Chapter 2, Mishna 7 Spiritual Cause and Effect By Rabbi Dovid
Rosenfeld "He [Hillel] further saw a skull floating on the
water. He said to it: 'Because you drowned you were drowned, and
in the end those who drowned you will be drowned.'" Hillel was
the author of the previous two mishnas, as well as 1:12-14. The
basic theme of this mishna is that justice is always meted out
to evildoers. Hillel saw a skull -- severed from a body,
implying the victim had met a violent death (R. S. R. Hirsch) --
and immediately saw beyond it to the vicious cycle of violence
and death which brought such tragedy into existence. The Mishna
states, "With the measuring stick that a person measures he is
measured himself" (Sotah 1:7). A person who is involved in
violence and murder is likely to become a victim himself. He who
lives by the sword dies by the sword. There are, however, some
obvious difficulties with such a principle. As we all know,
innocent people are victims of homicides -- tragically, almost
routinely. Conversely, mur