The Two Kinds Of MiklatMasse74 Riemer 1

TORAH-FAX 5774 MASSEI

MASSE74
THE TWO KINDS OF MIKLAT
BY RABBI JACK RIEMER
I want to teach o! the meanin" of two words toda or to #e e$act% I want to teach
o! the meanin" of one word that means two &er different thin"s in Modern
'e#rew and in the Torah( The word is miklat(
'a&e o! e&er &isited Sderot% the Israeli cit that is close to the #order with )a*a+
Or ha&e o! e&er #een in the )olan% which is close to the #order with Sria+ Or
ha&e o! e&er checked into a hotel anwhere in Israel% and looked aro!nd and
noticed the si"ns in the lo## and in the corridors+
If o! ha&e% o! ha&e seen the word ,miklat-( It means an ,air raid shelter- or a
,#om# shelter-( The #!ildin" code in e&er Israeli cit re.!ires that e&er /!#lic
#!ildin"% e&er a/artment ho!se% e&er hotel% e&er sho//in" mall% and e&er
a!ditori!m m!st contain a miklat% and that there #e si"ns showin" the &isitor how
to "et to the miklat% in case of an attack( The law is that the miklat has to #e
checked /eriodicall% to make s!re that it is clean% and that% if children ma ha&e to
#e in there for lon" /eriods of time% that tos are a&aila#le in it% and that if ad!lts
ma ha&e to #e there for lon" /eriods of time% that #ooks and ma"a*ines are
a&aila#le inside% so that the can sta there witho!t #ecomin" too fri"htened( The
miklat is where o! "o to take ref!"e in case a #om# "oes off or a missile comes
o!r wa(
I know the word ,miklat- from m &isits to Israel% #!t somehow% I confess% to m
em#arrassment% that I ne&er connected the word to the Torah !ntil this week( I
sho!ld ha&e% #!t somehow I ne&er did% !ntil Ra##i Sl&ia Rothschild of the 0eo
1aeck 2olle"e made the connection for me in her d&ar torah for this week( And so%
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I want to tell o! what she has ta!"ht me% and then I want to tell o! where I am
not s!re that she is ri"ht% and what I wo!ld like to teach her if I co!ld(
In cha/ter thirt4fi&e of the #ook of 1amid#ar which we read this mornin"% the
word ,miklat- a//ears o&er and o&er a"ain( It is the ke word of the cha/ter( It
a//ears no less than ten times in the thirt4fo!r &erses that make !/ this cha/ter(
And therefore% what I want to do toda is st!d the word with o!5and then% if I
can% I want to com/are and contrast the meanin" of this word ,miklat- in the Torah%
with what the word means in Israel toda(
6hat is the ir miklat in the Torah+ It is a cit of ref!"e% a /lace to which a /erson
can flee if he kills someone # accident( 'e can "o to the cit of ref!"e% and he
will #e safe there( The relati&es of the /erson whom he has accidentall killed will
not #e a#le to "et into the cit of ref!"e% and so he will #e safe from them there for
as lon" as he stas inside( The ir miklat in the Torah is meant to #e a /lace of
safet% a shelterin" /lace% where the /erson who has committed an act of
in&ol!ntar mansla!"hter can li&e witho!t fear that the relati&es of the /erson he
has killed will come after him to take re&en"e(
6hat were the /!r/oses% #esides this one% of the arei miklat% the cities of ref!"e+
Accordin" to the Sefer 'achin!ch% which is a medie&al commentar on the Torah%
there were three /!r/oses to the ir miklat(
The first was so that the /erson who committed mansla!"hter co!ld reali*e and
re"ret his deed( 0i&in" in the cit of ref!"e was a kind of an e$ile or a kind of
/rison sentence( 'e li&ed c!t off from his famil and from his friends( 'e co!ld
not &isit them% and the co!ld not &isit him( 'e was c!t off from his home% and
from his nei"h#ors% and he had to li&e amon" stran"ers( E$ile is a miniat!re death(
Ask anone who is homesick for his co!ntr% and who cannot "o #ack there% and
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he will tell o! how tr!e that is( So that was the first reason for the cit of ref!"e8 it
"a&e the accidental killer time and a /lace in which to think a#o!t the enormit of
what he had done% and to re/ent( I know that accidental killin" 4 !nintentional
killin" is not the same as deli#erate m!rder% #!t still% it is an awf!l thin"( S!rel% if%
)od for#id% o! killed someone in a car accident% o! mi"ht not "o to 9ail% #!t o!
wo!ld s!rel li&e the rest of o!r life with the awareness of what o! had on o!r
mind( And so the Torah ordains8 let the /erson who did it ha&e time and a /lace in
which to think a#o!t what he has done% and to re/ent(
The second reason for the arei miklat% accordin" to the Sefer 'achin!ch% is for the
sake of the world( It /rotects him from the #lood a&en"er and it /rotects the #lood
a&en"er from the almost irresisti#le !r"e that he feels inside him to kill the one
who killed his kinsman% whether he did it on /!r/ose or not( It is somethin" like
the /rotecti&e c!stod that we ha&e toda% in which those who are in dan"er
#eca!se the are "oin" to testif in a criminal case% are hidden awa or e&en "i&en
a new identit% so that the will #e safe from the criminals who ma #e o!t to "et
them(
The Sefer 'achin!ch "i&es a third reason for the ir miklat( It is so that the relati&es
of the /erson who has #een killed will not ha&e to ha&e the /ain of constantl
facin" the /erson who killed their #elo&ed( Ima"ine% if% )od for#id% someone killed
o!r lo&ed one # dri&in" fast% or while !nder the infl!ence of li.!or or of dr!"s%
or for whate&er reason% and that /erson was ac.!itted% and then o! had to see him
e&er da( Ima"ine how o! wo!ld feel if the one who killed o!r lo&ed one li&ed
on o!r street% or worked in the store ne$t door to o!rs% and o! had to see him
e&er sin"le da+ E&er time o! saw him% it wo!ld #rin" #ack the /ainf!l
memor of what he had done% and it wo!ld sicken o! and !/set o!% wo!ld it not+
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So here we ha&e three different e$/lanations% side # side% in the Sefer 'achin!ch%
for the e$istence of the cit of ref!"e( One is that it was created for the sake of the
accidental killer% so that he wo!ld ha&e a /lace in which to meditate and re/ent for
what he had done( One sas that it was created for the sake of the a&en"er% so that
he wo!ld not ha&e an o//ort!nit to kill the one who had killed his relati&e% which
wo!ld onl contin!e the ccle of &en"eance and accom/lish nothin"( And one sas
that it was for the sake of the relati&es of the one who was accidentall killed% so
that the wo!ld not ha&e to see the mansla!"hter e&er da and #e reminded
constantl of their loss(
:ow comes the hard /art of the sermon( ;/ !ntil now% this has #een a fairl safe
sermon% has it not+ I don-t think that an of !s who are here toda disa"ree with
the idea that the /erson who commits an act of &iolence witho!t intention sho!ld
#e /rotected% or with the idea that the relati&es of the &ictim sho!ld #e /rotected
from the dri&e inside of them to take re&en"e% or with the idea that the famil of
the &ictim sho!ld #e /rotected from ha&in" to face the one who killed their lo&ed
one e&er da( If I were to sto/ here% we co!ld all /at o!rsel&es on the #ack% and
sa8 <0ook how nice o!r Torah is% and look how far ahead of the other le"al
sstems of its time it is%= and then "o on to da&en M!ssaf( 1!t I am not "oin" to
sto/ here( Instead% I want to take a look at the cities of ref!"e that are fo!nd in
Israel toda% and ask o!% and ask mself8 what do the mean+ And how do the
differ from the cities of ref!"e that are fo!nd in the Torah+
So far in this sermon% I ha&e drawn on the insi"hts of Ra##i Sl&ia Rothschild on
what the ir miklet meant in the time of the Torah( 1!t now% let me warn o! that
she "oes one ste/ f!rther in her d&ar torah% and I am not s!re that o!5or I 4 want
to "o this ste/ with her(
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Ra##i Rothschild #e"ins # /ointin" o!t that there is a certain iron in the names
of the si$ cities that Moses desi"nated to #e cities of ref!"e in the time of the
Torah( The are8 <)olan% Ramat )ilad% and 1osor on the Eastern side of the
?ordan% and Shechem% Kadesh% and 'e#ron on the 6estern side( I am not s!re
where Ramat )ilad and 1osor are toda% #!t Shechem is the modern cit called
:a#l!s% which is known as a &iolent /lace toda% 9!st as it was in the time of o!r
father% ?aco#( Kadesh is a cit on the 0e#anese #order( And 'e#ron is a cit that is
a center of contro&ers on the 6est 1ank toda( '!ndreds of ?ews li&e in 'e#ron%
and tho!sands of Ara#s li&e there too% and the li&e se/arated # #ar#ed wire% and
in an !neas tr!ce% enforced # the Israeli arm(
These si$ cities are not e$actl cities of ref!"e toda( On the contrar% the are
cities of dan"er% and cities of tension( The are cities s!rro!nded # #ar#ed wire%
in order to kee/ the two /o/!lations that li&e there a/art from each other( And if
o! asked the /eo/le who li&e there% almost all of them% the ?ews and the Ara#s%
wo!ld sa8 It is not o!r fa!lt( It is theirs( If the were not sittin" on o!r lands% there
wo!ld #e no contro&ers( If the were not attackin" !s% there wo!ld #e no need for
the arm to stand "!ard( If the did not den !s o!r ri"hts% there wo!ld not #e s!ch
hatred #etween !s% etc( The cities that were once cities of ref!"e ha&e now #ecome
cities of tension% and cities of &iolence(
As far as I know% there is not m!ch meditation on the need to re/ent "oin" on% on
either side in these cities( On the contrar% most of the /eo/le who li&e in these
cities #elie&e that the other side is res/onsi#le for what is "oin" on% not them(
There are Ara#s who li&e in these cities% who commit s!icide #om#in"s% which
sho!ld more acc!ratel #e called ,homicide- #om#in"s% and who teach their
children to commit these acts of &iolence too( And the sho!ld #e held res/onsi#le
for the m!rders that the commit% and that the teach their children to commit( @or
!ntil and !nless the acce/t res/onsi#ilit for what the do% how can there e&er #e
The Two Kinds Of MiklatMasse74 Riemer A
an /eace or an !nderstandin"+ There are ?ewish settlers in these areas who
destro the fields of the Ara#s in these areas% and who make it diffic!lt for the
Ara#s to "et to their fields% and to har&est them% and the sho!ld #e held
res/onsi#le for what the do( @or how can there #e /eace if there is no res/ect for
the other-s /ro/ert+ There are some Islamic imans in these si$ cities who fire !/
their /eo/le to hate ?ews and who sa awf!l thin"s a#o!t them% and there are some
e$tremist ra##is in these areas who sa dero"ator thin"s a#o!t Islam% and who
!r"e the Israeli soldiers to diso#e the orders that the recei&e from their officers
to treat Ara#s h!manel% and #oth these imans and these ra##is sho!ld #e held
res/onsi#le for what the do( @or how can there #e /eace if neither side em/athi*es
with the /ain of the other+ There is a lot of res/onsi#ilit to "o aro!nd% and there
are &er few who can sa that the are onl accidental and !nintentional killers in
these si$ cities of ref!"e toda( Ber few indeed( I s!s/ect that if the a!thor of the
Sefer 'achin!ch came to &isit these cities toda% he wo!ld #e &er sad% for he
wo!ld see &er little re/entance "oin" on anwhere in the nei"h#orhood% and &er
little em/ath for the feelin"s of the other side in an of these /laces toda(
And so Ra##i Rothschild sas8 there ma not #e an cities of ref!"e on the west
#ank toda% #!t at least there are a few ,Ceo/le of Ref!"e- on the 6est 1ank toda(
She sas that there are a few /eo/le 4 not man #!t a few 4 who care eno!"h to tr
to #rid"e the "a/ #etween the two comm!nities that li&e on this small /iece of
earth% and who stri&e to #rin" a#o!t some cr!m# of !nderstandin" #etween them(
Ra##i Rothschild admits that there are not man% and she admits that those who tr
to create some corner of /eace in these /laces are often re9ected and scorned #
their own /eo/le% and that the "et &er little res/onse from the other side( There
are some /ockets of tr!st and !nderstandin" in these areas% s!ch as the /laces
where #erea&ed Israelis and #erea&ed Ara#s who ha&e lost children in the str!""le
meet to "i&e each other comfort( S!rel% we sho!ld res/ect these "ro!/s and ho/e
that the will take hold and that the will ha&e an infl!ence(
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1!t therefore% she sas 4 and this where I think we /art com/an with her 4 she
sas that she ho/es that we who lo&e Israel will stand with these /eo/le of ref!"e%
as she calls them% whether the #e ?ews or Ara#s% and that we will do what we can
to hel/ them in their efforts% and that we will take o!r stand a"ainst those who
s/read enmit # the wa the treat Ara#s at the check/oints and those who re"ard
them with distr!st(
Do I sa that too+ I m!st sa that I hesitate to do so( I hesitate #eca!se it is hard
for me% who li&es so far awa% to /ass 9!d"ment on those who li&e in Israel( I don-t
e$/erience the dail tension and the ne&er4endin" hostilit that the li&e with% and
so I am not /re/ared to 9!d"e what the do% and to condemn them from afar( I am
not as s!re as Ra##i Rothschild seems to #e that there are eno!"h /eo/le on the
other side to whom we sho!ld reach o!t the hand of friendshi/% and I am not s!re
that we who li&e here ha&e the a#ilit to 9!d"e who the are% #etter than those who
li&e in Israel do( And therefore% I am not "oin" to ask o!% as she does% to take a
stand a"ainst those Israelis who #elie&e that the m!st ha&e "!ards and walls and
that the m!st search those who wish to cross o&er the "reen line% and that% if the
don-t% the are /!ttin" their li&es and the li&es of their children in dan"er( I m!st
tell o! that Israel is not short of enemies in this world% and so I am not
comforta#le 9oinin" with her enemies in critici*in" her(
1!t this% I will do8 I will ask o! to ask o!rsel&es this .!estion8 1efore we 9!d"e
Israel from afar% let !s look at o!r own co!ntr% and ask a#o!t its /olicies( America
has more /eo/le in /rison /er ca/ita than an other co!ntr in the worldE I ask o!8
are these /risons /laces where /eo/le can re/ent% or are the in man cases
cess/ools o!t of which /eo/le emer"e worse than the went in+
Do o! remem#er the old name for /risons+ 6e !sed to call them ,/enitentiaries-%
#eca!se those who #!ilt them tho!"ht that those who were sentenced to them
The Two Kinds Of MiklatMasse74 Riemer F
wo!ld do /enitence inside% #!t does anone here #elie&e that /enitence is what
"oes on in /risons now+
I don-t think so( And therefore% if I co!ld s/eak to Ra##i Rothschild% this is what I
wo!ld sa to her8
I wo!ld sa to her8 thank o! for teachin" !s what a /owerf!l% s/irit!al and
ed!cational instit!tion the ir miklat of old was( 1!t /lease #e caref!l 4 /lease #e
&er caref!l 4 in !sin" that ancient instit!tion as a cl!# with which to 9!d"e the
/eo/le of Israel toda( @or that is not fair( @or if America has not #een a#le et to
fi"!re o!t how to ena#le its enemies and its /risoners to re/ent% it is s!rel m!ch%
m!ch more diffic!lt for Israel to know how to achie&e this(
I wo!ld sa to her with all d!e res/ect8 It is eas 4 too eas 4 to critici*e Israel from
here% #!t I don-t know if an of !s wo!ld do #etter than she does in /ers!adin"
those who hate her to reconcile with her( The Talm!d sas8 <6ho is tr!l wise+
6hoe&er is a#le to t!rn an enem into a friend(= I confess that I am not that wise( I
ha&e tried man times and I ha&e not &er often s!cceeded in doin" that( And
therefore I will not sit in 9!d"ment on Israel% which str!""les with this dilemma( I
can onl wish it well in its effort% and /ra for its s!ccess% #!t I cannot condemn
her% not from here% not from a distance% not when I ha&e not #een a#le to do what
o! insist that she sho!ld do(
Instead% I can onl do what I can to create cities of ref!"e here where /eo/le can
re/ent% and retrain and "row% /laces where the can #e safe from the enemies who
wait for them o!tside% and /laces where the can come o!t 4 )od willin" 4 #etter
than the went in(
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And knowin" how terri#l hard it is to do this here% I can onl /ra that Israel will
ha&e some s!ccess in doin" this there( And I can onl work to !/hold her "ood
name% and to hel/ her in this diffic!lt 4 /erha/s almost im/ossi#le task( And I can
onl in&ite o! to 9oin me in hel/in" Israel in this task% or% at least in em/athi*in"
with her% and in reali*in" how diffic!lt a task it is(
On this% ma we all a"ree% and to this% let !s all sa8 amen(