An eye for

an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot.

(Shemot 21:24)

An eye for an eye – Plain Meaning and Drash

An eye – Rav Saadya said, we cannot interpret this

passage literally. For if a person struck his fellow's eye, causing him to lose

a third of his eyesight, how can he possibly be smitten in an identical degree,

neither more nor less? Perhaps he will lose all his sight. Even more difficult

would be cases of burns, open wounds, and bruises; if they are in a critical

place he may die, and this would be unacceptable to reason.

Ben Zuta said to him: Is it not written elsewhere, As he has rendered

a defect in another human [ba'adam], thus is to be rendered in him

(Vayikra

24:20)?!

The Gaon replied to him: The Torah places [the letter] bet instead

of the word al – "on"; the meaning is "so shall he be

punished". [Saadya's argument is that whereas al would imply

punishment 'on' the person's body, the letter bet implies

'so'].

Ben Zuta answered: "As he has done, thus is to be done to him"

(Ibid.,

ibid.)

The Gaon replied: Samson said – As they did to me, so I did to them. (Judges 15:11), and Samson did not take their women and

give them to others, he extracted remuneration.

Ben Zuta replied: And if the attacker was poor, [if punishment is

monetary] what would his punishment be?

The Gaon answered: If a blind man blinds the eye of one who has sight,

what can be done to him? A poor man may, in time, become wealthy and pay, but

the blind man will never be able to pay.

The general rule is: We cannot interpret the Torah perfectly without

recourse to the Sages. For when we received Torah from our ancestors, we also

received the Oral Law, and there is no difference between them. If so, the

meaning of eye for eye is that he is deserving of losing an eye for

an eye, should he not pay compensation.

(Ibn Ezra on Shemot [the

extended version], 21:24)

An eye for an eye

– It is known in the tradition of our Rabbis that this means monetary

compensation (Mekhilta

ad loc, Bava Kama 84a). Such

usage [of the term tahat – "for an" – to indicate] monetary

compensation is found in the verse: And one who slays an animal shall pay

for it [the value of] a life for [tahat] the life (Vayikra 24:18)… If we explain the verses according to

the literal interpretation of Scripture, there is no escape from this question,

unless they will say that if someone maims his neighbor so that he deprives him

permanently of some bodily member, such as an eye, hand, or foot, or causes a

burn which leaves a permanent mark, then we are to do likewise to the

assailant's body, this being the case of the verse which says, as he has

caused a blemish in a man, so shall it be done to him (Vayikra 24;19), and in that case there is no monetary compensation

paid for loss of time and cost of healing. But if he hits him with a stone or

with his fist on his clothes, and he is laid up in bed but then is completely

healed without any crippling effect remaining upon his body, in that case He

said, only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall cause him to be

thoroughly healed (Shemot 21:19).

(RaMBaN

ad loc)

For You Knew the Stranger's Soul

Elimelekh Horowitz

As R. Eliezer HaGadol (ben Horkanus) states in Bava Metziya 59b, the

Torah instructs us in thirty-three different places about treatment of the

stranger, more than any other commandment in the Torah. Sometimes these appear

as positive commandments, such as, And you shall love the stranger

(Devarim

10:19), and sometimes, as in

our parasha, as negative commandments: And you shall not mistreat a

stranger, nor shall you oppress him (Shemot 22:20) and you shall not oppress a stranger (23:9). In both cases the stated rationale is, for

you were strangers in the Land of Egypt.

This rationale clearly shows that the plain meaning of Scripture does

not refer only to a stranger – a ger – who has taken upon himself the

yoke of the commandments, but rather, as Rashi has it, it refers to any person

"who was not born in that country but rather came from another country to

live there." Perhaps Rashi recalled his own hardships as a stranger living

in Worms in Germany. R. Avraham ben HaRaMBaM

states that the plain sense of Scripture is here talking about "a stranger…

in connection with his dwelling." Likewise, the verse is rendered in the

King James translation as, Thou shalt not oppress a stranger.

As Nehama Leibowitz points out (Iyunim Hadashim BeSefer Shemot, pg. 280), our parasha stresses the connection

between the prohibition against oppressing the stranger and the People Israel's

memory of its hardships in Egypt not only by repeating the explicit rationale

of for you were strangers in the Land of Egypt, but also "by

the stylistic device of repeating a word we have already come across in the

place to which memory should be directed." The verb lahatz – oppressed

– first appears in the Torah in God's message to Moses as he stood before the

burning bush: And now, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come

them (Shemot

3:9), and is not found again

until our parasha, where it is twice used to warn us against the improper

treatment of strangers: And you shall not mistreat a stranger, nor shall

you oppress him and you shall not oppress a stranger. According

to Nehama, the verb is reintroduced in order to suggest to us "that when

you read the Torah's prohibition against oppressing the stranger you will

remember the oppression you yourselves suffered in Egypt." Perhaps it should be

added that, like Rashi, Nehama Leibowitz also was exiled to Germany for the sake of her

studies, allowing her to gain personal acquaintance with the emigrant's plight.

She also mentions a passage from Sefer HaHinukh, which was

written by a Sephardic scholar. Although Sefer HaHinukh defines the

stranger [ger] for purposes of the commandment as "anyone from the

other nations who has joined us, leaving his religion and entering ours"

he adds a more general message that "one should learn from this precious

commandment" (of loving the stranger), which is: "To have compassion

for a person who is in a city outside the land of his birth and the place of

his ancestors' family, and we should not neglect him when we find him

alone."

This message bears special relevance for the Israeli populace, since

many of us are emigrants or the descendants of emigrants from lands where Jews

suffered even more than did our ancestors in Egypt. However, the officials of

the Ministry of Internal Affairs have yet to internalize this message; they

often treat foreign workers and the children of foreign workers with appalling

inflexibility. Lately we have heard (Haaretz, 10 Shevat, 5769) of the case of an eleven year old boy who

was born in Tel Aviv to Filipino parents and was named "Rabbi

Eliezer" after the Maccabean hero. "Rabbi Eliezer" and his

parents were ordered to leave the country because his mother had entered it

thirteen years earlier under a false identity – she had been too young to leave

her country legally. "Little Rabbi Eliezer" is monolingual – he only

speaks Hebrew, and he is only acquainted with only one country – Israel.

This is certainly the appropriate time to cite the dictum of Rabbi

Eliezer HaGadol – the Big Rabbi Eliezer – which states that the Torah instructs

us thirty-six times regarding the treatment of strangers. In this connection,

the Sages said (in Sifri on the verse, Pursue justice): "Pursue the

court of law which judges well, [that is,] the court of R. Yohanan ben Zakai,

and after the court of R. Eliezer."

Prof. Elimelekh Horowitz is an historian and lives in Jerusalem  

And should a man strike

hand, he shall surely be avenged.

(Shemot

21:20)

his manservant, etc.: This refers to a Canaanite slave, see Rashi and Ibn Ezra. It is known

that the master had power over his slaves to kill them, but the Torah took that

power away from him, and if [the slave] dies under his hand in such a way that

it makes us think he killed him on purpose, the master shall be killed. But if

cause him to suffer but not to kill him, that law is not applied. And thus

wrote RaMBaM in Hilkhot Rotzeyah 2:14: "It seems to me that one who

strikes his slave with a knife and sword, or rock and fist, and so on, and they

predicted he [the slave] would die and he did, is not considered to be covered

by the law of [the slave who survives] a day or two; even if he only dies a

year later he [the master] will be killed because of him. That is why it states

with a rod, that the Torah only gave him permission to strike him with a

rod, stick, or whip, and so on, but not with a murderous blow. he shall

surely be avenged – Executed by a sword, see Rashi and Ibn Ezra. According

to the Romans the master had the power to kill his slaves by any strange means

emperors Hadrian and Anthony, who had pity upon them and prohibited their

killing. And here it is worth mentioning our Rabbis' words from the Mekhilta (Mishpatim 7) (quoted by Rashi and the Yalkut): "But

he [the one who kills his slave] was included in He who strikes a man and he

dies (above,

verse 12)! This verse came to

exclude him [the owner of the slave] from the general rule [concerning murder],

to be judged with the law of a day or two days." Here it is clear

that also according to the Tanna'im Canaanite slaves are included under the law

of He who strikes a man and he dies, and an Israelite who kills them is

subject to the death penalty. Nevertheless this requires further study, because

the continuation of the Mekhilta seems to imply that according to the first

Tanna, the statement "But he [the one who kills his slave] was included in

He who strikes a man and he dies" refers to a Hebrew servant.

(ShaDaL

Shemot 21:20)

The Holy One,

Blessed be He, Saves All from Those Stronger Than Them

The correct interpretation appears to me to be that He is saying:

"Do not wrong a stranger or oppress him, thinking as you might that none

can deliver him out of your hand; for you know that you were strangers in the

land of Egypt and I saw the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppressed

(Shemot 3:9) you, and I avenged your cause on them,

because I behold the tears of

such who are oppressed and

have no comforter, and on the side of their oppressors there is power (Kohelet 4:1) and I deliver each one from him that is too strong for him (Psalms 35:10). Likewise you shall not afflict the widow and the fatherless child for

I will hear their cry, for all these people do not rely upon themselves but trust in Me." And in another verse

He added this reason: for you know the soul of a stranger, seeing you were

(Shemot

23:9). That is to say, you know

that every stranger feels depressed, and is always sighing and crying, and his

eyes are always directed towards God, therefore He will have mercy upon him

even as He showed mercy to you, just as it is written, and the children of

unto God by reason of the bondage (Shemot 2:23), meaning that He had mercy upon them not because of their merits, but

only on account of the bondage.

(RaMBaN Shemot 22:20, Chavel

translation)

And you shall not mistreat a stranger, nor

shall you oppress him:

Lack of Protest can also be Counted as Oppression

After it said do not oppress in the plural, it said if you

indeed oppress him [in the singular], for anyone who sees someone

oppressing an orphan or a widow and does not come to their aid is also thought

of as an oppressor. This is the punishment: if someone is oppressed and the

other does not come to his aid, the punishment is inflicted on them all. That

is why afterwards [it is written] My wrath will be kindled, and I will slay

you [plural] with the sword – all of you.

(Ibn Ezra Shemot 22:20)

This notion, i.e., that non-action is also a kind of action, that

everyone who is capable of protesting but does not protest is judged as a

collaborator, is found frequently in Scripture, Mishnah, and the aggadah. The

author of the Ha'Amek Davar, who agrees here with Ibn Ezra, makes the

paradoxical comment that the prophet makes a claim of this kind against the

Holy One blessed be He. If He sees injustice and remains silent, even He is –

so to speak – a collaborator with the wrongdoers. And Rabbi Abraham wrote that

anyone who sees someone oppressing an orphan or a widow and does not come to their

aid is also thought of as an oppressor. He is correct; this is fully

supported by a verse from Isaiah (64:11): Concerning these will You restrain Yourself; will You remain silent

and afflict us so very greatly? This means: In that You are silent You impose

affliction.(Ha'Amek

Davar Shemot 22:22). By

oppressors.

(Prof. Nehama Leibowitz

z"l, Iyyunim le'Sefer Shemot, pg. 285)

You Shall Be Holy Men To Me

[This may also be

translated as] You shall be human holy-ones to me. Sanctify your

human activities – that is the principal holiness required of human beings. The

Master of the universe already has enough angels in heaven.

(Attributed to Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Kotzk in Ma'ayanah

Shel Torah)

And you shall not

seventh [year].

(Shemot 23:9-11)

The Sabbath-year is the

greatest act, on the part of the whole nation, of recognition that God is the

sole, one and real Owner and Master of their country, inasmuch as in that year

they lay it in homage at His feet, and refrain from exercising their rights of

ownership on their lands. But by this, they acknowledge themselves as

"aliens" and "dwellers only by the tolerance of the Owner"

in their own land. This feeling does away with the arrogance, which, priding

itself on standing on its own soil, tends to become unsympathetic and harsh in

dealing with the poor and landless ones. Moreover, it engenders that frame of

mind which lovingly includes the stranger, the poor, and also the animals, as

creatures of God, who have the right to live in a land which belongs to God,

which all are to share in common.

(Rabbi

S.R. Hirsch Shemot 23:11, based on Levi translation)

Some Commandments are to be Observed when Opportunities

Observe Them

Hillel says: Be of Aaron's

disciples: love peace, pursue peace, love [your fellow] creatures, and draw them

near to Torah. "Love peace" is understandable, as we have said, but

what of "pursue peace"? It is

as we have learned, seek peace and pursue it (Psalms 34:15). And how is it

different? All other commandments only apply to a person when an opportunity

presents itself, as is written when you come across your enemy's ox (Shemot 23:4), when you

build a new house (Devarim 22:8). But peace must always [be pursued]: seek peace and pursue it.

(Massekhet

Kallah Rabati, 3:5)

The

Demanded of Man

Rabbi

Yehuda bar Simon said: Moses heard three things from the Almighty, was

frightened, and recoiled. When God said And they shall make for Me a

sanctuary, and I will dwell therein, Moses said: Master of the Universe, Behold,

the heavens and the heavens of the heavens cannot contain you! He

replied: "Moses, it is not as you imagine, but twenty boards at the north,

twenty at the south, eight at the west, and eight at the east, and I will

compress My Presence and I will dwell among you." And it is

written, I will appoint-meeting with you there and I will speak with you.

And

when He said: Command the Children of Israel and say to them: Of my

near-offering, my food …Moses said: "Master of the Universe, were I

to gather all the animals of the world and all the cattle, they would not

suffice for a single offering, and all the trees in the world would not supply

a single fire, as is written: Lebanon is not fuel enough, nor its beasts

enough for sacrifice!" He replied: "Moses, it is not as

you imagine, but rather: You are to sacrifice one lamb in the morning, and

not two together, because I neither eat nor drink [Literally, "there are

neither food nor drink before me"]. Why? If indeed there were food before

me, when you spent forty days and forty nights with, and food you did not eat,

and if there were food before, you would have eaten. But a pleasing odor [means]:

be punctilious in offering a pleasing odor." And when He said, they are

to give, each man, a ransom for his life, Moses wondered and asked,

"Who can give full ransom for his life? For it is written, The price of

man, or pay his ransom to God." He replied to him: "It is not as

you imagine, but rather this shall you give, as this shall

you give." Rav Huna said in the name of Rav, "Shaddai – we cannot

attain to Him, He is great in power… (Job 37:23) The Holy

One, Blessed Be He, does not inconvenience Israel. When Moses heard this, he

proclaimed: Happy the people who have it so. (Psalms 144:15) and Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his

help (Ibid. 146:5)."

(Tanhuma, Ki Tissa, 10)

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