출애굽기 22:5의 Musar

כי תצא אש ומצאה קוצים. When fire escapes and feeds on thistles, etc." The reason the Torah had to include this piece of legislation is that whereas one would have thought that if someone makes a fire within the confines of his own home, he is not responsible if his neighbours' property is accidentally damaged by this fire, the Torah imposes the duty to see to it that any hazardous activity, even within one's own house, must be accompanied by precautions to safeguard one's environment. This is a general rule, non-observance of which interferes with a person's principal aim in life, i.e. to attain a level of holiness.

The answer to this is that, although G–d is well aware of what goes on within the heart of man, man is nonetheless required to declare his innocence through prayer. By doing so he evokes the goodwill of the attribute of Justice. Ever since earth had become tainted the attribute of Justice can be reconciled only through the prayers of the righteous. The goodwill of that attribute is secured in direct proportion to the efforts of the righteous to lead exemplary lives. The Zohar describes that the state of guilt in which the world finds itself because of the deeds of the wicked, can be set right only through the removal from earth of a number of righteous people who will atone for the state of the world in the Celestial Regions. Our sages (Bereshit Rabbah 44,5) comment on Genesis 15,1: אנכי מגן לך, where G–d promises to act as shield for Abraham [after he had defeated the four most powerful kings with the help of supernatural intervention on his behalf. Ed.] that G–d said to Abraham that ever since the generation of Noach He had not used the righteous as protectors for their respective generation, but that starting with Abraham's generation He would do so. Moreover, whenever Abraham's descendants would become deeply involved in wickedness, G–d would focus on a righteous person in that generation who would confront the attribute of Justice calling out "enough" and offer himself as atonement for the sins of his contemporaries, [a synopsis of the principle of זכות אבות. Ed.].This is the meaning of the statement: "give Satan a limb as a bargaining chip." This is the meaning of Job 16,11: יסגירני א-ל אל אויל ועל ידי רשעים ירטני, "G–d hands me over to an evil one, thrusts me into the clutches of the wicked." It is considered better that a righteous person confront Satan rather than that the wicked should be the ones who goad him. Thus far the comment on Genesis 15,1. [I believe the author portrays Job as complaining that he the innocent has been treated as the scapegoat for the wicked. Ed.] This is also the meaning of the statement by our sages in Baba Kama 60 that "once G–d has given free rein to Satan to punish the guilty, Satan no longer distinguishes between the guilty and the innocent. At such a time the righteous are invariably his first victims." [Cf. Rashi on Exodus 10,22. Ed.] On the same folio Rav Joseph quotes biblical proof for this thesis from Ezekiel 21,8: "I shall cut off from you the righteous and the wicked alike." Additional support comes from Exodus 22,5: "If a fire is started and the stacked corn is consumed and it spreads to thorns, etc." The Talmud says that the only time a fire "spreads" beyond the confines of one's own property is when the גדיש, "stacked corn" (simile for the righteous) has already been consumed i.e. נאכל instead of ואכל. Afterwards the "thorns," i.e. the wicked, are also consumed by such a fire [seeing that there are no more righteous people to step into the breach. Ed.]. This is yet another description of the principle of בקרובי אקדש, "I will be sanctified by those who are closest to Me," which we discussed in connection with the death of Aaron's two sons Nadav and Avihu. Another occasion when our sages focus on this phenomenon of G–d's justice is Ezekiel 9,6: וממקדשי תחלו, "And begin from My Sanctuary." Rav Joseph suggests that the reading should be ממקדושי, from those that are holy to Me. This means that destruction will commence with the righteous. [In that connection the righteous are seen as guilty for not having sufficiently protested the wickedness. Ed.]

Although this parable describes the descendants of Esau as burning the Holy Temple, we must remember that no human being can burn G–d's building unless G–d wants it burned. To remind us of this, Jeremiah, in Lamentations 1,13, describes the Temple as being burned ממרום, "By Heavenly decree. This appears to make G–d guilty of the burning of the Holy Temple, in line with the example quoted in Baba Kama. Exodus 22,5 describes a situation where a fire is lit within one's private domain, the fire crosses that domains's boundary, ומצא קוצים, and "encounters stray thorns," as a result of which the neighbor's corn-stacks are burned. The Torah clearly holds the party that started the fire as liable for any damages arising from his action. Allegorically speaking, G–d assumes the blame for the destruction of the Temple, saying: "I have lit the fire." This is the meaning of Lamentions 4,11: ויצת אש בציון ותאכל יסודותיה, "G–d set fire to Zion and it consumed its foundations." G–d will also personally rebuild it, as we know from Zachariah 2,9: ואני אהיה לה נאום ה' חומת אש מסביב ולכבוד אהיה בתוכה "I, says the Lord, shall be a wall of fire surrounding it, and I shall be glory in her midst." When the Torah had said in Exodus 22,5 שלם ישלם המבעיר את הבערה, that the one who started the fire shalll surely pay for the damage, G–d says that it is He who has to pay for the damage caused by the fire.