Questions tagged [murder]
The prohibition against murder is the 6th of the Ten Commandments. Murder does not include court executions, defensive wars, or wars commanded by G-d.
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What exactly happens to people who murdered but were not convicted on a technicality? [Murderous Courts vs. Manslaughter]
The title question says it all, here's some background as to why I am asking: I just thought about something and wanted to check with the experts at Mi Yodeya who have learned Makkot or the relevant ...
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Refuting Sanhedrin Maimonides etc on 57a
Following on from my question here:
Clarification on quotation sources around Sanhedrin 57a
All citations (that I can find through Jewish resources linked in the original question) that claim to ...
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Clarification on quotation sources around Sanhedrin 57a
Much like in the case of these questions, I've run into some troublesome reading in Talmudic and other Jewish literature:
Missionary gave me these Talmudic quotes; Does it prove that Goyim are viewed ...
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How to determine a trespasser's intent from a Halachic Perspective?
How do we determine a trespasser's intent from a Halachic Perspective?
The Rambam writes:
If it is clear to the house-owner that the thief who breaks in will not kill him and instead is only ...
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"Praiseworthy is he who will clutch and dash your infants against the rock"?
I do not understand the last lines of psalm 137 ("By the rivers of Babylon"/"Al naharos bovel," the psalm recited before Birkat Ha-Mazon on weekdays. [It includes the famous lines &...
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Please help me understand part of Gemoro Makkos 12b
I do not understand the Gemoro Makkos 12b
The Gemoro deals with the case of a “blood redeemer” (BR) and an “accidental killer” (AK). A tree is on the border of the city of refuge; the trunk in one ...
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Why didn't God kill Cain?
Why didn't God kill Cain for murdering his brother Abel? God punished Er and Onan for wasting seeds, which is seen in Judaism as akin to murder, the nature of Cain's crime was the same and he was ...
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What sin was Hevel killed for? [duplicate]
In Judaism we believe that someone who is murdered is being killed as punishment for his sins. What sin did Hevel commit to deserve to be put to death?
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How do you punish a murderer without witnesses?
Imagine such a case: A woman walks into a girls bathroom with a machine gun, killing someone.
Note: This is not the only case where we cannot punish the criminal. This would apply, in my opinion, to ...
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Why was Herod allowed to renovate the Temple?
Follow-up to this question.
Why was Herod even allowed (/why was it suggested to him) to renovate the Temple, considering that he had so much blood on his hands? It was for this reason that David wasn'...
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The question of euthanasia
How does the law treat euthanasia for palliative patients? Is it ok to ask for it and how would the act be treated (as a murder or ?)
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How was the cow with broken neck disposed of? Deuteronomy 21
About the cow with the broken neck in Deut 21, I can't find out what happened to the cow after the ritual was completed.
Was the cow
given as a gift to the family of the victim, so they could eat it?
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The halachic framework of abortion for the Gentiles
I am an Italian Noahide.
The Noahide ban on murder also includes the killing of a fetus ( see Rambam's Mishneh Torah-Hilchot Melachim 9:4 ).
I have read that according to a Talmudic tradition, I do ...
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Why didn't the Sages also subdue the inclination for murder?
The Talmud, on Sanhedrin 64a recounts how the Sages subdued and imprisoned the evil inclination for idolatry and then subdued and injured the evil inclination for sexual immorality. Those are two of ...
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Why does a murderer have to go to an Ir Miklat? [duplicate]
Someone who murdered by accident has to go to the Ir Miklat. I heard that H'shem's intention on commanding so is to put the murderer in contact with the Leviim and to enable him to be positively ...
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"God told me so" claim in Jewish court [duplicate]
Imagine a person who is otherwise perfectly sane who claims to see a one-time revelation in his sleep/daydream and commits a crime, despite two witnesses warning him.
He understands the magnitude of ...
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Does Genesis 9:6 condemn abortion as murder? [duplicate]
Genesis 9:6 reads (JPS, 1985, emphasis mine):
שֹׁפֵךְ֙ דַּ֣ם הָֽאָדָ֔ם בָּֽאָדָ֖ם דָּמ֣וֹ יִשָּׁפֵ֑ךְ כִּ֚י בְּצֶ֣לֶם אֱלֹהִ֔ים עָשָׂ֖ה אֶת־הָאָדָֽם׃
Whoever sheds the blood of man,
By man shall his ...
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In Gem. Makkos 9a, how can Abaye suggest that a person is unaware of the prohibition to kill?
Gemara Makkos 9a reports:
א״ל אביי אומר מותר אנוס הוא
Abaye said to him: One who says that it is permitted to kill the
victim is a victim of circumstances beyond his control, as he was
unaware of the ...
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Is killing a robber by shooting first considered murder?
Apologies if this has already been answered :
If someone comes up to you on the street waving a gun and demanding your money and you immediately draw your concealed weapon and shoot and kill them, is ...
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Why did Pharaoh only order the murder of boys?
In parashat shemote, Pharaoh explicitly commands the midwives to allow the females to live (וְאִם-בַּת הִוא וָחָיָה). What are the traditional commentaries explaining the order to allow the girls to ...
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Handing over a murderer to the Goel Hadam?
וְשָׁלְחוּ זִקְנֵי עִירוֹ וְלָקְחוּ אֹתוֹ מִשָּׁם וְנָתְנוּ אֹתוֹ בְּיַד גֹּאֵל הַדָּם וָמֵת.
The elders of his city must take him [the intentional murderer] and hand him over to the blood avenger, ...
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Is a rodef liable for defending himself?
If a rodef kills the person trying to kill him, is he chayav misa? Or is it similar to the case of the zealot where if he is killed in self-defense by his victim, the victim is not chayav?
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Is killing a Gentile not murder? [duplicate]
Israel Shahak claims in his Jewish History, Jewish Religion (1994, p.91) that "according to the Jewish religion, ... a Jew who murders a Gentile is guilty only of a sin against the laws of Heaven,...
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Can the Goel Ha'dam (blood avenger) kill the accidental murderer in any way s/he sees fit?
The goel ha'dam has either the right or obligation to kill someone who accidentally killed his/her(?) kinsman (Makkot 2:7) whom I will refer to as the refugee.
I would like to understand what ...
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How could we learn behavior from animals?
The gemarah in Eruvin 100b says that had the Torah not been give we would have learned various behaviors from certain animals, such as modesty from the cat. To me this presupposes that had the Torah ...
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What to do when there are multiple pursuers
We know that if there is one (a rodef) who is actively attacking another person in the hopes of killing him, one is allowed to restrain, maim, or even kill the rodef. However, what happens if there ...
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Does Bamidbar 35:33 contradict the Torah concerning man-slayers?
I don’t speak Hebrew and have only read Bamidbar 35 in English translations. The JPS Tanakh renders verse 33 as ‘You shall not pollute the land in which you live; for blood pollutes the land, and the ...
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Whose blood did Manasseh shed in Jerusalem & why?
I ask this question based on the below verses that indicate that G-d punished Judah because of the sins of Manasseh.
Are there some scriptures / texts where I can find more details?
2 Kings 21:16 ...
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How was Saul a Tzadik if he wiped out Nov?
I've read many commentaries that argue that despite losing the kingdom, Saul is a righteous guy.
But how, after he mass murdered priests (Samuel 1 21-22)? To be more exact, he ordered priests to be ...
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What if the Kohen Gadol accidentally kills someone?
An ordinary person who accidentally kills someone has to go to an Ir Miklat (city of refuge) until the Kohen Gadol dies.
But what if it's the Kohen Gadol himself who accidentally kills? He would ...
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Masada - heroic martyrdom or immoral murder/suicide?
Was the mass coordinated mutual killing at Masada (for lack of a better term) an act of heroic martyrdom or immoral murder and suicide?
While it is unknown for certain what exactly transpired, ...
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What does it mean to "kill a soul"?
The Gemara Berachos (32b) says
אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן: כׇּל כֹּהֵן שֶׁהָרַג אֶת הַנֶּפֶשׁ — לֹא
יִשָּׂא אֶת כַּפָּיו - Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Any Kohen who killed a
nefesh may not lift his hands in ...
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Why did Cain (Kayin) kill Abel (Hevel)?
In Bereshis 4:8 we read:
וַיֹּאמֶר קַיִן, אֶל-הֶבֶל אָחִיו; וַיְהִי בִּהְיוֹתָם בַּשָּׂדֶה, וַיָּקָם קַיִן אֶל-הֶבֶל אָחִיו וַיַּהַרְגֵהוּ
And Cain spoke unto Abel his brother. And it came to pass, ...
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What Happened To King David's Parents?
I read somewhere (I believe it was a midrash) that King David's parents were murdered?
Is this this factual or is it an allegory for some other interpretation, e.g losing their money/status?
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Murder by infectious disease
If someone intentionally infects another with a potentially deadly disease from which the victim ultimately dies, assuming he was forewarned and it was witnessed by valid witnesses, would a Sanhedrin ...
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Kosher Murder Switch?
It is generally accepted that grama (indirect causation) is not permitted in performing a forbidden melacha in non-emergency situations. Similarly, while there may be cases of grama in other halachic ...
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Capital crimes committed by minors
Shalom.
I am uneasy about bringing this up, but you may remember the tragic case of James Bulger, a two year-old boy who was murdered by two ten year-olds in the U.K. in 1993 CE. May James rest in ...
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Is a doctor obligated to force vaccination?
As per the injunction of "לא תעמוד על דם רעך" - "Stand not [idly] over the blood of thine fellow"(Leviticus 19:16), is a Torah-observant doctor obligated to vaccinate an unvaccinated patient for a ...
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Who should perform the abortion
Everyone agrees that an abortion beyond a certain gestational age is forbidden for a Jew 1. However, there's no death penalty for it. This is unlike a non-Jew, who is liable to capital punishment for ...
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Source for story about a murdering son-in-law whose family was swallowed alive
I stumbled upon a really random story in the middle of a sefer on the Azharos of Rav Shlomo ibn Gabirol. The author says he heard it from his father. Since he was discussing the prohibition of murder, ...
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Connection between accidental murderer and Kohen ha'gadol?
Rashi does note that the Kohen ha'gadon should have prayed that there be no accidental murders. But I'm wondering if anyone has heard of a more direct relationship between the life of the murderer and ...
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Can I defend my animals with lethal force?
We know that it is permitted, in self-defense, to kill one who is trying to kill you, and I have heard that this applies to other people too (I see someone trying to kill someone else and I intervene)....
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Is chatas neurim tantamount to murder?
I've heard from the Talmud in Nidah and the Rambam that male masturbation is "tantamount to killing a soul." But the question is, does it have the same legal consequences as murder, like in the times ...
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Yehu punished for Yizre'el?
Hoshea 1:3-5:
"So he went and married Gomer the daughter of Divlayim, and she conceived and bore him a son. HASHEM said to him," Call him Yizre'el; because in only a short time I will punish the ...
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If our leadership do not take disease outbreaks seriously, are they considered responsible for deaths that follow?
As of late, there has been a controversy in various Jewish communities around the world. Certain Rabbis and certain individuals have actively circumvented the preventative measures to help stop the ...
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Does Yehareg v’al Yaavor apply to lo sa’amod?
The Gemara (Sanhedrin 74a) derives that one must give up his life rather than murder someone else because “who says that your blood is redder than his?” That is, who said you have more of a right to ...
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The Trolley Problem: Is it better to kill 1 person or let 5 die?
I was recently reading about the Trolley Problem
A trolley is running out of control down a track. In its path are five people who have been tied to the track by a mad philosopher. Fortunately, you ...
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Can the definition of a "rodef" be applied to any member of a terrorist group?
One is permitted to kill a rodef - someone who is planning to kill you.
What are the parameters of identifying someone as a rodef when he is a member of a terrorist or any other group?
Examples
If ...
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Can the accidental killer of a relative kill himself?
If a person kills his relative unintentionally, can he also be considered a goel hadam (blood avenger) for the victim (since the victim is his relative)? In which case, he should have permission to ...
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"Kanai": What criteria must be met by a defendant charged with murder who claims "kanai" status (halachik answers only please, not hashkafik/musar)
Much has been written about kanaut, and see for example the famous brother and sister Leibowitz, writing separately, but mine is a purely-halachik question: If someone replicates Pinchas's action, ...
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