When a Heavy Stone Falls and Kills by Accident

And he fell upon him. These are the unintentional killers. If one was spinning a grinding stone in a circle and it fell on him and killed him, or if one was dragging a barrel and the rope snapped and it fell on him and killed him, or if one was descending a ladder and it fell on him and killed him, then this person is exiled. But if one was pulling a grinding stone and it fell on him and killed him, or if one was carrying a barrel and the strap broke and it fell on him and killed him, or if one was climbing a ladder and it fell on him and killed him, then this person is not exiled. This is the general rule: any case where the cause of death is due to a descending object leads to exile, but if it does not involve a descending object, there is no exile. From where do we derive this? Shmuel said that the verse "And he fell upon him and died" implies that the manner of falling must be in a customary manner. "And he fell" includes the case of someone who leapt into a well. "And he died" teaches that the person is not an enemy and does not seek his harm in court. It indicates that the person's words were not evaluated and his testimony was not accepted. The Sages taught: "And he is not his enemy, he shall testify for him, and he does not seek his harm, he shall judge him." We find that a person is considered an enemy when he hates someone. If he loves someone, from where do we derive it? It is a logical deduction. If he hates someone because he is distant from him, then he also loves someone because he is close to him. The rabbis further asked about the phrase "And he is not his enemy, he does not seek his harm." What is the interpretation? One answer is that it refers to a judge. Another answer is as it was taught: "And he is not his enemy." Issi ben Yehuda says: From here we learn about two Torah scholars who hate each other and should not sit together in judgment.