The Weekly Shtikle - Shofetim

The Weekly Shtikle is dedicated to the following Israeli soldiers: Amir ben Tzipporah, Daniel Aharon ben Esther, Binyamin Avraham ben Mindel Sarah, Elichai Aryeh ben Sarah Rivkah, Asher Refael ben Dinah Leah, Yechiel David ben Gella Rachel im kol chayalei Yisrael.

    Towards the end of the parsha we are taught more about accidental killers and the laws pertaining to them. The pesukim (19:8-10) then proceed to explain how more cities will be added in the future when mashiach comes. The pesukim then proceed to deal with the laws pertaining to the sonei, the accidental killer with a predisposed hatred towards his victim who is considered to have killed him intentionally. It would seem that these laws are directly pertinent to the rest of the laws of the accidental killer. Why then does the Torah interrupt with the tangential reference to the additional cities in the times of mashiach instead of going directly into the laws of the sonei?

    I am certainly no expert in understanding what life will be like following the ultimate redemption. Perhaps, in the times of mashiach - may he come speedily in our day - it would still be possible for someone to kill accidentally.  After all, we will certainly add those extra cities. However, it will be inconceivable that one Jew would hate his fellow Jew. Therefore, the laws of the sonei will not apply. For this reason, the Torah placed the law of the sonei after the reference to the times of mashiach to denote that the extra cities are relevant only to all of the laws mentioned until this point. But what the laws of the sonei, written after, will not apply.

Have a good Shabbos.

Eliezer Bulka
WeeklyShtikle@weeklyshtikle.com

Shtikle Blog Weekly Roundup:

Weekly Shtikle: Additional Symbolism of the Shofar

Dikdukian: Two of a Kind

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