“If everyone lived by ‘an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,’ the world would be blind and toothless.” –Tevye, Fiddler on the Roof
(כד) עַ֚יִן תַּ֣חַת עַ֔יִן שֵׁ֖ן תַּ֣חַת שֵׁ֑ן יָ֚ד תַּ֣חַת יָ֔ד רֶ֖גֶל תַּ֥חַת רָֽגֶל׃
(24) eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
(א) הַחוֹבֵל בַּחֲבֵרוֹ חַיָּב עָלָיו מִשּׁוּם חֲמִשָּׁה דְבָרִים, בְּנֶזֶק, בְּצַעַר, בְּרִפּוּי, בְּשֶׁבֶת, וּבְבֹשֶׁת.
(1) He who wounds his fellow is liable to compensate him on five counts: for injury, for pain, for healing, for loss of income and for indignity.
Questions for Discussion
1) How are these five counts of compensation different than what the Torah text says?
2) Why do you think the Rabbis might have interpreted the Torah this way instead of in a more literal, vengeful, and violent way?
3) Which of the five counts makes the most sense to you or is the most important? Or are they all equally important?
4) The first four counts are more measurable in some sense than the last one, indignity or shame. Why do you think that the Rabbis included that as something that one must compensate another for if they have hurt them?
5) What are some examples of causing another indignity or shame? How might we compensate someone for that?
6) Tok'chah is the act of offering constructive criticism without shaming. It is meant to lift someone up and make them stronger. (In Hebrew we see the same root that we find in the word ko'ach, or strength.) It is something that must not be done in public or in a way that causes indignity. How can we offer tok'chah instead of indignity, for which we must compensate someone?