Why does the Torah repeat (the otherwise superfluous words) "Ziknei ha'Ir ha'Hi"?
Sifri: To teach us that a Beis-Din (of twenty-three) of that town is crucial to Eglah Arufah, and that one does not measure to a town that does not possess one. 1
See Torah Temimah, note 30.
What is the definition of "Nachal Eisan"?
Rashi: It means 'a hard valley' 1 (of virgin soil that has never been tilled) 2 (or a steep slope - Rashi in Chagigah, 19a).
Seforno: It means a valley where people do not usually go.
Rambam (in Peirush ha'Mishnayos - Sotah 9:5) and Chizkuni: It is a fast-flowing river. 3
Targum Onkelos: It means a barren valley.
Targum Yonasan: It means a barren field
Hadar Zekenim: Hard, like the murderer's judgment - because worms came out of it and dvored the murderer wherever he was. Refer also to 21;8:1:2.
It is a Lashon of strong, as in Balak Bamidbar, 24:21 "Eisan Moshavecha" (Sotah, 45b). See Torah Temimah, note 31.
As is evident from the fact that they washed their hands in it - see Pasuk 6 (Chizkuni).
Why does the Torah write "asher Lo Ye'aved bo ve'Lo Yizare'a" in the future?
Ramban (citing Sotah, 46b): To make it a La'av never to till the soil or to plant in it. 1
See Torah Temimah, note 32.
Having written "Lo Ye'aved bo", why does the Torah insert "ve'Lo Yizare'a"?
Sotah, 46b: To confine the Isur of Melachah to an Avodah on the actual field, such as plowing and planting, but permitting doing other work in the field - such as combing flax and cleaning stones.
What is the significance of taking a calf that has never worked down to a valley tht has not been worked on?
Riva: It is symbolical - As if to say 'Just as the calf is 'Tamah' pure; it never worked) and the valley is 'Tamah', so too, are we Temimim (totally innocent) of this crime.
What are the connotations of "Ve'arfu ? es ha'Eglah"?
Sotah, 46b: We learn via a Gezeirah Shavah "Ve'arfu" "mi'Mul Orpo" from the Melikah of Chatas ha'Of - in Vayikra, 5:8, that it means breaking the back of the neck.
Chulin, 24a: It precludes Shechitah. 1
See Torah Temimah, note 36.
How do the Dayanim of the town break the back of the calf's neck?
Rashi: With a chopper (or a cleaver).
What is the significance of the fact that they broke the back of the neck of the calf?
Rashi: Hakadosh-Baruch-Hu declared 'Let the calf in its first year, which did not bear fruit, come and have its neck broken in a location which does not bear fruit, to atone for the murder of this person, who was denied the opportunity of bearing fruit!' 1
Seforno: They break the back of the neck of the calf, a location which is not visible to the calf, to symbolize the murder of the victim which, without doubt, was performed in a location which was out of sight of the public and which was performed by a person who was not known to the Beis-Din to be a murderer. 2
Why does the Torah insert the (otherwise superfluous) word "Ve'arfu Sham es ha'Eglah"?
Kerisos, 6a: To teach us that the Eglah Arufah is Asur be'Hana'ah and must therefore be buried there. 1
Even though its Mitzvah is complete. See Torah Temimah, note 37.
Why does the Torah add the (otherwise superfluous) word "ba'Nachal"?
Sifri: By writing "ba'Nachal" S'tam, and not 'be'Nachal Eisan', the Torah teaches us that "Nachal Eisan" is not crucial and that Bedi'eved, any field or valley is eligible. 1
See Torah Temimah, note 38.
What is the objective of the ceremony of the Eglah Arufah?
Ramban #1 (in Pasuk 5, citing the Moreh Nevuchim) 1 : Refer to 21:3:1:2. Consequently, when the elders of the Sanhedrin go out to measure and the elders of the town proclaim publicly 2 that they did not neglect to repair the roads and keeping them safe and that they do not know the identity of the murderer, and the elders convene and bring the Eglah Arufah, it will cause people to talk about it, thereby increasing the chance that the matter will be revealed and the murderer found and killed. 3
Ramban #2 (in Pasuk 5): The reason behind the Eglah Arufah is similar to that of the Sa'ir ha'Mishtal'ach and the Parah Adumah, 4 which explains why the Chachamim list it together with the Chukim 5
Da'as Zekenim (in Pasuk 2), Hadar Zekenim (in Pasuk 8, both citing B'chor Shor) and Riva (in Pasuk 9): It creates publicity regarding the victim, and encourages witnesses to step forward and testify, thereby enabling the victim's wife to remarry.
Ramban: According to the Moreh Nevuchim's reason, the objective of the Eglah Arufah is indirect, sine the ceremony itself, does not achieve anything.
Ramban (citing the Yerushalmi in Sotah, 9a): Anyone who knows something about the murder is obligated to come forward and testify, and if even a Shifchah Cana'anis gives testimony, the calf's neck is not broken. In any event, the testimony creates publicity as a result of which the murderer will die, either at the hand of Beis-Din, at the hand of the king or at the hand of the Go'el ha'Dam (the next of kin of the victim).
Ramban: Korbanos that arhe brought outside the Beis Hamikdash.
In the Sifri and in Yoma, 67b.
