Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ramban · Torah

Ramban on Exodus 21:15/רמב"ן על שמות כ״א:ט״ו

אוּמַכֵּה אָבִיו וְאִמּוֹ מוֹת יוּמָת כְּבָר לָמְדוּ חֲכָמִים שֶׁמִּיתָתוֹ בְּחֶנֶק (סנהדרין פד:), וּלְכָךְ סָמַךְ לוֹ וְגוֹנֵב אִישׁ וּמְכָרוֹ, שֶׁגַּם הוּא בְּאוֹתָהּ מִיתָה, וְהִפְרִישׁ מִמֶּנּוּ וּמְקַלֵּל אָבִיו וְאִמּוֹ, מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהוּא בִּסְקִילָה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר בּוֹ "אָבִיו וְאִמּוֹ קִלֵּל דָּמָיו בּוֹ" (ויקרא כ ט), וְכָל מִי שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר בּוֹ כַּלָּשׁוֹן הַזֶּה הוּא בִּסְקִילָה (סנהדרין סו), נִלְמַד מִמַּה שֶׁכָּתוּב "בָּאֶבֶן יִרְגְּמוּ אֹתָם דְּמֵיהֶם בָּם" (ויקרא כ כז). וְהֶחְמִיר בְּמִיתַת הַמְקַלֵּל יוֹתֵר מִמִּיתַת הַמַּכֶּה, מִפְּנֵי שֶׁחֵטְא הַקְּלָלָה מָצוּי יוֹתֵר, שֶׁהַכְּסִיל כַּאֲשֶׁר יִכְעֹס וְהִתְקַצַּף וְקִלֵּל בְּמַלְכּוֹ וּבְאָבִיו וְאִמּוֹ תָּמִיד כָּל הַיּוֹם, וְהָעֲבֵרָה כְּפִי מְצִיאוּתָהּ תָּמִיד צְרִיכָה יִסּוּר גָּדוֹל. אוֹ מִפְּנֵי שֶׁיֵּשׁ בַּקְּלָלָה חֵטְא גָּדוֹל יוֹתֵר שֶׁהִיא בְּהַזְכָּרַת ה' (שבועות לו.), וְהִנֵּה צָרִיךְ לְהַעֲנִישׁוֹ עַל חֶטְאוֹ בְּאָבִיו וְאִמּוֹ וְעַל אֲשֶׁר נָשָׂא שֵׁם ה' אֱלֹהָיו לְפֶשַׁע וְחֵטְא. וְהַגָּאוֹן רַב סְעַדְיָה אָמַר כִּי הִכְנִיס דְּבַר הַגּוֹנֵב אִישׁ בֵּינֵיהֶן, בַּעֲבוּר כִּי עַל הָרֹב הַנִּגְנָבִים הֵם קְטַנִּים וְיִגְדְּלוּ בְּמָקוֹם אַחֵר וְלֹא יַכִּירוּ אֲבוֹתָם וְיָבֹא שֶׁיַּכּוּם וִיקַלְּלוּם, וְלָכֵן רָאוּי לְהַעֲנִישׁ הַגַּנָּב בְּמִיתָה כָּהֵם, כִּי הָעֹנֶשׁ הוּא עָלָיו:

1AND HE THAT SMITETH HIS FATHER, OR HIS MOTHER, SHALL SURELY BE PUT TO DEATH. Our Sages have already taught¹¹⁰ that his death is by strangulation. This is why He placed next to it, And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him,¹¹¹ for he too is punished by the same death. He separated it from the later verse, And he that curseth his father or his mother,¹¹² because his death is by stoning, as it is said concerning him, he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him,¹¹³ and whenever such an expression [his blood be upon him] is used about someone, his death is by stoning, this being derived from that which is written, They shall stone them with stones; their blood shall be upon them.¹¹⁴, Verse 27. The reason why He was more severe as to the manner of death of the one who curses his mother or father than as to the manner of death of one who smites them,¹¹⁵ is because the sin of cursing is more common, for when the fool gets angry he frets himself and curses by his king¹¹⁶ and father and mother the whole day, and a crime that is frequently committed needs a greater punishment [than one rarely committed]. Or it may be that cursing involves a greater sin, because he uses the Name of G-d,¹¹⁷ and therefore he has to be punished for his sin against his father and mother, and also for taking G-d’s Name in transgression and sin. Now the Gaon Rav Saadia¹¹⁸, Note 229. said, that the reason why He placed the matter of stealing a human being between that of smiting one’s parents and cursing them, is because most people are kidnapped when they are young, and they grow up in a strange place unaware of who their parents are, and thus they may come to smite them or to curse them [not knowing that they are their parents]; therefore it is fitting that the thief too be punished by death as they are, since he is responsible for the punishment that is visited upon the child [who smites or curses either of his parents, and for that reason the verse dealing with the thief’s punishment is mentioned between those dealing with smiting one’s parents and cursing them].