-punishment-or-protection","old_id":"49149","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":48810,"post_title":"Blair Nosan","slug":"blair-nosan","old_id":"48810","first_name":"Blair ","last_name":"Nosan ","description":"Blair Nosan is a pickler and a rabbinical student at JTS. Blair's interest in the way preservation necessitates transformation, both in food and in tradition, has guided much of her work since graduating from the University of Michigan with a degree in English, French, and Women's Studies in 2008. She lives in NYC with her partner Phreddy and their son Honi. ","short_description":"Blair Nosan is a pickler and a rabbinical student at JTS.\r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":48811,"alt":"","title":"Blair Nosan","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Blair-Nosan.jpg","width":788,"height":1030,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Blair-Nosan-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Blair-Nosan-230x300.jpg","medium-width":230,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Blair-Nosan-768x1004.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":1004,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Blair-Nosan-783x1024.jpg","large-width":783,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Blair-Nosan.jpg","1536x1536-width":788,"1536x1536-height":1030,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Blair-Nosan.jpg","2048x2048-width":788,"2048x2048-height":1030,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Blair-Nosan.jpg","post_full_size-width":788,"post_full_size-height":1030,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Blair-Nosan-321x420.jpg","home_baner-width":321,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"152","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"The exile experienced by the accidental murderer is entirely human","post_main_content_content":"

\"The assembly shall protect the manslayer from the blood-avenger, and the assembly shall restore him to the city of refuge to which he fled, and there he shall remain until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the sacred oil\" (35:25).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Chapter 35 is all about cities of refuge. Accidental killers are allowed the safety of fleeing from their avenger to a city of refuge, where their avenger can no longer lay claim on their life. It is unclear throughout this chapter whether the city of refuge is a punishment or a protection, and this verse outlining that the murderer can or will return home after the death of the high priest at first glance only adds to the confusion. Does the murderer remain in the city because they are unsafe elsewhere, and somehow the priest\u2019s death means they can no longer \u201chide\u201d in the city? Or is the murderer being kept in the city against their will and the death of the high priest releases them from their purgatory?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In Talmudic tractate Makkot 11a there is a rabbinic discussion that reveals a third reading of these cities. \u00a0It says \"Therefore, the mothers of High Priests would provide those exiled to cities of refuge with sustenance and garments so that they would not pray that their sons would die.\"<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The notion that the mother of the high priest would need to worry about the prayer of the murderer is a complex one. The high priest, the human who comes in closest physical contact with God, is vulnerable to the prayers of the accidental murder. This makes clear that the exile experienced by the accidental murderer is entirely human, and that God has not grown distant from them.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

And yet, though the city of refuge provides them with an escape, its inherently temporary status, and the fact that they are forced to flee there, leaves the saved accidental murderer feeling alone. The wisdom of the high priest\u2019s mother when she faces the suffering of the exile is to try to make even this temporary circumstance feel like home.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":49150,"alt":"","title":"num35-run 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of Refuge: Punishment or Protection?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"The exile experienced by the accidental murderer is entirely human","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":49150,"alt":"","title":"num35-run 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Every Killing Is A Murder ","post_title":"Not Every Killing Is A Murder","slug":"not-every-killing-is-a-murder","old_id":"49102","type":"group","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33923,"post_title":"Jonathan Sacks","slug":"rabbi-lord-jonathan-sacks","old_id":"33923","first_name":"Jonathan ","last_name":"Sacks","description":"An international religious leader, philosopher, and award-winning author of over 35 books, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks served as the International President of 929.\r\nRabbi Sacks served as the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth years between 1991 and 2013, and was knighted by Her Majesty The Queen in 2005 and made a Life Peer. Rabbi Sacks passed away on 7th November 2020, aged 72. He was one of the greatest Jewish thinkers of the 20th century, who bridged the religious and secular world through his ground-breaking canon of work.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"short_description":"Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z\"k (1948-2020) was the former Chief Rabbi of the Commonwealth, and the International 929 president.","link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":36222,"alt":"","title":"JSacks","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594.jpg","width":437,"height":548,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594-239x300.jpg","medium-width":239,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-768x448.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":448,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-1024x597.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":597,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594.jpg","1536x1536-width":437,"1536x1536-height":548,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594.jpg","2048x2048-width":437,"2048x2048-height":548,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594.jpg","post_full_size-width":437,"post_full_size-height":548,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594-335x420.jpg","home_baner-width":335,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"152","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"But intentional or not - all mortal injury requires redress","post_main_content_content":"

This chapter tells of the law of the cities of refuge: three cities to the east of the Jordan and, later, three more within the land of Israel itself. There, people who had committed homicide could flee and find protection until their case was heard by a court of law. If they were found guilty of murder, in biblical times they were sentenced to death. If found innocent \u2013 if the death happened by accident or inadvertently, with neither deliberation nor malice \u2013 then they were to stay in the city of refuge \u201cuntil the death of the High priest.\u201d There, they were protected against revenge on the part of the <\/span>goel ha-dam<\/span><\/i>, the blood-redeemer, usually the closest relative of the person who had been killed.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Homicide is never less than serious in Jewish law. But there is a fundamental difference between murder \u2013 deliberate killing \u2013 and manslaughter, accidental death. To kill someone not guilty of murder as an act of revenge for an accidental death is not justice but further bloodshed, and must be prevented. Hence the need for safe havens where people at risk could be protected\u2026<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Though the Torah rejects revenge except when commanded by God, something of the idea survives in the concept of the <\/span>goel ha-dam<\/span><\/i>, wrongly translated as \u2018blood-avenger.\u2019 It means, in fact, \u2018blood-redeemer.\u2019 A redeemer is someone who rights an imbalance in the world, who rescues someone or something and restores it to its rightful place... A blood-redeemer is one who ensures that murder does not go unpunished.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Not all acts of killing are murder. Some are unintentional, accidental or inadvertent. These are the acts that lead to exile in the cities of refuge. However, there is an ambiguity about this law. Was exile to the cities of refuge considered as a way of protecting the accidental killer, or was it itself a form of punishment?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In truth both elements are present. On the one hand the Torah says, \u201cThe assembly must protect the one accused of murder from the redeemer of blood and send the accused back to the city of refuge to which they fled\u201d (Num. 35: 25). Here the emphasis is on protection. But on the other, we read that if the exiled person \u201cever goes outside the limits of the city of refuge to which they fled and the redeemer of blood finds them outside the city, the redeemer of blood may kill the accused without being guilty of murder\u201d (Num. 35: 26-27). Here an element of guilt is presumed, otherwise why would the blood redeemer be innocent of murder?<\/span><\/p>\r\n


\r\nFrom:\u00a0<\/span>Retribution and Revenge (Covenant & Conversation, Matot-Masei 5775)<\/span><\/em><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":101762,"alt":"","title":"-62029f2bc4076--62029f2bc4077gen4-murder blood blame.jpg","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/62029f2bc4076-62029f2bc4077gen4-murder-blood-blame.jpg.jpg","width":1280,"height":960,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/62029f2bc4076-62029f2bc4077gen4-murder-blood-blame.jpg-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/62029f2bc4076-62029f2bc4077gen4-murder-blood-blame.jpg-300x225.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":225,"medium_large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/62029f2bc4076-62029f2bc4077gen4-murder-blood-blame.jpg-768x576.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":576,"large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/62029f2bc4076-62029f2bc4077gen4-murder-blood-blame.jpg-1024x768.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":768,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/62029f2bc4076-62029f2bc4077gen4-murder-blood-blame.jpg.jpg","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":960,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/62029f2bc4076-62029f2bc4077gen4-murder-blood-blame.jpg.jpg","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":960,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/62029f2bc4076-62029f2bc4077gen4-murder-blood-blame.jpg-1200x900.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":900,"home_baner":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/62029f2bc4076-62029f2bc4077gen4-murder-blood-blame.jpg-560x420.jpg","home_baner-width":560,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Not Every Killing Is A Murder","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"But intentional or not - 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He is the author of TANAKH: An Owner\u2019s Manual (Jerusalem: Urim\/Ktav, 2015).\r\n\r\n","short_description":"Dr. Moshe Sokolow is Associate Dean of the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, Yeshiva University","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34244,"alt":"","title":"sokolow","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","width":302,"height":300,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow-300x298.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":298,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","medium_large-width":302,"medium_large-height":300,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","large-width":302,"large-height":300,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","1536x1536-width":302,"1536x1536-height":300,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","2048x2048-width":302,"2048x2048-height":300,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","post_full_size-width":302,"post_full_size-height":300,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","home_baner-width":302,"home_baner-height":300}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"152","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"The responsibility of the High Priest for keeping the peace","post_main_content_content":"

Our chapter describes a very important social structure in ancient Israel: the cities of refuge.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

These six cities\u2014three on each side of the Jordan River (35:14)\u2014were designed to enable unpremeditated murderers to evade potential avengers until their guilt or innocence could be established in court. (The details, sparing in our chapter, are provided in greater detail in the second chapter of Tractate Makkot and in \u201cThe Laws of Murder and the Preservation of Life\u201d of Maimonides\u2019s Mishneh Torah.) If found guilty, they were punished; if found innocent, they were returned to the city of refuge, there to reside \u201cuntil the death of the High Priest who was anointed with the sacred oil\u201d (35:24). Why is one dependent on the other?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

I was asked this very question on an El Al flight to Israel in the 1970s by a group of Christians embarked on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. They were initially disappointed to hear that I was not a rabbi (at that time), but were reassured when I told them that I was, nonetheless, a Bible teacher.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Rashi, drawing upon the Midrash and Talmud, explained that the High Priest bore a metaphysical responsibility to keep the peace among the Israelites and the commission of a murder on his watch \u2014even if accidental\u2014indicated that he was negligent in performing his duty. (Maimonides [Guide 3:40] speculated that the national mourning that accompanied the death of a High Priest would distract the avengers.)<\/span><\/p>\r\n

I shared Rashi\u2019s explanation with the pilgrims, who embraced it wholeheartedly and thanked me for the spiritual uplifting it conveyed. I wonder what their reaction would have been had I added that\u2014pursuant to Rashi\u2019s reasoning\u2014the Mishnah states that it was the mothers of the High Priests who fed these refugees, lest they pray for the untimely deaths of their sons.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":105065,"alt":"","title":"-628b8d8e0f8c8--628b8d8e0f8caex28-high priest 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\u201cThe Murder of Abel\u201d ","post_title":"Painting \u201cThe Murder of Abel\u201d","slug":"painting-the-murder-of-abel","old_id":"49104","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":36669,"post_title":"Yakov Azriel","slug":"yakov-azriel","old_id":"36669","first_name":"Yakov ","last_name":"Azriel","description":"Yakov Azriel, who lives in Israel, has published five books of poetry in the USA and hundreds of poems in journals and magazines. His poems have won twenty-two prizes in international poetry competitions, and he has twice been awarded fellowships from the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture.","short_description":"Yakov Azriel is an English language poet who lives in Israel","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":36670,"alt":"","title":"Yakov.Azriel.Photo","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668.jpg","width":1099,"height":1519,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668-217x300.jpg","medium-width":217,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668-741x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":741,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668-741x1024.jpg","large-width":741,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668.jpg","1536x1536-width":1099,"1536x1536-height":1519,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668.jpg","2048x2048-width":1099,"2048x2048-height":1519,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668-868x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":868,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668-304x420.jpg","home_baner-width":304,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"152","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"All murders reference that first murder","post_main_content_content":"

\"If he [the assailant] strikes him with a stone in his hand, a stone capable of killing a man, and the victim dies, he is a murderer\u2026\" (Numbers 35:17) <\/span><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

The artist awoke, startled by a dream<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>He knew he had to paint \u2014 how Abel cried<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>And stared in disbelief before he died,<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>As Cain picked up a stone, and with a scream,<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Shattered his brother's head. It didn't seem<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>That hard to find the boyish, almond-eyed<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Young man who looked like Abel. \u00a0But though he tried,<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>The artist failed to find his Cain, agleam <\/span><\/p>\r\n

With burning fire that lost its light. \u00a0For years<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>The artist searched in prisons till he found<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>A man who raped his sister in a stable,<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Whose eyes were scorched, inflamed by sins and fears.<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>But then, the rapist gasped, as if he drowned,<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>\"I was the boy you painted once as Abel.\"<\/span><\/p>\r\n

image: Cain Slaying Abel, by Peter Paul Rubens - The Courtauld Gallery, London, 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murder","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":49105,"alt":"","title":"Num35-Rubens-Cain_slaying_Abel","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num35-Rubens-Cain_slaying_Abel.jpg","width":462,"height":632,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num35-Rubens-Cain_slaying_Abel-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num35-Rubens-Cain_slaying_Abel-219x300.jpg","medium-width":219,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num35-Rubens-Cain_slaying_Abel.jpg","medium_large-width":462,"medium_large-height":632,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num35-Rubens-Cain_slaying_Abel.jpg","large-width":462,"large-height":632,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num35-Rubens-Cain_slaying_Abel.jpg","1536x1536-width":462,"1536x1536-height":632,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num35-Rubens-Cain_slaying_Abel.jpg","2048x2048-width":462,"2048x2048-height":632,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num35-Rubens-Cain_slaying_Abel.jpg","post_full_size-width":462,"post_full_size-height":632,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num35-Rubens-Cain_slaying_Abel-307x420.jpg","home_baner-width":307,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Numbers","chapter":"35","chapter_main_number":"152","date":"20260330","wall_id":"152"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"362","name":"Poetry","old_id":"762"},{"term_id":"762","name":"Murder","old_id":"1162"}]},{"order":10,"id":"48999","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"2","name":"Bible 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He taught at the Hebrew Union College (Jerusalem), The Hebrew University in Jerusalem, the Schechter Institute for Judaic Studies in Jerusalem, and at the Ben-Gurion University in Beer Sheba, Israel. During 1993 he was Visiting Associate Professor at Yale University, and during 1996 he was the Stroum Professor of Jewish Studies and Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Washington in Seattle. During 2005, Bregman served as the Harry Starr Fellow in Judaica at Harvard University and was awarded a Teaching Fellowship at the Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. He also has served as Forchheimer Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Humanities at The Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He is the author of The Tanhuma-Yelammedenu Literature: Studies in the Evolution of the Versions (Gorgias Press, 2003). In 2006, Bregman was appointed the Herman and Zelda Bernard Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro, where he also headed the program in Jewish Studies, until 2013. Bregman retired from UNCG as of July 31, 2017. He has now returned to Jerusalem where he is continuing his research and teaching activities.","credit":"","image_url":"","short_description":"Marc Bregman is the Herman and Zelda Bernard Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies emeritus, at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro.","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":33878,"alt":"Marc Bregman","title":"Marc Bregman","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","width":361,"height":488,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-222x300.jpg","medium-width":222,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","medium_large-width":361,"medium_large-height":488,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","large-width":361,"large-height":488,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","1536x1536-width":361,"1536x1536-height":488,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","2048x2048-width":361,"2048x2048-height":488,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","post_full_size-width":361,"post_full_size-height":488,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-311x420.jpg","home_baner-width":311,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"152","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"

Our chapter deals with Moses instructing the Israelites to set up in the Promised Land, when they have possessed it, \u201cCities of Refuge\u201d (\u2018arey miqlat<\/em>) to which one who kills another may flee for protection from death at the hands of a \u201cblood-avenger\u201d (goel dam<\/em>) (Numbers 35:6 and following). <\/span><\/p>\r\n

At the outset, it should be noted that the Biblical Hebrew word \u201cmiqlat<\/em>\u201d is used in Modern Hebrew to refer to a \u201cbomb-shelter\u201d. And \u201crefugees\u201d are referred to in Modern Hebrew as \u201cmevaqshey miqlat<\/em>\u201d (literally \u201cthose seeking refuge, or asylum seekers). Many of those who have been involved in immigration of Jews to Israel, may recall that \u201cAbsorption Centers\u201d for receiving and temporarily housing New Immigrants are referred to as \u201cMerkazey Qelitah<\/em>\u201d. All these words come from the same Hebrew three-letter verbal root Q-L-T, with the basic meaning of \u201creceive, absorb\".<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In the parallel discussion of \u201cCities of Refuge\u201d in Deuteronomy, Chapter 19, Moses additionally instructs the people to \u201cprepare the way\u201d (verse 3) for the killer being pursued by his \u201cblood-avenger to flee to the closest \u201cCity of Refuge\u201d. The Midrash (Numbers Rabbah 23:13) addresses the question of how the killer is to find his way to the relative safety of Refuge. When instructed by God to \u201cappoint for you Cities of Refuge\u201d, Moses asks: Master of the Universe! \u00a0If a man slays a person unintentionally in the north or in the south, how is he to know how best to get to the nearest City of Refuge, so that he can flee there? God elliptically tells Moses to: \u201cPrepare the way\u201d (Deuteronomy 19:3). Moses then asks for more detailed instructions. God now tells Moses to: Erect \u201csteles\u201d (i.e. stone road signs) to indicate the direction to the Cities of Refuge. On each \u201cstele\u201d should be written the words \u201cKiller! To the Cities of Refuge\u201d. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

In our day, we similarly employ such directional signs to indicate the quickest way to \u201cbomb shelters\u201d in the event of life-threatening emergencies requiring their use. Fortunately, we no longer condone the biblical institution of the \u201cblood-avenger\u201d. But, regrettably, we do still occasionally need to seek Refuge for ourselves and those desperately seeking to join us here in our Promised Land.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":49116,"alt":"","title":"num35-miklat","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/num35-miklat.jpg","width":1140,"height":600,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/num35-miklat-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/num35-miklat-300x158.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":158,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/num35-miklat-768x404.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":404,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/num35-miklat-1024x539.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":539,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/num35-miklat.jpg","1536x1536-width":1140,"1536x1536-height":600,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/num35-miklat.jpg","2048x2048-width":1140,"2048x2048-height":600,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/num35-miklat.jpg","post_full_size-width":1140,"post_full_size-height":600,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/num35-miklat-798x420.jpg","home_baner-width":798,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Road Signs, Then And Now","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Gimme shelter","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":49116,"alt":"","title":"num35-miklat","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/num35-miklat.jpg","width":1140,"height":600,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/num35-miklat-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/num35-miklat-300x158.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":158,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/num35-miklat-768x404.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":404,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/num35-miklat-1024x539.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":539,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/num35-miklat.jpg","1536x1536-width":1140,"1536x1536-height":600,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/num35-miklat.jpg","2048x2048-width":1140,"2048x2048-height":600,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/num35-miklat.jpg","post_full_size-width":1140,"post_full_size-height":600,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/num35-miklat-798x420.jpg","home_baner-width":798,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Numbers","chapter":"35","chapter_main_number":"152","date":"20260330","wall_id":"152"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"363","name":"Midrash","old_id":"763"}]},{"order":12,"id":"49107","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Rabbi=Coercion? ","post_title":"Rabbi=Coercion?","slug":"rabbicoercion","old_id":"49107","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33859,"post_title":"Avidan Freedman","slug":"avidan-freedman","old_id":"33859","first_name":"Avidan","last_name":"Freedman","description":"Rabbi Avidan Freedman is the Rabbi of Hevruta, the Shalom Hartman Institute's post high school program for Israelis and North Americans, and an educator in the institute's high school. He is an activist advocating for moral limits on Israeli arms exports, and on behalf of African refugees, and a proud husband and father of 5. He received his rabbinical ordination from Yeshivat Chovevei Torah in New York, and from the Israeli chief rabbinate.","credit":"","image_url":"","short_description":"Rabbi Avidan Freedman is the Rabbi of Hevruta, the Shalom Hartman Institute's post high school program for Israelis and North Americans, and an educator in the institute's high school. ","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":33860,"alt":"Avidan Freedman","title":"Avidan Freedman","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-e1532029306365.jpg","width":856,"height":1024,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-e1532029306365-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-e1532029306365-251x300.jpg","medium-width":251,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-e1532029306365-768x919.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":919,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-e1532029306365-856x1024.jpg","large-width":856,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-e1532029306365.jpg","1536x1536-width":856,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-e1532029306365.jpg","2048x2048-width":856,"2048x2048-height":1024,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-800x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-e1532029306365-351x420.jpg","home_baner-width":351,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"152","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Learning the proper role of spiritual leadership and service","post_main_content_content":"

Corruption in the rabbinate is upsetting, but unsurprising. We deserve integrity and honesty, we should expect and demand it, but in the end, people are people, and it's only natural that, given temptation and power, some will falter. What is far more upsetting, even tragic, is the corruption of the very concept of the rabbinate.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In Israel, the word most closely associated in people's minds with 'rabbi' is 'coercion'. And I'm not only talking about the understanding of secular, or anti-religious Israelis. Depending on religious outlook, some people may see this coercion as more or less positive, or more or less necessary. But all share the axiom: bakers bake, teachers teach, and rabbis try to make you do things.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This misconception of the function of the rabbi is the natural outgrowth of something which initially seemed like a great boon- the return of real rabbinic power in the state of Israel which had essentially disappeared in the modern era. This gift has become a curse, as reliance on power has replaced persuasion, and coercion has replaced conversation. Why rail and sermonize about keeping Shabbat, Kashrut, or family purity laws when you can simply legislate it?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Where did we go wrong?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In chapter 35 of Numbers, spiritual leadership goes local. Replacing the priests who starred in the book of Leviticus, it is the Levites who have taken a central role in Numbers. But as the Jewish people are preparing to enter the land of Israel, the way to fill that role is about to change. As holiness in the book of Leviticus moved from being centralized in the Mishkan, the tabernacle, to being diffused among all the nation, the tribe of Levi move from being concentrated together surrounding the Mishkan, to being scattered amongst all the tribes.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

'Levi' literally means to be a companion. The role of the Levi is to provide spiritual accompaniment. What else are they doing in the cities of refuge, if not providing solace and spiritual guidance to ordinary people whose tragic circumstances have turned them into killers? The tribe that carried the burden of the Mishkan moves to the cities to carry the burdens of the Jewish people.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

What is the proper function of a rabbi? Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik quoted this answer from his grandfather Reb Chaim: \"To redress the grievances of those who are abandoned and alone, to protect the dignity of the poor, and to save the oppressed from the hands of his oppressor.\"<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":95128,"alt":"","title":"job32-ortho chasid","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job32-ortho-chasid.png","width":1131,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job32-ortho-chasid-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job32-ortho-chasid-265x300.png","medium-width":265,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job32-ortho-chasid-768x869.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":869,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job32-ortho-chasid-905x1024.png","large-width":905,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job32-ortho-chasid.png","1536x1536-width":1131,"1536x1536-height":1280,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job32-ortho-chasid.png","2048x2048-width":1131,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job32-ortho-chasid-1060x1200.png","post_full_size-width":1060,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job32-ortho-chasid-371x420.png","home_baner-width":371,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Rabbi=Coercion?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Learning the proper role of spiritual leadership and service","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":95128,"alt":"","title":"job32-ortho chasid","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job32-ortho-chasid.png","width":1131,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job32-ortho-chasid-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job32-ortho-chasid-265x300.png","medium-width":265,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job32-ortho-chasid-768x869.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":869,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job32-ortho-chasid-905x1024.png","large-width":905,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job32-ortho-chasid.png","1536x1536-width":1131,"1536x1536-height":1280,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job32-ortho-chasid.png","2048x2048-width":1131,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job32-ortho-chasid-1060x1200.png","post_full_size-width":1060,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job32-ortho-chasid-371x420.png","home_baner-width":371,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Numbers","chapter":"35","chapter_main_number":"152","date":"20260330","wall_id":"152"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"402","name":"Leadership","old_id":"802"},{"term_id":"414","name":"Law","old_id":"814"},{"term_id":"707","name":"Service","old_id":"1107"}]},{"order":13,"id":"48963","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"A Lesson on the Daily Chapter- Numbers 35 ","post_title":"A Lesson on the Daily Chapter- Numbers 35","slug":"a-lesson-on-the-daily-chapter-numbers-35","old_id":"48963","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":40936,"post_title":"David Silber","slug":"david-silber-2","old_id":"40936","first_name":"David ","last_name":"Silber ","description":"Rabbi David Silber is the Founder and Dean of Drisha Institute for Jewish Education. 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\u201cPrison Reform and Jewish Thought\u201d<\/span><\/a> by Ricki Heicklen: Exploring alternative models of punishment and rehabilitation in Jewish texts.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cSanctuary\u201d<\/span><\/a> by Cathy Schechter: What does it mean to seek sanctuary?<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"Go deeper into the chapter....","tile_main_caption":"Sefaria Source Sheets - Numbers 35","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Click to get links to learning resources","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":42232,"alt":"","title":"sefaria-words-sunburst","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","width":608,"height":395,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst-300x195.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":195,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","medium_large-width":608,"medium_large-height":395,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","large-width":608,"large-height":395,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","1536x1536-width":608,"1536x1536-height":395,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","2048x2048-width":608,"2048x2048-height":395,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","post_full_size-width":608,"post_full_size-height":395,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","home_baner-width":608,"home_baner-height":395}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"Sefaria word sunburst visualization","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Numbers","chapter":"35","chapter_main_number":"152","date":"20260330","wall_id":"152"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":15,"id":"107672","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Points To Ponder: Numbers 35 ","post_title":"Points To Ponder: Numbers 35","slug":"points-to-ponder-numbers-35","old_id":"107672","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":false,"related_cahpter":"152","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"

    \r\n\t
  1. Fair distribution<\/em>. The number of Levitical cities in the portion of each tribe was in proportion to the size of the territory: \u201ctake more from the larger groups and less from the smaller, so that each assigns towns to the Levites in proportion to the share it receives\u201d (verse 8).<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  2. What\u2019s that got to do with the priests?<\/em> Why would the death of the high priest determine the time of the \u201cpardon\u201d for unintentional murderers who had fled to cities of refuge? Worth looking into.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  3. Blood between the lines<\/em>. The word \u201cblood\u201d (<\/span>dam<\/span><\/em>) appears ten times in this chapter. Note also the phrase <\/span>ein lo dam<\/span>, there is no blood<\/span>guilt<\/span><\/i> on his account. (27)<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  4. Justice is justice<\/em>. Striving for justice and truth requires a minimum of two witnesses in a trial, \u201cthe testimony of a single witness against a person shall not suffice for a sentence of death\u201d (verse 30).<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  5. Blood is blood<\/em>. And thus can only be atoned for with (more) blood. There is no such thing as a monetary ransom (kofer<\/em>) for the life of a killer. This isn\u2019t just a practical legal principle, it is connected to higher metaphysical truths: \u201cYou shall not pollute the land in which you live; for blood pollutes the land, and the land can have no expiation for blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of him who shed it. You shall not defile the land in which you live, in which I Myself abide, for I the LORD abide among the Israelite people\u201d (verses 33-34).<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>","post_main_content_image":{"id":86314,"alt":"","title":"Points to ponder","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","large-width":1000,"large-height":1000,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","1536x1536-width":1000,"1536x1536-height":1000,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","2048x2048-width":1000,"2048x2048-height":1000,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","post_full_size-width":1000,"post_full_size-height":1000,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"The Daily Summary","tile_main_caption":"Points to Ponder: Numbers 35","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Insights and questions for personal reflection and group discussion","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":86314,"alt":"","title":"Points to ponder","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","large-width":1000,"large-height":1000,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","1536x1536-width":1000,"1536x1536-height":1000,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","2048x2048-width":1000,"2048x2048-height":1000,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","post_full_size-width":1000,"post_full_size-height":1000,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","links":false,"send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Numbers","chapter":"35","chapter_main_number":"152","date":"20260330","wall_id":"152"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false}],"hide_acf":true,"home_image":false,"home_posts":false,"home_posts_title":"","posts_home":[],"static_cube_title":"","static_cube_brief":"","static_cube_color":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wall\/48953"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wall"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/wall"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48953"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}