REVACH L'DAF
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SUMMARY
“And your judges” refers to your distinguished judges.
“And they shall go out…and they shall measure,” means: they themselves, not their agents; and it's a Mitzvah to measure even if the corpse is found clearly near a city.
Unlike the Mishnah, R' Eliezer ben Yaakov says: “your elders” and “your judges” mean that the Sanhedrin and also the Melech and Kohen Gadol also participate in Eglah Arufah (1).
R' Eliezer ben Yaakov disagrees not only in that he requires the king and Kohen Gadol, but also regarding the requisite Sanhedrin members: he requires the all the judges to participate.
A rebellious Zaken in Beis Pagei is not liable as Zaken Mamrei, since it is outside the Lishkas ha'Gazis.
Members of the Sanhedrin may not leave the Lishkas ha'Gazis for an optional matter.
The members of the Sanhedrin may expand the sanctified area of the city of Yerushalayim or of the Temple courtyards only with the Beis Din of seventy-one.
If the corpse is concealed in a pile of stones or hanging on a tree, we do not perform Eglah Arufah.
Sheaves of grain forgotten in the fields, called Shichechah, must be left for the poor, based on “And you forget a sheaf in the field” (Devarim 24:19).
It is debatable whether a concealed sheaf is included in the obligation to give to the poor, or is exempt i.e. the owner may keep it (2).
Rav explains how even if a concealed sheaf is obligated in Shichechah, a concealed corpse may still not require Eglah Arufah.
Stalks of standing grain that one forgot to reap are considered Shichechah, even though they are still attached to the ground.
Rebbi Avahu cites Rebbi Elazar who maintains that sheaves which were blown from one person's field into another’s are not classified as Shichechah, and may be retrieved by the owner.
It is questionable whether Shichechah applies to a sheaf that floated into one's field and is now perched upon another sheaf or on another item.
If a sheaf was held by its owner to take to the city and was then placed on top of another sheaf, and the owner forgot both sheaves, the upper one is not deemed to be a forgotten sheaf, but the status of the lower sheaf is debatable (3).
Abaye said he was sharp and expert as Ben Azzai, who taught Torah in the markets of Tiberias, ready to answer any question posed.
If there were two slain people found one on top of the other (not precisely aligned), it is questionable from which body one measures the distance to the surrounding cities.
Eglah Arufah applies only to a body that was "slain", i.e. killed by a sword; but not to a victim of strangulation, nor to a body twitching in death throes.
It is debatable whether Eglah Arufah only applies to a body exposed on the ground, but not one concealed in a pile of stones or hanging on a tree or floating on the surface of the water (4).
If a corpse was found close to the border of the country, or close to a city in which the majority of its inhabitants are gentiles, the judges would not perform Eglah Arufah.
If the victim was discovered close to a city that Beis Din of twenty-three judges, they would not measure the distance to that city.
If the slain person is found precisely between two cities, Rebbi Eliezer maintains that two ceremonies of Eglah Arufah are performed, one by each city.
Inhabitants of Yerushalayim do not bring an Eglah Arufah even if Yerushalayim is the city closest to the slain victim.
If the head of the corpse was found in one place and his body was found in a different place, it is debatable which body part is moved (5).
There are three views regarding from which place on the body they measure the distance: Rebbi Eliezer says: From his navel. Rebbi Akiva says: From his nose. Rebbi Eliezer ben Yaakov says: From where he was slain, i.e. the neck (6).
Yerushalayim was not divided among the tribes in the division of Eretz Yisrael. It was not given as a possession to any particular person but belongs to all.
A corpse with no one to bury it, a.k.a. Meis Mitzvah, acquires its place, meaning if an unattended corpse must be buried where it is found.
It is debatable from which part of the body an embryo initially forms. The Tana Kama says from its head. Abba Shaul says from its navel.
After they would take the measurement, the Ziknei Yerushalayim departed. Then the Zekeinim of the closest city bring a heifer which must not have not pulled a yoke.
A Parah Adumah must not have a blemish but an Eglah Arufah may.
They bring the Eglah down to a strong Nachal (7). Even if it is not strong, it is still a valid site for the ritual.
The judges break the neck of the heifer from behind with a cleaver. And the ground where the Eglah was standing is prohibited to be sown or worked. But combing flax or cutting stones there is OK.
The Zekeinim would wash their hands and recite: “Our hands did not spill this blood, nor did our eyes see” (Devarim 21:7).
Not that the Zekeinim of the court are spillers of blood, but that the victim did not come to them and they sent him off without food or escort.
A BIT MORE
1. A king is called a judge in “A king by justice establishes the land” (Mishlei 29:4). A Kohen Gadol is called a judge in “If there arise a matter too hard for you in judgment…And you shall come to the Kohanim the Levi'im, and to the judge who shall be in those days” (Devarim 17:8–9).
2. According to Rebbi Yehuda the concealed sheaf is not Shichechah and may be kept by the owner, but the Rabbis say concealed sheaves is Shichechah and must also be left for the poor.
3. The Tana Kama counts the lower sheaf as Shichechah, whereas Rebbi Shimon maintains that it is not Shichechah because it is concealed.
4. The Tana Kama maintains that Eglah Arufah does not apply in these cases; Rebbi Elazar says Eglah Arufah does apply (provided the person was slain by sword).
5. Rebbi Eliezer maintains that they bring the head next to the body, since his body fell in its place, and it was the head that rolled away and fell. Rebbi Akiva says: They bring the body next to the head, since his head fell where it fell, and it was the body that went and continued onward.
6. Rebbi Akiva holds: A person’s life is sustained mainly in his nose, i.e. his respiratory system. Rebbi Eliezer holds: His life is mainly in the area of his navel, i.e. his digestive system. Rebbi Eliezer ben Yaakov's view is based on the verse “To lay you upon the necks of the wicked who are to be slain” (Ezekiel 21:34).
7. Rashi understands this to mean a valley with hard ground, while Rambam understands it to mean a river which flows forcefully
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BRIEF INSIGHT
ACCOMPANYING A TRAVELER
The Zekeinim declare that they did not fail to attend to the victim. Rashi explains this to mean that they provided him with a company of people so that he should not be alone. Maharsha cites Yifei Mareh who objects to the premise that Beis Din should have to provide constant accompaniment to an individual wherever he may go, since this is impractical. The Yifeh Mareh therefore argues and explains that they only claim to have provided the traveler an escort for the beginning of his journey when he set out to leave the city. Maharsha himself differs and concludes that they must to provide accompaniment for the whole danger-laiden road, not just at his departure. But Maharsha explains how this can be done practically: Even beginning to escort a traveler will help afford him protection for the rest of the journey. This is a supernatural effect, which works either because Hashem decides to fulfill the Ratzon of the escort who wishes for the traveler's welfare, or because the physical escort's angels continue to escort the traveler on the remainder of the journey even after the escort has stopped.
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