Hot answers tagged capital-punishment
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Rabbi Chaim Clorfene writes in his popular (and heavily annotated) book, The Path of the Righteous Gentile (p. 42), that B'nei Noach should learn parts of the Torah relevant to their service of God, as well as to the Torah's view on God. He adds that this can be broadly applied, as many areas of Torah "can bring one to greater knowledge concerning the ...
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About your second question, defending himself by killing his executioners: Mishneh Lemelech (Hil. Rotze'ach Ushemiras Nefesh 1:15) implies that no. He says that in cases where extrajudicial killing is permitted (e.g., a goel hadam pursuing a murderer, or a zealot attempting to kill a Jew consorting with a gentile woman), then the intended victim may indeed ...
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As stated above, the death penalty was exceedingly rare.
Just regarding the burning part, fascinatingly the Talmud says that to burn someone at the stake is a violation of "love your fellow like yourself." Instead, a death sentence of "burning" is carried out by pouring molten lead down their throat. Still not fun, but it's seen as I believe less painful ...
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To answer your more specific question: no, a Gentile who studies Torah in a forbidden way is still not stoned. The Rambam rules (Milchamot 10:9 and English)
ואם עסק בתורה, או שבת, או חידש דבר--מכין אותו ועונשין אותו, ומודיעין אותו שהוא חייב מיתה על זה; אבל אינו נהרג.
If a gentile studies the Torah, makes a Sabbath, or creates a religious practice, ...
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Sanhedrin 43a:
אמר רב חסדא היוצא ליהרג משקין אותו קורט של לבונה בכוס של יין כדי שתטרף דעתו שנאמר (משלי לא) תנו שכר לאובד ויין למרי נפש
Said Rav Chisda: One being taken out to be executed, we give him a drink of a dose of frankincense dissolved in a cup of wine, to discombobulate his mind. As the verse (Proverbs 31) says, "give strong drink to one ...
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The Gemara says that a non-Jew is liable to death for stealing less than a penny. "אמר רבי חייא בר אבא אמר רבי יוחנן בן נח נהרג על פחות משוה פרוטה ולא ניתן להשבון"
The Rambam agrees.
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Yes, he's liable. Here's one reason why.
Everyone agrees that a third-party rodef ("pursuer") is not subject to kim lei bideraba minei (apply the greater punishment), as the rodef is not "liable to the death penalty." Rather, we do whatever is necessary to save the "pursued", with lethal force authorized only if needed. The bystander who shoots in the heart ...
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Judicial execution is not the same as murder. The same torah that says "do not murder" also calls for the death penalty for certain transgressions, so there must be a difference.
Tractate Sanhedrin discusses capital punishment in a fair bit of detail. There are strict rules, but nonetheless a death sentence is possible and does not violate lo tirtzach.
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Bamidbar 27:3, quoting Tz'lofchad's daughters, who were seeking land in Israel:
אָבִינוּ מֵת בַּמִּדְבָּר וְהוּא לֹא הָיָה בְּתוֹךְ הָעֵדָה הַנּוֹעָדִים עַל ה׳ בַּעֲדַת קֹרַח כִּי בְחֶטְאוֹ מֵת…
Our father died in the desert; he was not among the group who met against God in the group of Korach, but died for his own sin…
The Sifre (ad loc.) ...
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Rambam, Sanhedrin chapter 19 lists "every thou-shalt-not that has kares and has no death by court and for which one gets lashes" (twenty-one of them, including eating chametz on Pesach).
He then lists eighteen sins for which people are "liable to death at the hands of God", implication being that they don't have kares, such as a non-kohen who ate t'ruma.
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No.
The most severe sins warrant the death penalty at the hands of a Sanhedrin if properly warned etc., such as murder and violating shabbos. I believe a subset of those can warrant Karet if done intentionally but unwitnessed.
The next category warrant Karet as a maximum, such as violating Yom Kippur or relations with one's sister. A Sanhedrin could give ...
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The Mishneh Torah, in Hilkhot Melakhim u-Milchamot 10:6-7[4-5], says:
ו [ד] בן נוח שבירך את השם, או שעבד עבודה זרה, או שבא על אשת חברו, או שהרג חברו, ונתגייר--פטור. הרג בן ישראל, או שבא על אשת ישראל, ונתגייר--חייב; והורגין אותו על בן ישראל, וחונקין אותו על אשת ישראל שבעל--שהרי נשתנה דינו.
ז [ה] כבר ביארנו שכל מיתת בני נוח בסיף--אלא אם כן בעל אשת ...
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Because of the length, I am including this as a separate answer:
As far as a death penalty for studying forbidden topics, the Lechem Mishneh commentary on the Rambam writes that there is no actual death penalty in this case, whether judicial or divine. He writes that it is a non-literal, rabbinic "death penalty" (Hil. Melachim, 10:9; see ad loc where he ...
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The Gemara in Sanhedrin 7a says that Aaron's intention was noble. He saw that the Yidden had stoned Chur to death and realised if he opposed them he would meet the same end. By killing Aaron the Jews would commit an unparalleled crime, of Killing a Kohein Venovi. Just take a look at the retribution God exacted for the killing of Zecharyah, a Coheon Venovi. ...
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First, to clarify, people are not executed completely naked (as noted by HodofHod).
There are two concerns involved here: 1.) Desiring a particular woman, which may lead to promiscuous behavior. 2.) Gazing at a woman with intent to derive pleasure.
In this scenario, concern #1 does not apply because she is being executed. Concern #2 could theoretically be ...
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The Maharsha answers that first they stoned him a little then they put a little wick in his mouth again not to the extent of death, they choked him almost until death and finally they chopped off his head killing him, thereby getting a bit of all the Deaths of Beis Din.
The Shevus Yackov has a more an interesting answer. He claims is that Billam with his ...
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Agreed that a person found guilty should accept their sentence; here's a different source.
There are several different Midrashic explanations to Deuteronomy 25:11-12, involving a woman trying to save her husband. Several say the phrase to save her husband from his fellow excludes either saving him from an agent of the courts (carrying out the death ...
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There is such a thing as asking the Kohen Gadol, via the Urim VeTumim, to solve tricky questions, but not questions of contention that would otherwise require a Beith Din, just more guidance questions. Still, though, I think the point is to show not only how important Shalom Bayith is, but how incredibly difficult it is to maintain, and how a lack of trust ...
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Sifri (Devarim 280) understands this last clause to be stating an exception to the rule about vicarious punishment: "Fathers [or, per Gra's note: adults] die for their own sins, but sons [Gra: minors] may die for their parents' sins," G-d forbid. (See also Shabbos 32b, which lists several sins that may bear such consequences.)
So the plural form fits with ...
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In the ancient Near East, gods were worshiped at their altars. This is where each god was thought to live - its altar. A very common decoration under the god was a gold bull or calf.
Although we wanted to worship an idol and were creating the calf to that end, Aaron had a different idea in mind. He wanted to create a throne for G-d. He said, "אֵלֶּה ...
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We find in Sanhedrin 14a that the government ruled that any one who gives or receives Semicha will be put to death.. Yehudah Ben Bava gave Semicha to 5 students between two cities.. when the Goyim found out, Yehudah Ben Bava told his students: Run
The famous story of Rashbi who ran away in a cave for 12-13 years because the secular courts wanted to kill ...
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This is an interesting question but conceptually should apply outside of non-Jewish courts. If chazal say that death atones and a person has done something for which a Jewish court would conceivably mete out the death sentence (like, in your example, murder) then shouldn't a person seek the atonement if not by a Jewish court then by other means? He could ...
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Aside from all the answers provided above, I would like to point out that one's devotion to any cause can best be demonstrated by following the dictates of the cause.
I will give two practical examples:
When my kids want to "help", I always tell them that if they truly want to help, they need to do something that is actually helpful. This means that ...
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It should be noted that even if you had violated a law subject to the death penalty, and I don't think you have, the death penalty can only be ordered by the Great Sanhedrin -- which doesn't presently exist -- when sitting and hearing cases in the Chamber of Hewn Stone in the Holy Temple -- which also doesn't presently exist. Moreover, the Sanhedrin itself ...
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A non-Jew is permitted to observe mitzvos, with the two expeptions of Shabbos and studying Torah, as is explained in Rambam (Hilchos Melachim uMilchamot Chapter 10):
We should not prevent a gentile who desires to perform one of the Torah's mitzvot in order to receive reward from doing so, provided he performs it as required. If he brings an animal to be ...
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