Shoftim 19:04 · unit 2

TT #200 · Parashas Shoftim · Fifth Aliyah · Passuk 19:04

The Complete Passuk

וְזֶה֙ דְּבַ֣ר הָרֹצֵ֔חַ אֲשֶׁר־יָנ֥וּס שָׁ֖מָּה וָחָ֑י אֲשֶׁ֨ר יַכֶּ֤ה אֶת־רֵעֵ֙הוּ֙ בִּבְלִי־דַ֔עַת וְה֛וּא לֹא־שֹׂנֵ֥א ל֖וֹ מִתְּמֹ֥ל שִׁלְשֹֽׁם׃

And this is the matter of the killer who shall flee there and live: one who strikes his fellow without knowledge, and he was not an enemy to him from yesterday and the day before.

Chabad / Judaica Press

Source Citation

Torah Temimah points to Makkot 9a.

TT lemma: וְהוּא לֹא שֹׂנֵא לוֹ.

Sefaria — Makkot 9a

Core Text of Chazal

Core Text
וְהוּא לֹא שֹׂנֵא לוֹ מִתְּמוֹל שִׁלְשׁוֹם – פְּרָט לְשׂוֹנֵא.

English: ‘And he was not an enemy to him from yesterday and the day before’ – excluding one who was an enemy.

On the daf / in context: Prior enmity can disqualify the claim of pure accident.

Type of Learning

Derash on the absence of enmity (Bavli) — the verse requires that there was no prior hatred.

What Is Learned

If the killer had been an enemy of the victim, the act is not treated as pure accident for the purpose of refuge.