In discussing the best interpretation for עין תחת עין, three sources were suggested that might guide us (as lawmakers) if we wanted to figure out how to punish someone for damaging another person (as well as in other areas of life!).
These emerge from the following two פסוקים.
לא־תקם ולא־תטר את־בני עמך ואהבת לרעך כמוך אני יהוה
You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against your countrymen. Love your fellow as yourself: I am the LORD.
לא־תלך רכיל בעמיך לא תעמד על־דם רעך אני יהוה
Do not deal basely with your countrymen. Do not profit by the blood of your fellow: I am the LORD.
For the purposes of this project, we will focus on the first two ideas in the first פסוק, and come back another time to the קל וחומר argument that could emerge from the third.
We’ll ask:
1) What are some of the halakhic ramifications of these big ideas? How do we actually enact them in practical situations?
2) What are some of the meta-halakhic ramifications of these big ideas? How might we apply them as lawmakers who want to create a justice system that is true to the values of the Torah?
3) Do these guiding principles apply to criminals, and if so, how? (This question emerged from our discussion of the verses above).
Here’s how we will go about answering the first question:
1) Locate the פסוק on Sefaria. Using the “connections” feature, find at least three sources that speak to the halakhic ramifications of the section of the פסוק that you have been assigned. These might be mefarshim, pieces from the Gemara, halakhic works, etc. You can use public source sheets as a resource as well.
2) Explore other online resources. You can use Google to cast a wide net for possible results, or begin with Torah websites that you already know (I’ll be posting a list of sites that I like to Haiku). Find at least three more sources that deal with the halakhic ramifications of the idea you are researching.
3) Collect these sources into a Sefaria source sheet. (we’ll be talking in class about how to do that).
As a class, we’ll explore what you find, and then move into the next stage of discussing questions #2 and #3!