מילון על שמות 21:38

These men were executed—the legend continues to relate—when they were reading the Torah to the empreror and they came to the law which states that a person who steals a man and enslaves him, is to be put to death. (Ex. 21:16.) The emperor then said: “Where are your forefathers, the sons of Jacob, who sold their brother into slavery? If I had them here I would immediately have them put to death. But since they are not here you will have to atone for their crime.”

Rav Chisda was very keen in the interpretation of law and he was also very clever in reading new meanings into things by skillful analogies. We shall cite two examples of his way of thinking: In explaining the reason why a man is allowed to go two thousand ells away from his place on the Sabbath even though the Bible says, “Let no man leave his place on the seventh day” (Exodus, 17, 29) Rav Chisda said that in as much as the expression “place” was also used in the verse “and I shall set up a place for you” (Exodus, 21, 13) in the case of an accidental homicide the two passages were parallel and the word “place” (מקום) should be understood to mean a city. Later the word “he will flee” is used concerning an accidental homicide, so that we must understand the word “place” used concerning the Sabbath to refer also to flight. The problem arises how far one may flee. There is another verse “the boundary of his city of refuge that he flees” (Numbers, 38, 26) so that we must interpret the verse “let no man leave his place” as if it used the word “boundary”. The meaning of the word boundary must be inferred from its meaning in its use in the verse which uses the expression outside “and their measures are two thousand ells outside the city” (Numbers, 35, 5). We find therefore that the measure of a “Sabbath pale” from which a man is allowed to flee is the boundary of “two thousand ells”.²²⁾ערובין נ״א א׳.

In case an ox gores a man and kills him, it is possible that the animal is known to be dangerous and that its owner has been warned and would therefore have to forfeit his life together with the beast. Nevertheless the Bible offers the owner of the animal an opportunity to redeem himself by the payment of a sum of money. (Exodus, 21:30.) Of such a case Rabbi Ishmael said: “Here we may see the great mercy of the Creator who permits a man to redeem himself with money from a well-earned punishment.”

If two people engage in a fight, the Bible says that he who beats his friend shall heal the victim (Ex. 21:20). This indicates that it is permissible to engage in healing the sick.²⁴⁾ברכות ס׳ א׳.