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How can the Gemara (גמרא)'s kal v'chomer work when both meizid and eidim zomemim involve goel hadam? The Ramban (רמב"ן) distinguishes between two types of golus: protective golus versus punitive golus with reshus for goel hadam to enforce it. This resolves the apparent contradiction in Rab Yochanan's logic.
This shiur examines a complex sugya in Makkos 2b regarding eidim zomemim and the laws of golus, focusing on the Ramban (רמב"ן)'s innovative approach to resolving apparent contradictions in the Gemara (גמרא)'s reasoning. The fundamental question centers on Rab Yochanan's kal v'chomer: if someone who kills b'meizid doesn't go to golus, surely eidim zomemim who did something less severe shouldn't go to golus either. The shiur begins by identifying two major difficulties with this reasoning. First, the basic kal v'chomer seems flawed since golus only applies to shogeg, not meizid, making the comparison inappropriate. Second, the Ramban raises a more sophisticated question: if golus is kapara (as the Gemara concludes), then eidim zomemim shouldn't need golus at all since "hani lo bnei kapara ninhu" - they don't need atonement.
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Why does halacha forbid entering dangerous places if everything happens by Divine decree? The shiur examines the debate between Rashi and Tosfos on traveling at night, developing a fundamental distinction: Rashi holds one must avoid even deserved punishments that Hashem delays through mercy, while Tosfos holds the prohibition addresses self-inflicted harm through free will. This framework reveals how people rationalize self-destructive behavior as "hashgacha."
Why does the Gemara praise hospitality to scholars as a unique mitzvah rather than ordinary hachnasas orchim? The shiur distinguishes two mitzvahs: hachnasas orchim (providing for those in need) and connecting to talmidei chachamim (cleaving to God through scholars). Yisro's meal for the Jewish leaders wasn't charity—it was his way of bonding with those transformed by Torah, teaching that learning must fundamentally change who we are.
Makkos 2b
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