1) Ch. 21, v. 1: "V'ei'leh hamishpotim" And these are the rulings The Holy Zohar writes that the laws of monetary matters embody the secrets of reincarnation of souls, "sode gilgul." What is the connection?
2) Ch. 21, v. 6: "V'rotza adonov es ozno" And his master shall pierce his ear Rashi explains that the ear that heard on Har Sinai that one should not steal, and in spite of this the person stole, deserves to be pierced. If so, why not have it pierced when the person is sold into servitude rather than 7 years later?
3) Ch. 21, v. 11: "V'im shlosh ei'leh lo yaa'seh loh" And if he does not do any of these three things for her Rashi says that this means that he neither took her for himself, nor for his son, nor did he accept a pro-rated reduced redemption price for her emancipation. How does Rashi know that this does not refer to the three responsibilities enumerated in the previous verse after she was taken as a wife?
4) Ch. 21, v. 19: "V'nikoh hama'keh" And the assailant is cleared The previous verse tells us that if the injured person dies, his assailant is put to death. Our verse says that if the injured person is on the mend the assailant is cleared. This cannot mean that he is cleared of the death penalty, as there is no need to tell us this, as we would know on our own that if murder was not committed there is no death penalty. Rather, "he is cleared" teaches us that the assailant is incarcerated and we wait to see what happens to the injured person (Rashi, Mechilta). When he is healed the assailant is "cleared," means he is let out of jail. Is jailing him just a way of assuring that he will not run away, or is it in and of itself a punishment?
5) Ch. 21, v. 26: "V'chi ya'keh ish es ein avdo v'shichasoh lachofshi y'shalchenu" And if a man will hit the eye of his servant and he will destroy it he should send him free Does this law apply if the servant was truly responsible for being hit, bringing it upon himself? For the answers, click here!
Important Numbers
