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An Eye For An Eye?
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Parshat Mishpatim: Exodus 21:1-24:18;
Jeremiah 34:8-34:22; 33:25-33:26.
T
he parshah of Mishpatim has
the most laws listed in the
Torah. One important lesson
that we learn from this parshah is that
the Torah often cannot be
explained as it is read.
In other words, the Torah
cannot always be taken
literally — but needs the
explanations of the midrash
or Talmud to clarify not
only the meaning but also
the intent of the verses.
One of the more well-
known examples of this is
written in Exodus 21:21 - 25.
Here its states the case of
two men fighting. A preg-
nant woman walks by and was injured,
causing a loss of her pregnancy.
Neither man meant her any harm.
She was just in the wrong place at the
wrong time.
In the first example written in the
Torah, the verse states that there will
be a damage assessment and the par-
ties will have to pay. Rashi explains
that these damages include the loss of
the fetus and damages to the mother,
including her embarrassment and
emotional pain.
In the second example, the two men
are fighting, each with the intent to kill
the other and, in this case, the preg-
nant woman who is just walking by
gets killed. The following verses states:
"a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a
tooth for a tooth:' etc.
Is this to be taken literally?
The answer, according to the
Gemara, Bava Kama, is no. According
to most rabbis, the death penalty
is only incurred when a person is
killed intentionally. And furthermore,
6710 West Maple Road, West Bloomfield
when the Torah states "an eye for an
eye" and "a tooth for a tooth:' what it
means to say is not that Jewish courts
go ahead and mutilate people.
Never was there a Jewish
court, based on Halachah
(Jewish law), that inflicted
this type of physical injury.
The courts did not behave
in a brutal, revenge-seeking
manner.
What the Torah is telling
us is that the perpetuator
needs to pay monetary
damages equal to the value
of the eye, tooth, etc., but
also to point out that, in
the heavenly spheres, he
deserves to lose his eye, etc. Paying
money, although this is what is
required of him, is not really enough.
He has to feel remorse for his actions
and feel the pain of the other person
as if it were himself that suffered the
injury.
We see a similar case in another par-
shah, Ki Teitzei, Deuteronomy 25:11,
where the Torah discusses a case
where two men were fighting. The
wife of one of the men got involved
by stretching her hand out toward the
other man in an embarrassing and
threatening manner.
The following verse states "and you
shall cut off her hand:' The rabbis
explain that this is not taken literally.
The woman must make financial resti-
tution, utilizing the hand that did the
act. This includes restitution for any
embarrassment caused as well.
❑
Joseph Mermelstein is ritual director
emeritus of Congregation Beth Ahm in
West Bloomfield.
Conversations
• Do some people unfamiliar with the Torah still misinterpret the phrase
"an eye for an eye" as justifying physical revenge?
• Can the phrase "an eye for an eye" instead be considered as putting a
limit on retribution?
• What is your view on capital punishment for murderers?
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OF METROPOLITAN DETROIT
January 23 • 2014
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