Cities

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Cities of the Levites and Cities of Refuge

TANAKH

The Levites were allocated specific cities, including six specifically designated cities of refuge for those who committed manslaughter, highlighting the unique role and responsibilities of the Levites in ancient Israel. The fourth book of the Torah, Numbers, details the allocation of towns to the Levites, including the designation of six cities of refuge and an additional forty-two towns.

The towns that you assign to the Levites shall comprise the six cities of refuge that you are to designate for [a man] who has killed someone to flee to, to which you shall add forty-two towns.

Numbers 35:6

Mystical Interpretation of Moses' Cities

MUSAR

Moses' actions in setting aside specific cities are interpreted through the mystical lens of reincarnation and spiritual rectification. In the 17th-century work Shenei Luchot HaBerit, Rabbi Isaiah Horowitz integrates Kabbalistic teachings with traditional Jewish law and ethics.

I have found a beautiful commentary [concerning this] amongst the writings of the Arizal. We must understand why Moses bothered to set aside these three cities, seeing they could not perform their function until the other three cities of refuge on the West Bank of the Jordan had been set aside as well (Numbers 35,13; compare Makkot 9). When we understand the Arizal's commentary on the problem of the cities of refuge, we will also understand the relevance of the [adjacent] verse, "And this is the Torah which Moses placed before the children of Israel" (Deuteronomy 4,44)…

Shenei Luchot HaBerit, Torah Shebikhtav, Vaetchanan, Torah Ohr 12

The Nine-Year Siege

MIDRASH

The dramatic account of a nine-year siege and the strategic challenges faced by the besieging army, including the involvement of Moses, offers a captivating and detailed narrative not found in the canonical texts. The Sefer HaYashar, a medieval midrashic text, expands on biblical narratives with rich storytelling, including the story of Moses during his time in Cush.

And when Kikianus with all the captains of his hosts approached the city they lifted up their ‎eyes and they saw the walls of the city raised to a very great height, and they were greatly ‎astonished at this change. And they said to each other: It was done because the people have ‎seen that we tarried too long in the battle, and therefore they have built up the walls of the ‎city and fortified them, that the kings of Canaan might not come to fight against them. And the ‎king with his armies approached the gates of the city and behold, all the gates were closed…

Sefer HaYashar (midrash), Book of Exodus 30

The Lifeblood of Cities

HALAKHAH

The world endures through the education and breath of schoolchildren, making it critical to appoint teachers in every city. The 16th-century Shulchan Arukh by Rabbi Joseph Karo emphasizes the communal responsibility to ensure children receive proper education.

They establish teachers of children in every city. And any city that does not have a teacher of children, they excommunicate the people of the city until they establish a teacher of children. And if they did not establish [one], they destroy the city, for the world only exists because of the breath of the mouths of children in the schoolhouse. And see Choshen Mishpat Siman 163, Se'if 3.

Shulchan Arukh, Yoreh De'ah 245:7

The Kabbalistic Hub of Safed

KABBALAH

Safed played a unique and unparalleled role in the study and dissemination of Kabbalah, influencing Jewish liturgical practices worldwide. In the 16th century, Safed became a major center for Kabbalistic study, with influential figures like Isaac Luria contributing to its legacy.

Kabbalah was an integral part of the Safed ethos, and the town became a center for the study and dissemination of Kabbalah without parallel in history. The number of Kabbalists who were concentrated in Safed was relatively sizable. But beyond their actual numbers, they were able to decisively influence the community at large in unprecedented ways. Several liturgical innovations, such as the preliminary service on the eve of the Sabbath (kabbalat shabbat) and the midnight penitential service (tikkun ḥaẓẓot) emanated from these circles and were accepted by Jews throughout the world…

Ohr Ne'erav, Introduction 32

The Duality of Jerusalem

TARGUM

Jerusalem is not just a physical city but also a spiritual entity that exists both in the heavens and on earth. The Aramaic Targum to Psalms 122:3 offers a mystical interpretation of Jerusalem, emphasizing its dual existence and profound significance in Jewish faith.

Jerusalem that is built in the firmament is like the city that is joined with it as one on earth.

Aramaic Targum to Psalms 122:3

The Wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah

MIDRASH

The inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah were so morally corrupt that they held annual gatherings for debauched feasts and collectively robbed passing strangers. Louis Ginzberg’s early 20th-century compilation, Legends of the Jews, offers a vivid narrative of the extreme wickedness of these cities, emphasizing moral lessons and divine justice.

The inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah and the three other cities of the plain were sinful and godless. In their country there was an extensive vale, where they foregathered annually with their wives and their children and all belonging to them, to celebrate a feast lasting several days and consisting of the most revolting orgies. If a stranger merchant passed through their territory, he was besieged by them all, big and little alike, and robbed of whatever he possessed. Each one appropriated a bagatelle, until the traveller was stripped bare…

Legends of the Jews 1:5:146

Jonah's Mission to Nineveh

JEWISH THOUGHT

Jonah's transformation and his direct prophetic message to Nineveh highlight the power of sincere atonement and change. The Book of Jonah, traditionally read on Yom Kippur, emphasizes themes of repentance and divine mercy, central to the High Holy Days.

Jonah translated the compassion he received into a commitment to fulfill his mission. The fish transported him to Nineveh, and he surfaced on dry land ostensibly a new man, dedicated to God’s word. Doré’s only other depiction of Jonah is in Nineveh itself. The prophet’s arms are outstretched, and the look of woe on his face communicates to those seated all around him that life is soon to be dramatically altered. His pronouncement is not long and flowing, as in the words of prophets like Ezekiel or Isaiah. It is short and to the point: “Forty days more and Nineveh shall be overturned” (3:4)…

Return; Daily Inspiration for the Days of Awe, Day Five; Compassion 15

Communal Responsibilities in Jewish Law

GUIDES

The communal obligations and responsibilities of city residents are essential for understanding the balance between individual and collective needs in Jewish law. Adin Steinsaltz, in his commentary on the Babylonian Talmud, Bava Batra, explores the communal funding for public benefits and the exemption of Torah scholars from protection-related expenses.

Just as neighbors can compel each other to build a wall, so too, the residents of a courtyard or a city can compel each other to build whatever is necessary for their protection. Mention is therefore made in this chapter of various ordinances with regard to communal obligations that are cast upon all the residents of a city, such as charity and municipal improvements. The Gemara determined that responsibility for funding whatever brings benefit to all of the city's residents is imposed upon all of them, including minor orphans…

Introductions to the Babylonian Talmud, Bava Batra, Summary of Perek I 4

Extending City Boundaries for Shabbat

MISHNAH

The method of extending city boundaries ensures accurate measurement of the Shabbat limit, allowing for greater movement within the city on Shabbat. The Mishnah, a foundational Jewish legal text from the early third century, discusses how to include all city protrusions by rendering the city like a square tablet to gain the corners.

How does one extend the boundaries of cities in order to ensure that all its protrusions are included within the borders of the city? He extends a straight line across the edge of the city, and if a house is recessed and another house protrudes, or a turret [pagum] is recessed and another turret protrudes from that line, and similarly, if there were remnants of walls ten handbreadths high, and bridges and monuments over graves in which there is a residence…

Mishnah Eruvin 5:1

The Grace of a Place

TALMUD

People often have an inherent fondness for their hometowns, even if the place has significant flaws. The Gemara in tractate Sotah discusses this phenomenon through the story of Elisha and a city with bad water and land that causes miscarriages.

The Gemara returns to discussing the incident involving Elisha: “And the men of the city said to Elisha: Behold, please, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees, but the water is bad and the land miscarries” (II Kings 2:19). The Gemara asks: But if the water is bad and the land causes women to miscarry, what is pleasant about it? Rabbi Ḥanin says: The grace of a place is upon its inhabitants, i.e., people are fond of their hometown despite its shortcomings. Rabbi Yoḥanan says: There are three graces that have a similar impact: The grace of a place…

Sotah 47a:4

The Rights to Public Pathways

TALMUD

The inviolability of public thoroughfares ensures that established routes remain accessible to all, reflecting the importance of communal rights. The Gemara in Bava Batra discusses the legal principles surrounding public access to alleyways, emphasizing that once a path is established as a public thoroughfare, it cannot be obstructed.

Rabba bar bar Ḥana says that Rabbi Yoḥanan says: With regard to alleyways that are open to another city, and through which one would ordinarily travel to reach that other city, if the residents of the city in which the alleyways are located wished to block them off, the residents of the city into which the alleyways open can prevent them from doing so, because they have a right to reach their city via those routes. The Gemara explains: It is not necessary to state that they can prevent them from blocking the alleyways when there…

Bava Batra 12a:3-4

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