Makkot

Masechet Makkot has 3 chapters and 23 pages. The first chapter of the tractate deals with the laws of false witnesses (edim zomemim); the second chapter deals with the laws of unintentional murderers and cities of refuge; the third deals with the laws of lashes (malkot).

Conclusion of the Tractate

In the Mishnah at the end of the tractate it states: Rabbi Chananya ben Akashya says, "The Holy One, Blessed be He, wanted to confer merit upon Israel; therefore He gave them Torah and mitzvot in abundance." The Rebbe explains that this emphasizes the superiority of Israel that transcends the Torah, for even before Moses received the Torah at Sinai, there already existed the concept that "all Israel have a share in the World to Come" because they are "a shoot of My planting, the work of My hands, in which to take pride." And the fact that "Moses received the Torah from Sinai and transmitted it," etc., is for the sake of (primarily) Israel - "The Holy One, Blessed be He, wanted to confer merit upon Israel; therefore He gave them Torah and mitzvot in abundance."

The Rebbe's Explanations

• 8a. Rashi's comment beginning with "Now also." Likkutei Sichos Vol. 15, p. 40 (p. 53)
• 11b. "It is a mitzvah for the blood redeemer." Likkutei Sichos Vol. 24, p. 111 (p. 127)
• 13b. "Those liable to death penalties by the court... if they did teshuvah, the earthly court does not forgive them." Likkutei Sichos Vol. 9, p. 106 (p. 134)
• Chapter 2, Halachah 6. Shaarei Geulah V'Yemot HaMashiach, p. 206 (p. 190)