Musar su I Re 22:78

In this portion the Torah discusses matters that help perfect one's body. The body viewed as the sheath of the soul, has also been created in the image of G–d (Genesis 1,27). This is why if someone kills another creature created in G–d's image he himself will be killed as an appropriate act of retribution. By his deed he has separated a soul from its body, (sheath), hence his own soul will be separated from its sheath. The act of murder is viewed as if the murderer had also severed the life of the soul in the Celestial Regions from its "body" in those regions. Although such separation would have occurred sooner or later anyways [by the natural death of the victim. Ed.], the murderer is punished for having brought this about prematurely. Hence his own soul will not find its resting place until the murder has been avenged. This principle explains the strange story related in Kings I chapter 21 of the judicial murder of Navot through Jezebel and king Achav. We are told in Kings I 22,21, that the "spirit" of the slain Navot volunteered to seduce king Achav into sinning by listening to his false prophets and that the Heavenly Tribunal concurred in this act of deviousness by the "spirit" of Navot. As a result, Achav was killed in a battle with Aram which served the ostensibly patriotic purpose of recapturing the city of Yavesh Gilead (which the Aramites had wrested from the Jewish state some considerable period earlier). Clearly, the soul, i.e. רוח, of Navot had not been able to come to rest due to the premature death of its body, and this may be why the רוח was permitted to act in its own personal interest. Avenging the murdered person is the only means to restore the harmony that existed between body and soul prior to the murder. We can now understand why, even if the family of the victim or the court were to agree to it, payment of a ransom would not restore the equilibrium which had been upset previously.. As long as the victim of the murder has not been appeased, there can be no question of the deed having been atoned for. When the death of the victim is due to an unintentional act however, the Torah does not consider him guilty of bloodshed. Clearly, the death of the victim was an act of G–d, i.e. the attribute of Justice chose as its instrument someone who had committed some other undetected offense. The killer had unconsciously carried out G–d's design in all those cases where he had not planned to kill the victim with a lethal instrument. The killer has to flee to the city of refuge, one of the cities of the Levites. Those cities are regarded as sites of judgment. The Levites themselves represent the emanation גבורה in the pattern חסד-גבורה-תפארת, a pattern that corresponds to the respective levels of כהן-לוי-ישראל. This unintentional killer must remain in the city of refuge until the death of the High Priest (35,25). This is because when the body of the victim was slain, also his soul was taken from him and had to remain in exile until a time when G–d is in a favorable frame of mind. At the time the High Priest dies, when his soul ascends to the Celestial Regions, the soul of the murder victim is then also allowed to proceed to those regions.

And it is known that the withholding of honor from the Holy One Blessed be He because of the fools who have denied Him or rebelled against Him and said: "What profit [is ours] that we have kept His keeping [i.e., His mitzvoth]?" — such dishonor obtains only in this terrestrial, material world, where "eyes" are those of flesh. But in the higher world, all the angels crown the Blessed One's name and proclaim His glory — how He vivifies and leads them. As Scripture states (Nechemiah, Ibid.): "And the host of the heavens bow down to You." And (I Kings 22:14): "I saw the L-rd sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing before Him, on His right and on His left." (Isaiah 6:2-3): "Seraphs were standing above Him … and one called to the other and said: 'Holy, Holy, Holy is the L-rd of hosts [tzevaoth],'" for which reason the Holy One Blessed be He is called "Tzevakoth," as we find throughout the Torah. And when we reflect well, we see in truth that this world is not even like a mustard seed compared to all of the higher worlds. (For there are many worlds on high, as Chazal have said (Avodah Zarah 3b) that every day the Holy One Blessed be He soars through all His eighteen thousand worlds, and, especially, in respect to what is explained in the holy Zohar in many places.) So that their "rebellion," G-d forbid, is considered naught. And in this world, the Holy One Blessed be He found His people Israel, who are especially beloved by Him — so much so, that they are called "sons" unto Him, viz. (Devarim 14:1): "You are sons, etc." And their voice is sweet to Him, viz. Song of Songs 2:14: "Let Me hear your voice." How, then, can we not be ashamed of ourselves if we do not trust, G-d forbid, in His name, which vivifies all of the worlds? And of all the angels, of whom there are found tens of thousands of them in each class, not one of the celestial angels, from the time the Holy One Blessed be He created all of the worlds, has descended, G-d forbid, to apprise us that he is lacking some of the Divine effluence. And it is known that there are angels whose size is several thousand parasangs, as Chazal have said in Chullin 91b, that the size of Gavriel was two thousand parasangs, this being deduced from what is written in Daniel (10:6) when he [Daniel] saw the angel, viz. "And his body was like [the Sea of] Tarshish," (which is two thousand parasangs.) And there are angels who are much taller, as stated in Chazal (Chagigah 13b) about Sandalfon that he was five hundred years "walking distance" taller than his fellows [(The walking distance of an average man is ten parasangs a day.)] And this little man [in this world], who is not even [the size of] a mustard seed compared to them — how can he constantly fret and worry: "Whence will come my livelihood and whence will come my help!" When we reflect upon this well, we should be astonished much more about ourselves in this than we are astonished at the fool in connection with the bird! There is nothing left for us to do but to gird ourselves with strength and do His will without worrying at all, just as the King's son need not worry that he will be left without a loaf of bread, as it is written (Devarim 14:1): "You are sons to the L-rd your G-d."

And it is known that the withholding of honor from the Holy One Blessed be He because of the fools who have denied Him or rebelled against Him and said: "What profit [is ours] that we have kept His keeping [i.e., His mitzvoth]?" — such dishonor obtains only in this terrestrial, material world, where "eyes" are those of flesh. But in the higher world, all the angels crown the Blessed One's name and proclaim His glory — how He vivifies and leads them. As Scripture states (Nechemiah, Ibid.): "And the host of the heavens bow down to You." And (I Kings 22:14): "I saw the L-rd sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing before Him, on His right and on His left." (Isaiah 6:2-3): "Seraphs were standing above Him … and one called to the other and said: 'Holy, Holy, Holy is the L-rd of hosts [tzevaoth],'" for which reason the Holy One Blessed be He is called "Tzevakoth," as we find throughout the Torah. And when we reflect well, we see in truth that this world is not even like a mustard seed compared to all of the higher worlds. (For there are many worlds on high, as Chazal have said (Avodah Zarah 3b) that every day the Holy One Blessed be He soars through all His eighteen thousand worlds, and, especially, in respect to what is explained in the holy Zohar in many places.) So that their "rebellion," G-d forbid, is considered naught. And in this world, the Holy One Blessed be He found His people Israel, who are especially beloved by Him — so much so, that they are called "sons" unto Him, viz. (Devarim 14:1): "You are sons, etc." And their voice is sweet to Him, viz. Song of Songs 2:14: "Let Me hear your voice." How, then, can we not be ashamed of ourselves if we do not trust, G-d forbid, in His name, which vivifies all of the worlds? And of all the angels, of whom there are found tens of thousands of them in each class, not one of the celestial angels, from the time the Holy One Blessed be He created all of the worlds, has descended, G-d forbid, to apprise us that he is lacking some of the Divine effluence. And it is known that there are angels whose size is several thousand parasangs, as Chazal have said in Chullin 91b, that the size of Gavriel was two thousand parasangs, this being deduced from what is written in Daniel (10:6) when he [Daniel] saw the angel, viz. "And his body was like [the Sea of] Tarshish," (which is two thousand parasangs.) And there are angels who are much taller, as stated in Chazal (Chagigah 13b) about Sandalfon that he was five hundred years "walking distance" taller than his fellows [(The walking distance of an average man is ten parasangs a day.)] And this little man [in this world], who is not even [the size of] a mustard seed compared to them — how can he constantly fret and worry: "Whence will come my livelihood and whence will come my help!" When we reflect upon this well, we should be astonished much more about ourselves in this than we are astonished at the fool in connection with the bird! There is nothing left for us to do but to gird ourselves with strength and do His will without worrying at all, just as the King's son need not worry that he will be left without a loaf of bread, as it is written (Devarim 14:1): "You are sons to the L-rd your G-d."