כי יכרית, “When the Lord shall cut off, etc.” after Moses had dealt with the subject of impostors of different kinds, he now turns to the subject of cleansing the earth of the Holy Land of any vestiges of idolatry left behind by its former inhabitants. It must also be cleaned of traces of blood spilled that had belonged to innocent people.

שלש ערים, “three cities, etc.; the people had already been commanded concerning these cities of refuge in Numbers 35,14, and the only reason this is repeated here again is to add the instruction to the population to erect signposts for the benefit of the people searching for such a city in order to escape the wrath of a blood avenger of the slain victim.

תכין לך הדרך, “prepare the way for yourself;” the route to such cities of refuge should not be a narrow path, etc., but a road that is easy to travel, and has been marked clearly. Rabbi Avin, son of Rabbi Yaakov, is quoted in a Midrash on Psalms 25,10 describing how every mile or so, there were markers how to get to these cities, and in every kiosk, there were directional signals identifying the route. [The purpose was not only for the killer to know how to get to such cities, but to remind the people at large to be careful never to become guilty of killing through negligence. Ed.] This was hinted at two verses earlier in the same chapter of Psalms.

ושלשת את גבול ארצך, “so that you will effectively divide the borders of your country into three segments;” how did this work out in practice? The Land of Israel was 400 miles long (from south to north) It was about 100 miles from Chevron to Sh’chem, and from there to Kadesh another 100 miles. The three cities of refuge therefore symbolically divided the land into three sections. You will note that the center section therefore was shorter than the northern and southern section respectively. This is accounted for in the minds of the sages by the fact that both Chevron and Sh’chem were cities in which a lot of bloodshed occurred. They quote a verse in Hosea 6,9, as supporting their interpretation.

כל רוצח, “every murderer, regardless of intentional or unintentional.” We explained this already on Numbers 35,14.

את רעהו, “his neighbour;” the word את here is to be understood as meaning: עם, “with;” (while together with him).

בבלי דעת, “without intent;” these words are meant to exclude someone who did intend to kill his animal, but instead killed a human being. (Talmud, tractate Makkot folio 7)

הוא ינוס אל אחת הערים האל וחי, “he will flee to one of these cities and live.” The population of these towns is deliberately limited, so that a potential blood avenger cannot hide in large crowds and carry out his plan undetected. (Talmud Makkot, folio 10) The city fathers see to it that the persons consigned there will have employment or work enabling them to make a living. If a Torah scholar has the misfortune to have to reside there, his teacher is brought there and looked after also. If he is himself a Rabbi of a Torah academy, his students are brought to him to live there.

והכהו נפש, “and strike him fatally;” there is a word missing in this phrase, i.e. the word מכת “a blow;”.

ולו אין משפט מות, “while he was not deserving of the death penalty;” this teaches that even an intentional killer who has not been sentenced to death by the court (for some technical reason connected to the evidence presumably) may still be subject to death at the hands of the blood avenger.

וטוב לך, “that it may go well with you,” so that the number of people guilty of bloodshed may not increase in your land.”

לא תסיג, “do not remove, etc.;” the reason why this legislation has been written here [when on the face of it, it is not related to what preceded it. Ed.] is that most serious disagreements resulting in bloodshed have their origin in disputes over borders. This is why immediately afterwards we also have the line: “an eye for an eye, a life for a life etc.” (verse 21). We also have the warning not to convict anyone on the basis of the testimony of only a single witness. (Verse 15).

אשר גבלו ראשונים, “which (the borders) have been marked by those who divided the Land,” that is, by Joshua, Elazar and the tribal leaders.

לא יקום עד אחד באיש, “one witness shall not rise up against a man;” as written here it appears as if this restriction applies only in cases involving a possible death sentence; how do we know that it applies also in matters involving only damages of a financial nature? This is why the Torah adds: לכל עון, “concerning any sin;” how do I know that it applies even in matters involving ritual matters, sacrifices? This is why the Torah added: בכל חטא אשר יחטא, “concerning any sin that he may become guilty of,” between man and G-d or between man and man. How do I know it applies also concerning any misdemeanor? This is why the Torah had commenced with the comprehensive words: לכל עון.

ועשיתם לו כאשר זמם, “you will do to him in accordance with the penalty that he had planned for his victim to be convicted of. The Torah has taught the penalty here; where is the prohibition to commit such a crime written? See Exodus 23,1 as well as at the ninth of the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20,14.

ולא תחוס עינך, “and your eye shall not display pity.” You shall not have pity with the guilty person; on the other hand, even during war time you shall display pity on people who are in the process of building their homes for the first time, be it that they are engaged to be married, that they are in the middle of building a house, or planting an orchard. The Torah teaches you a lesson here of when it is appropriate to display pity and concern, and when not. This is why these two paragraphs one dealing with expansionist wars, the other about people undermining faith in the Lord of their brethren, follow one another in the Torah.

עין בעין, “an eye for an eye, etc.;” the Torah once more repeats that justice must be based on the punishment fitting the crime. In Exodus 21.24 these penalties are decreed for bodily injuries, while here they are intended for conspiring witnesses.