This week’s Torah reading, Shoftim, includes the mitzvah of eglah arufah, a ritual act whereby the neck of a calf is broken to atone for the murder of a person who was slain by an unknown assailant.
In ultimate terms, a Jew’s life is his connection to G‑dliness, as it is written: “You, who cling to G‑d your L‑rd, are all alive today.” On this basis, we can understand the cause of the death of the person slain.
The Field
His connection to G‑dliness was cut off. Why? Because he was found in the field. The field refers to a place outside the realm of holiness. It is not an innately negative place. On the contrary, it is food that is grown in a field that sustains man. Nevertheless, in the field, one can meet “Esau... the man of the field” and be influenced by him.
In simple words: Once outside the realm of holiness it is very easy to slip into the error of seeking worldly accomplishments and pleasures without a G‑dly intent. This is spiritual death — the cessation of the person’s bond with G‑d.
The eglah arufah was brought to absolve the people of the neighboring city for their responsibility for the person’s death. Why might they be held responsible? Seemingly, the one who has died is responsible for his own death. After all, he left the city, a place of Torah, and went out to the field? Why then are others — the city elders, no less — responsible to atone for his death?
An Inner Bond
The mitzvah of eglah arufah highlights the flaws associated with such a line of reasoning; no one should use such an argument to absolve himself of responsibility. There is an inner bond that ties all Jews together and connects us to all of our brethren, even those who have made wrong choices and are found “in the field.”
The elders of the city model the obligation that applies to us all — by performing this ritual and declaring: “Our hands did not spill this blood.” Our Sages explain that they are saying that they did not let the slain person depart the city without providing him with food and an escort. “Food” refers to Torah study. Before a Jew goes out to the field, the Jewish community must provide him with “food,” spiritual nurture, and they must also see that others accompany him, so that he will not face the challenges of the field alone.
Emulating the King in the Field
Parshat Shoftim is always read in the month of Elul, the month when — as explained in the renowned analogy of the Alter Rebbe — “the King is in the field.” Every Jew should “follow in His paths,” and leave the security of the “city,” the established Jewish community, and go out and extend himself to those Jews in the “field,” helping them find their way back to their Jewish heritage.
Moreover, he should do so with happiness, emulating the King who, as the Alter Rebbe continues in that source, “accepts all with a gracious countenance and beams a shining countenance to all.”
Adapted from the teachings of the Rebbe, reprinted from Keeping in Touch, with perm. from Sichos in English.
