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Why does the Torah (תורה) write "an eye for an eye" if it means monetary payment? The Rambam (רמב"ם) explains that physical injury deserves physical punishment — payment is a kofer, a redemption for losing one's own limb, not compensation. True justice requires restoring the victim's dignity through middah k'neged middah, teaching that putting someone down — physically or verbally — means we deserve the same.
Rabbi Zweig addresses the well-known pasuk of "ayin tachas ayin" (an eye for an eye) from Parshas Mishpatim, which critics often cite as evidence of the Torah (תורה)'s supposed primitiveness. The common apologetic response is that the phrase only means monetary payment, but Rabbi Zweig argues this misses the Torah's deeper message. The Gemara (גמרא) in Bava Kamma asks how we know "ayin tachas ayin" means money rather than literally taking an eye. The Gemara answers that if we literally took an eye, we might accidentally kill the person (ayin v'nefesh tachas ayin), which would be unjust. The critical implication is that if we could take an eye with certainty of not causing death, we would do so — that is the true justice the Torah demands.
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Mishpatim 21:24
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