NUM410 Anyone found guilty of unintentional manslaughter is sent by the court to a refuge city; the killer, too, as a mitzvah to go to such a city. To murder someone is a terribly grave sin, for killing destroys the world. Our Sages teach that if someone intentionally kills another, he will not escape judgment--even if he had fulfilled all of the mitzvos. Therefore, even if someone kills another person unintentionally, since he is the cause of such a terrible mishap, it is fitting that he suffer the torment and misery of exile, for exile is almost as bad as death. Going into exile means leaving one’s homeland, friends and loved ones, and having to dwell all of one’s days among strangers. In addition, the mitzvah contains an element of salvation, for upon reaching the refuge city, the person who killed unintentionally no longer is in danger of being unjustly killed by his victim’s “blood redeemer,” who might seek to avenge his relative’s death. Also, exile has the benefit that the relatives of the victim do not suffer seeing their loved one’s killer on a regular basis. Such would be extremely distressing for them, so the Torah, all of whose ways are pleasant, provides a solution.