Why the Cities of Refuge Are Spoken in Harsh Language

Yalkut Shimoni on Nach 30:1

Curated by Arthur·Told by Maggid·

"And the LORD spoke to Joshua, saying: Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Assign for yourselves the cities of refuge of which I spoke to you by the hand of Moses" (Joshua 20:1-2). Rabbi Aha bar Hanina said: Why is the passage of the killers stated in harsh language ["dabber," speak sternly]? Because they are of the Torah. Does this mean that every "speaking [dibbur]" is harsh language, as it is written, "the man, the lord of the land, spoke roughly to us" (Genesis 42:30)? But it is also written, "then they who feared the LORD spoke [nidberu] one to another" (Malachi 3:16), and likewise it says, "He subdues [yadber] peoples under us" (Psalms 47:4). [The answer:] "dabber" is one thing and "yadber" is another. Rabbi Yehudah and the Rabbis differ on this: one said it is because [the cities] were delayed [in being designated], and one said it is because they are of the Torah.

Themes

TorahWisdomCommandments

Continue Reading

Petichah LeChokhmat HaKabbalahGod Increased Torah to Bestow Merit on IsraelThe Talmud in Makkot (23b) offers a fascinating idea. Rabbi Ḥananya ben Akashya says that God, wanting to bestow zekhut, or merit, upon the Jewish people, increKalach Pitchei ChokhmahAll of History Leads to Pure GoodnessIt's all heading towards a state of pure goodness and complete perfection. A time when only good exists, and evil...vanishes. The Kalach Pitchei Chokhmah (a keyKalach Pitchei ChokhmahWhat Is a Partzuf - The Divine Face ExplainedKabbalah, Jewish mysticism, explores this very question, often using the concept of the Partzuf (פַּרְצוּף), a divine "face" or configuration. It's a complex idMekhilta DeRabbi YishmaelHere It Was Ruled by Torah Mandate, a Man MustThe Mekhilta preserves one of the most comprehensive lists of a father's obligations to his son in all of rabbinic literature. By Torah mandate, a man must do tMekhilta DeRabbi YishmaelMoses' Staff Was Made of Sapphire and Could Strike Through Solid RockRabbi Yossi ben Zimra noticed a single word in the Torah that most readers skip right past. And from it, he derived an astonishing claim about the staff of MoseMekhilta DeRabbi YishmaelThis Passage Commands the Transmission of Torah Knowledge AcrossThe Torah verse "If another he take for him" (Exodus 21:10) is read by the Mekhilta as the source for a surprising obligation. From this verse, the Sages ruled