אמר אביי נקטינן נגמר דינו ומת מוליכין את עצמותיו לשם דכתיב (במדבר לה, לב) לשוב לשבת בארץ עד מות הכהן ואיזהו ישיבה שהיא בארץ הוי אומר זו קבורה תנא מת קודם שמת כ"ג מוליכין עצמותיו על קברי אבותיו דכתיב (במדבר לה, כח) ישוב הרוצח אל ארץ אחוזתו איזהו ישיבה שהיא בארץ אחוזתו הוי אומר זו קבורה
Abaye says, we have a tradition, If one's judgment is finished and then dies [before reaching the city of refuge], we bring his bones there as the Torah says (Numbers 35, 32), "to dwell in the dwelling of the land until the death of the priest". And what type of dwelling is "in" the land? You must say this is [referring to] burial. It was taught, if he dies before the high priest dies, then we bring his bones to his ancestral graves [after the high priest subsequently dies] as the Torah says (Numbers 35,28), "the murderer should return to the land of his possession". What type of dwelling is "in the land of his possession? You must say this is [referring to] burial.
Sefer HaChinukh
From the laws of the commandment is that which they, may their memory be blessed, said (see Mishneh Torah, Laws of Murderer and the Preservation of Life 8:2, 4) [regarding] these six cities that Moshe separated three of them in Transjordan and Yehoshua separated three of them in the Land of Canaan, but the ones of Moshe did not shelter until the three of Yehoshua were separated. And if so, why did Moshe separate them? He said, "[If] a commandment comes to my hand, I will fulfill it." And at the time of the King Messiah, we will add another three, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 19:9), "and you shall further add for yourself three cities upon these three, etc." And they, may their memory be blessed, said (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Murderer and the Preservation of Life 8:10) that all of the cities of the Levites would shelter, as it is stated (Numbers 35:6-7), "and upon them you shall give forty-two cities. All of the cities that you shall give to the Levites, etc." - Scripture compared all of them (the six cities of refuge and the forty-two additional ones). But there is this difference between them - that the cities of refuge shelter, whether knowingly (when the inadvertent killer is seeking refuge there) or not knowingly; whereas the cities of the Levites only shelter knowingly. [Also] a murderer that lives in a city of refuge does not [pay] rent; whereas in the other cities, he [pays] rent. And [also that which] they, may their memory be blessed, said (Bava Batra 100b) that the width of the path [to the] city of refuge is thirty-two ells; and that on the fifteenth of Adar, the court would send agents to fix the paths - and if they were negligent in the matter, it is as if they spilled blood. And [also that which] they, may their memory be blessed, said (Makkot 11b) that the perimeter of any city that shelters, [also] shelters. And the rest of the details of the commandment are in Sanhedrin, in Makkot, in Shekalim and in Sotah.
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