Rodeif- Rape and Murder

There is a Pasuk in כי תצא that needs some interpretation as to what it means. While discussing the subject of rape, the wording is: כי כאשר יקום איש על רעהו ורצחו נפש כן הדבר הזה. The translation would be, "Just as in a case where one gets up and murders his friend, so it is the same in this matter."

This is a perfect example of a need for the Oral Law to make sense as to what it is saying.

The explanation of the Rabbis is that this Pasuk is referring to the דין רודף. When it says that it is the same in this matter, rape, as in the matter of murder, the Torah is telling us that we have the same permission to do anything possible to stop a rape as we are expected to do to stop a murder. That is, even if we have no choice but to kill the atracker in each case, we are allowed and even commanded to do so.

When carefully studying the Torah, we see many questions that our rabbis have dealt with and explained.