פירוש על במדבר 35:31

ולא תקח כפר AND YE SHALL TAKE NO RANSOM — He (the murderer) shall not be freed by a monetary payment (Ketubot 37b).

AND YE SHALL TAKE NO RANSOM FOR THE LIFE OF A MURDERER etc. The correct interpretation of [the repetition of the phrase ye shall take no ransom in Verses 31-32] that at first [i.e., in the verse before us] He warned us against [pardoning] a deliberate murderer, [stating]: And ye shall take no ransom of monetary payment for the life of a murderer, who is guilty of death, for he shall under all circumstances be put to death, and shall not be saved from death by any means, neither by exile nor by stripes nor by any other punishment. And afterwards [in Verse 32] He stated, And ye shall take no ransom to allow him to flee [from the city of refuge] and return to live in the Land, until the death of the priest, and the verse thus refers back to those liable to exile [for unwitting murder] which He had [previously] mentioned, who are the main subject of this section. It is thus as if He would have said: And similarly you shall take no ransom from a murderer [who killed unwittingly] in order that he should flee [from his city of refuge] and return to live in the Land, before the death of the [High] Priest.” It was unnecessary to say that we should take no ransom from him [to free him] altogether from fleeing to the city of refuge, because anyone who kills somebody unwittingly is afraid at first that the avenger of blood might kill him in the heat of his anger, or [might kill him] because he suspected him of deliberate murder [and therefore he will always want at first to flee to the city of refuge]. Scripture, therefore, did not have to speak about [not taking] a ransom to free him altogether, but speaks only about [the prohibition against taking] a ransom after he has fled there, to enable him to return to his land, and so that he should not have to stay there [in the city of refuge] as long as the [High] Priest is alive. For[it is likely that he may desire to leave it, since] after he has fled [there] and stood [trial] before the congregation for judgment¹⁰⁰Above, Verse 12. and has been acquitted by them [of the charge of deliberate murder], he will no longer be afraid of the avenger of blood, and so he will want to return to his house before the due time [i.e., before the death of the High Priest]. Therefore Scripture warned us against [accepting from him a ransom or bribe for] this [purpose]. Or [it may be] that there is a letter vav “missing” from the word lashuv [in Verse 32 — so that it is as if it said v’lashuv] meaning “or to abide.”¹⁰³According to this explanation, Verse 32 involves two separate prohibitions: 1) not to take a ransom from an unwitting killer not to go to a city of refuge, and 2) not to take a ransom from him to allow him to return from there before the death of the High Priest (Aboab). Ramban, however, as he states in his concluding words, prefers the first-mentioned interpretation that Verse 32 involves but one prohibition, namely, that we are not to take a ransom from an unwitting murderer after he has fled to the city of refuge to enable him to return to his land before the death of the High Priest. This interpretation is to be preferred apparently because it does not necessitate the introduction of a missing letter into the verse, as mentioned in the text. But the first interpretation appears to me to be the correct one.

ולא תקחו כופר, he must not be released by paying a financial indemnity to the family of the victim. [whereas the Torah had legislated monetary compensation for injuries caused to the victim, such as loss of eye, tooth, etc. Ed.]