וכי יכה איש את עבדו או את אמתו בשבט ומת תחת ידו נקם ינקם
The Torah addresses a very sad situation in which a Jewish master strikes his non-Jewish slave with such force that he kills him. The master is liable for the death penalty; Nakeim yinakeim, “He shall surely be avenged.” It is sad for a number of reasons. First, a Jew is to be executed for a violent act of murder. Second, is the fact that we can have among us a person of such low character that he can kill another human being – for whatever reason. This pasuk obviously does not apply to the normal ben Torah, observant Jew, whose…