Uno il cui giudizio è stato concluso senza un sommo sacerdote, [cioè, se non ci fosse un sommo sacerdote], uno che uccide un sommo sacerdote e un sommo sacerdote che uccide, non lascia mai (la sua città di rifugio), e ( uno che viene esiliato) non esce né per testimonianza di mitzvah, né per testimonianza in contenzioso monetario, né per testimonianza in un caso capitale. Anche se Israele avesse bisogno di lui; anche se fosse un comandante in Israele, come Yoav ben Tzeruyah, non se ne va mai, scritto (Numeri 35:25): "... che era fuggito lì"—ci sarà la sua dimora; lì morirà; lì sarà seppellito. Proprio come la città concede rifugio, così fa anche il suo tchum (il suo limite, duemila cubiti attorno alla città). Una cacciatrice che uscì dal tchum e fu trovata dal redentore del sangue—R. Yossi dice: è una mitzvah per il redentore di sangue (ucciderlo), e tutti gli altri sono autorizzati a farlo. R. Akiva dice: Il redentore del sangue è autorizzato a farlo, e tutti gli altri non sono responsabili se lo fanno. [Tutti gli altri, a parte il redentore del sangue, che l'ha ucciso fuori dalla sua città di rifugio, non sono responsabili, essendo scritto (Numeri 35:27): "Non ha sangue"; e al redentore di sangue è permesso ucciderlo (ab initio)]. Se un albero si trova in mezzo ai limiti (della città di rifugio), e i suoi rami si estendono oltre i limiti; o se si trova al di fuori dei limiti e i suoi rami si estendono all'interno dei limiti, tutto va secondo i rami. [La Gemara spiega che "si intende anche secondo i rami", vale a dire, se il suo tronco era all'interno dei confini della città di rifugio, e i suoi rami si estendono oltre i confini, se si trova sotto i rami, è " assorbito ", poiché la sua parte principale è all'interno e i suoi rami sono considerati un'estensione della parte principale. E se la parte principale è all'esterno e i rami all'interno, in modo che non possa ucciderlo sotto i rami, potrebbe anche non ucciderlo vicino alla parte principale, essendo la parte principale considerata un'estensione dei suoi archi per rigore ( a questo proposito). Se viene ucciso in quella città, viene esiliato da un quartiere all'altro (all'interno di quella città). Un levita viene esiliato da una città all'altra.
Bartenura on Mishnah Makkot
נגמר דינו בלא כהן גדול – for there was no High Priest in the world
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English Explanation of Mishnah Makkot
Introduction
Mishnah seven continues to deal with various law concerning the cities of refuge.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Makkot
לא לעדות מצוה – for example, for testimony of the [New] Month
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English Explanation of Mishnah Makkot
If the trial was concluded when there was no high priest [in office], or if one kills a high priest, or a high priest that kills, [in these cases the manslayer] can never come away from that place [of refuge]. This section is a conclusion of the previous mishnah. If the trial of the manslayer is concluded at a time when there was no high priest he can never leave the city of refuge. Even when a new high priest is appointed, his death will not free the manslayer since he was not the high priest when the person was convicted of manslaughter. Similarly, one who kills a high priest or a high priest that kills can never leave the city of refuge, since there would be no existing high priest at the conclusion of the trial.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Makkot
וכל אדם – except for the blood-avenger that killed him outside the City of Refuge is not liable for him, as it is written (Numbers 35:27): “[and the blood avenger comes upon him outside the limits of his city of refuge, and the blood-avenger kills the manslayer,] there is no bloodguilt on his account.” For the blood-avenger has the permission to kill him. And the Halakha is according to Rabbi Akiba. And these words [of our Mishnah] is if he left [having murdered] with premeditation; but if he left [having murdered] inadvertently, every person who kills him is killed on his account.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Makkot
He [the manslayer] may not go out to bear witness, neither for cases having to do with a religious observance, nor to bear witness in a monetary suit, nor to bear witness in a capital case. Even should [all] Israel need him, and even a general like Yoav the son of Zeruiah, he may never go out, as it is said, “to there he fled”: ‘there’ must be his abode, ‘there’ his death, ‘there’ his burial. The manslayer may not leave the city of refuge under any circumstance, even to testify to a religious matter, such as the new month. Neither may he leave to testify in monetary cases nor in capital cases. Even if he was a general in the army and Israel needed him in war, he may not leave. The mishnah emphatically states that “there”, i.e. in the city of refuge will be his permanent dwelling, his death and his burial.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Makkot
הכל הולך אחר הנוף – The Gemara explains that even the location of the branches decides the nature of the territory (see Mishnah Ma’aserot, Chapter 3, Mishnah 10) is spoken of, for if the root was inside the borders of the City of Refuge and the branches stretch outside the boundary, since he enters under the branch, he is “absorbed,” [by the City of Refuge] since its roots are inside and we judge that the branches follow after the roots, but if the roots were outside and the branches were inside, for just as within its branches, he cannot kill him, in its root also, he cannot kill him, for we cast the root after the branch for a stringency.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Makkot
Just as the city affords asylum so does its Sabbath boundary afford asylum. Just as the city proper offers the manslayer refuge from the blood avenger, so too does any area within the Sabbath limit (a boundary within which a person may freely travel on the Sabbath). This is defined as a 2000 amot perimeter of the city.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Makkot
If a manslayer went beyond the boundary [of the city] and the blood avenger found him: Rabbi Yose the Galilean says: “For the avenger it is a matter of obligation [to kill him]; for everyone else, a matter of option.” Rabbi Akiba says: “It is a matter of option for the avenger, and anyone else [who kills him] is not liable for doing so.” If he does leave the city of refuge before the high priest dies, he is liable to be killed. According to Rabbi Yose the Galilean, the blood avenger is actually commanded to kill him and any other person is permitted to kill him. According to Rabbi Akiva the blood avenger may kill him, and other people may not. However, if other people do kill him they are not liable as murderers.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Makkot
If a tree was standing within the boundary and its boughs extended beyond [the boundary] or if it was standing outside of the boundary and its boughs extended within, it wholly follows [the position of] the boughs. A tree standing in the city and leaning out of it, or standing outside of the city and leaning in, is judged to be in our out of the city boundaries based on its boughs and not on the position of its trunk. This will be of import if the manslayer reaches the tree and the blood avenger tries to kill him. If the tree is in the boundaries the blood avenger may not kill him but if it is outside of the boundaries, he may.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Makkot
If he slew [someone] in that city [of refuge] he is banished from one neighborhood to another neighborhood. And a Levite is banished from one city to another. A person who accidentally kills someone in a city of refuge presents a legal problem since he is already in the place that protects people from the blood avenger. The mishnah remedies this problem by stating that he is to be exiled from neighborhood to neighborhood. A Levite who lives in a city of refuge (see Numbers 35:6) may not stay in the city if he accidentally kills someone. Rather he must go to a different city of refuge.
