An Eye For an Eye: A Model for Empathy - Parashat Shoftim
This week’s Torah portion includes a rule that we often shrink back from: lex talionis - the law of retribution. We read in Parashat Shoftim: ‘נֶ֣פֶשׁ בְּנֶ֗פֶשׁ עַ֤יִן בְּעַ֨יִן֙ שֵׁ֣ן בְּשֵׁ֔ן יָ֥ד בְּיָ֖ד רֶ֥גֶל בְּרָֽגֶל’ - ‘a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot.’ We have already read an almost identical phrase in the Book of Exodus, and again in the Book of Leviticus. You get back what you gave. You get back what you deserve. We are not alone - you’ll pardon the pun - in side-eyeing that idea. The Talmud records a long back-and-forth about this law. Do we actually owe an eye for an eye - as is the pshat , the plain reading of that text? Or is the Torah intending to teach us about monetary compensation? That is: ‘the worth of an eye for an eye; the worth of a tooth for a tooth’. The majority opinion of the Talmud is that the Torah must be describing monetary compensation. If I put out your eye, then the courts need ...