Komentaryong Sumisipi para sa Mga Awit 25:6

זכור את יום השבת, remembering something always refers to past events. We have numerous such verses as in Deuteronomy 32,7-8 “remember past history, etc.” Exodus 13,3, as well as Deuteronomy 9,7-8 plus numerous other verses exhort the Jewish people to remember events in the past. Usually, the command to do so is phrased as an imperative. In the Ten Commandments, the expressions zachor here and shamor in the parallel legislation in Deuteronomy are in the infinitive mode. Seeing that both are followed immediately by the command לקדשו “to sanctify it,” (the Sabbath) this makes an imperative of the whole paragraph. The Torah, in a way, commands us to “commemorate” something which G’d had done long before there was a legislation to observe the Sabbath as a day of rest. Already when creating the “day” He had blessed it, i.e. made provisions for those who would observe it not to be deprived by their observance but to find that G’d in His generosity had provided the needs for the people in question. Observing, emulating something G’d had done, is a way of honouring Him. He “ worked” for 6 days before “resting,” so do we as a way of honouring Him.

A Midrashic approach based on Tanchuma Massey 12: “the words: ‘he who kills a person inadvertently,’ emphasise the fact that the deed was inadvertent not accompanied by malice.” If a person who had killed intentionally were to claim that his deed had been committed inadvertently the city of refuge does not afford him any refuge even if he had already reached it. He would be removed even from the Holy Altar in the Temple and convicted. We know this from Exodus 21,14: ”if someone kills a person deliberately, using subterfuge, you shall even remove him from My Altar to apply the death penalty to him.” We find that this is precisely what happened to Yoav, David’s commander-in-chief, who held on to the corners of the Altar in order to escape prosecution for murder (Kings I 2,28). He was forcefully removed and executed by Benayahu. On the other hand, we find that the law to exile an involuntary murderer dates back already to the very beginning of human history when David exclaimed in Psalms 25,6: “O Lord be mindful of Your compassion and Your faithfulness; they are as old as time.”
According to the Midrash we quoted David said to G’d: ”Your compassion and faithfulness extend to the inadvertent killer of a human being for whom You have prepared a city of refuge seeing that such killer who did not kill intentionally is not guilty of death. This compassion of Yours dates back to the time You created man.” Although Adam brought death into the world, You did not kill him but You only exiled him as we know from Genesis 3,23: “He exiled him from Gan Eden.” We also have a verse describing this as an expulsion (verse 24 immediately following). [I suppose the Midrash bases itself on the repetition of the reference to Adam being expelled. Ed.]

“You shall provide yourselves with places to serve you as cities of refuge” [35:11]. You should prepare cities, so that when a person accidentally kills his friend, he should run to this city. No person should harm him there. The custom was that when a killer ran to the city, whether he killed deliberately or accidentally, the court sent for him and examined him. If he did it deliberately, he is put to death. If he did it accidentally, then he is returned to the city and remained there until the high priest died. Then he was allowed to leave and no person could harm him. King David said: “Good and upright is the Lord; therefore He shows sinners the way” [Psalms, 25:8]. God is good and upright and compassionate. Therefore, He shows the sinful person a way to repent. King David said: Lord of the Universe, you are compassionate to the killer, in that you have prepared a city to flee to because he killed accidentally. The compassion is already from the time of Adam, since Adam brought death into the world upon all people. You had compassion on him and expelled him from the Garden of Eden, like a penitent who wanders around, and forgave him his sin. Therefore, You also ordered them to make cities of refuge, to which the killer, who killed accidentally, should flee. Concerning this, the verse says, “O Lord, be mindful of Your compassion and Your faithfulness; they as old as time” [Psalms, 25:6]. This means, Your grace and compassion is from the beginning of time. This is since the time of Adam. He did not willingly kill his friend, his heart was not in it, and he was not guilty of death, since all the sins depend on the heart. When somebody fulfills a commandment and his heart is not in it, in that he does not intend it to be for the sake of heaven, then his act is as nothing. Moses Our Teacher said to the Holy One: Lord of the Universe, when somebody has killed his friend in a different land, how does he know to find the cities of refuge, since he was not in that land? The Holy One responded: place large pillars in the markets and write on them, killer, cities of refuge. Place the pillars in the direction of the cities of refuge, in many places. Thus, the killer would read the inscription and would find the way. Concerning this, the verse said, “good and upright is the Lord” [Psalms, 25:8]. God is good and compassionate to the killer and makes a path for him. How much more so for the righteous, as the verse says, “He guides the lowly in the right path” [Psalms, 25:9].¹³Tanhuma, Masaei, 11.