Lights go out and I can't be saved
Tides that I tried to swim against
You've put me down upon my knees
Oh I beg, I beg and plead (singing)
Come out of things unsaid, shoot an apple off my head (and a)
Trouble that can't be named, tigers waiting to be tamed (singing)
You are, you are
Confusion never stops, closing walls and ticking clocks (gonna)
Come back and take you home, I could not stop, that you now know (singing)
Come out upon my seas, curse missed opportunities (am I)
A part of the cure, or am I part of the disease (singing)
You are
And nothing else compares
Oh no nothing else compares
And nothing else compares
You are …
Home, home, where I wanted to go
-- Coldplay, Clocks
Along with the cities that you shall give to the Levites shall be the six refuge cities, which you shall provide as places to which a murderer can flee … You must designate cities which shall serve you as refuge cities to which a murderer, who killed a person accidentally, can flee … The killer is thus obligated to live in his refuge city until the High Priest dies. After the High Priest dies, the killer may return to his hereditary land.
Numbers 35 (selected)
In this parasha, God instructs the Israelite people – toward the end of their years wandering in the desert – that once they enter the Land of Israel, they must establish six cities of refuge. These cities (called Arei Miklat) were intended to protect the safety of inblockquoteiduals who had committed involuntary manslaughter – that is, they had murdered someone unintentionally.
In Biblical times, when accidental murder occurred, the murderer was in danger himself of being killed by the victim’s relatives in revenge. Most commentators agree that the reason for the cities of refuge was to prevent a never-ending cycle of killing. The Torah creates the Arei Miklat – the places where the unintentional killer may flee, and reside in protection and safety.
Other Sages – such as the writer of Sefer Ha-Chinuch – teach that the Arei Miklat are not about protection at all, but instead, they are intended as a punishment. In other words, one who brings about death – even unintentionally – must him/herself experience a kind of social death, through exile and, essentially, imprisonment in a particular city.
Others suggest that there may be other reasons for the refuge towns. Samson Raphael Hirsch suggests:
…the whole character that has been imprinted upon this retention in the city of refuge is expiation: to redeem himself from the burden of the guilt feeling which weighs heavily upon him.
Thus perhaps the purpose of the Arei Miklat was not just for physical safety, or for punishment purposes, but rather as a spiritual motivation. In his commentary, Hirsch emphasizes that the Torah stipulates that the murderers "flee to one of these cities and live". That is, it should be a place of vitality, possibility, and promise.
Whatever the motivation for the establishment of the Arei Miklat, it is equally important to note how they were marked and kept up. Rabbinic texts explain that the community was obligated to make broad, usable roads – with no obstacles or problems -- leading to the cities of refuge. Additionally, signs had to be visibly placed at intersections along the road in order to clearly direct people to the cities of refuge. There could be nothing stopping those who wished to reach the city of refuge.
Once the Temple was destroyed, however, there were no more cities of refuge. The dispersal of the Jewish people all over the world and the loss of the autonomous Jewish territory as described by the Torah meant the end of the Arei Miklat. Yet each year we read about them. And we know that each word of the Torah is living, palpable, meaningful in every age and in every place. Its truth is not limited to geography or era. What is the import of the Arei Miklat, to us, today?
Those towns were established for people who had made horrible errors. For people who had – unintentionally – caused so much damage that their lives would never be the same. They were created for people who had, by no fault of their own, become horribly changed, and filled with despair. The Arei Miklat provided a place, literally and figuratively, of refuge. Remarkably, our rabbis taught us to be absolutely certain: Keep the roads to refuge wide open. Make sure there are no barriers. Let people make their way to a new life. Open the doors to hope.
Today, we need to take the role of those sages. To make sure that all roads lead to healing and possibility. How can we do that? Think for a moment of those whom you love. Think first of your family, your friends. Now think of your community. Now your workplace. Now your city. Now your state. Now this country. Now Israel. Now the world. How can you make refuge more accessible? How can you make sure everyone has a clear road back to goodness, to peace, to justice? Make your part of the world into a place of healing and more life.