The following is a brief summary of some of thoughts said over by R' Frand on the parsha this evening. I have attempted to reproduce these vorts to the best of my ability. Any perceived inconsistency is the result of my efforts to transcribe the shiur and should not be attributed to R' Frand.
R' Frand began by noting that in two consecutive pesukim in Parshas Mishpatim (Shemos 21:12-13) we learn that a person who kills intentionally is killed, while one who kills accidentally is exiled. R' Frand then cited to Parshas Ma'asei (Bamidbar 35:9-29) which discusses in detail the Ir Miklat and that the forty-eight cities where the Levi'im lived were capable of being used as Arei Miklat to house those who were required to be exiled.
But what is the reason that these killers are sent to live with the Levi'im?
R' Frand first answered by quoting the Sefer HaChinuch on Parshas Ma'asei which writes that the Levi'im were good people who would not shun the people who were exiled there. Even if the killer had accidentally killed a friend or relative of the Levi'im he would still be accepted by them, because Shevet Levi lived this kind of life and would not have any enmity towards him.
R' Frand then quoted R' Bukspan who expounded on this in his new sefer (R' Frand cited the source quoted by R' Bukspan but I did not catch it). He stated that the Levi'im were special because they lived selflessly. Their role in the Beis HaMikdash was to attend to the Kohanim and to perform supporting tasks such as unlocking the gates and playing the instruments which accompanied the singing. A person who kills accidentally does so because he is more focused on himself than those around him. Therefore, the killer is sent to live among people who live selflessly and put others first, so that they can have an impact on him.
[BTW - R' Bukspan recently published a new sefer - available here - www.feldheim.com/classics-and-beyond-2].
R' Frand then noted that Thursday was the 25th of Shevat which is the Yahrtzeit of R' Yisrael Salanter, someone who lived a life of mussar, which trains people to put the needs of others ahead of their own.
R' Frand said as an aside that the 25th of Shevat always falls the week of Parshas Mishpatim because this parsha is the parsha of Bein Adam L'Chavero.
R' Frand said that in 1983 R' Ruderman in Ner Israel (which is named for R' Yisrael Salanter) said a shmuz on the Yahrtzeit and R' Frand wanted to tell over some of the stories from the shmuz.
The first story related to R' Yisrael when he was on his deathbed. He was staying in someone else's home and a student who would attend to him. Realizing that he was near death, R' Yisrael said to the boy - you should not fear dead bodies and attempted to comfort him. This was quite amazing given that he was close to death - yet its indicative of a person who lives selflessly and is more concerned about the needs of others.
R' Frand also told a story about R' Chaim Ozer - a man was discussing a gemara with R' Chaim and told him that Rashi said x and Tosafos said Y. R' Chaim told the man that he thought he did not properly recite Tosafos' position, but the man was adamant that he was correct. At that point someone said - lets just get a gemara and see what Tosafos says. R' Chaim told him not to get the gemara, and the argumentative man said - see, its because he knows I am right. Yet when the volunteer later looked up the gemara he saw that R' Chaim was accurate and that the only reason he did not want the gemara to be brought was to not embarrass the man.
The final story involved the Tzchebiner Rav who had been at a wedding which was delayed because the Mesader Kiddushin was late in arriving from another city. The Tzchebiner said to the father of the Chassan - I am really enjoying the wedding, there are so many learned people and I don't often get the chance to sit and talk Torah with them
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