לזכר נשמת אמי מורתי שולמית בת הר’ יעקב אליעזר ע”ה
In memory of my mother, Mrs. Shulamith Rabinowitz A”H.
And as a merit for all those affected by the tragedy that took place in Meron on Lag b’Omer 5781.

וְאִישׁ כִּי־יִתֵּן מוּם בַּעֲמִיתוֹ כַּאֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה כֵּן יֵעָשֶׂה לּוֹ׃ שֶׁבֶר תַּחַת שֶׁבֶר עַיִן תַּחַת עַיִן שֵׁן תַּחַת שֵׁן כַּאֲשֶׁר יִתֵּן מוּם בָּאָדָם כֵּן יִנָּתֶן בּוֹ׃

If anyone maims his fellow, as he has done so shall it be done to him: fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. The injury he inflicted on another shall be inflicted on him. (Vayikra 24:20-21)

Rashi cites the Talmud that this is not literal. Rather we estimate the injured man’s value (as a slave) and the offender has to pay the difference between his value as an unmaimed man and that which he represents after the infliction of his injury. This is why the Torah states, כַּאֲשֶׁר יִתֵּן מוּם בָּאָדָם כֵּן יִנָּתֶן בּוֹ which literally translates as, ”the injury he gave to his friend so shall it be given to him.” By using the word given the Torah is alluding that what happens to the damager involves something that passes from hand to hand, i.e. money.

The obvious question is why didn’t the Torah state monetary compensation explicitly? Why use wording that can be so easily misunderstood?

Rashi writes that the perpetrator of the injury pays for the decreased value of the person damaged. This is one opinion cited in Talmud Bava Kamma. The other opinion is that the perpetrator pays for his own decreased value if the injury would have been inflicted in him. Why should he pay for his own value- he wasn’t damaged?

The Torah is teaching us that the perpetrator deserves a lot more than just paying for what he did. Rabbi Yosef Soloveitchik, of blessed memory put it this way.

Were the Torah to state payment for bodily harm, people might consider someone’s body as just another article of value that he owns. One might think, ”If I smash up his car, I pay for it. So if I maim him, I’ll just pay for it!” (No big deal if you can afford it!)

Therefore the Torah states, “an eye for an eye” to teach that דין, justice, demands measure for measure. If you rob a person of Hashem’s gift of sight, you deserve the same fate. However Hashem decreed that doesn’t happen and instead the perpetrator compensates with money. (It goes without saying that full atonement is only reached with asking forgiveness from the person harmed and repentance for the sin of hurting another person.)

Now we can understand the opinion that the perpetrator pays according to his own value. He’s compensating for the eye he should have lost!

Shabbat Shalom!
Yitzchak