Welcome to the short, practical Lelamed Weekly Dvar and Daily Aliyah. As always, you can Order The Daily Aliyah <https://mosaicapress.com/product/the-daily-aliyah/> and receive your hard copy of these daily practical and relevant Torah thoughts (all proceeds go to Daily Giving), or join this Whatsapp group <https://chat.whatsapp.com/G35Ne4mpYsm3RLPDPnPSKC> to receive one per day. I hope you find this meaningful... _______________________________________________ Among the many topics discussed in Parashas Shoftim is the concept of cities of refuge for those who inadvertently killed another. The Torah says that these cities are a way to avoid spilling the innocent blood of the accidental perpetrator (18:10) by the original victim’s avenging family. However, if the Torah was concerned about avoiding innocent blood being spilled, shouldn’t the initial accidental death be addressed and avoided? Why is the Torah seemingly only concerned with the accidental killer’s fate? Rabbi David Fohrman explains that while accidents happen, how we react to mishaps is more important—as it’s something we can control rather than something that controls us. While the accidental killer didn’t do enough to safeguard the friend he killed, our society provides that protection to him as a form of kindness as well as justice. This helps us in so many ways: it helps the killer learn what it means to be protective of others, it builds a society focused on safeguarding those who need it, and it increases the overall mindfulness of others. Shlomo Ressler _____________________________________________ Quotation of the week: "We can’t help everyone, but everyone can help someone." — Ronald Reagan