Babylonian Talmud

Rodkinson 1918 — source 15, scan section 61

the intention to violate the law, but to make a safeguard for it. TRACT SANHEDRTN (SUPREME COUNCIL). 141 So it happened with one who rode on a horse on Sabbath, at the time Palestine was under the Greeks, and this man was brought before the court, and stoned, not because he deserved such a punishment, but because it was a necessity of that time, to warn others. And it also happened that one had connection with his wife under a fig tree, and he also was brought to the court, and was punished with stripes, not because he deserved such a punishment, but because of the necessity of that time. MISHNA VI. : How was one hanged? The beam was put in the earth, and it was fastened at the top, and he tied the hands of the culprit one upon the other, and hung him up. R. Jose said : The beam was not put in the earth, but the top of it was supported by the wall, and he hung him up as the butchers do, and he took him ofif immediately. And should he leave him over night, he transgressed a negative commandment, as it reads [Deut. xxi. 23] : " Thou shalt not leave his corpse on the tree over night, but thou shalt surely bury him on that day (for he that is hanged) is a dishonor of God," etc. How so? "Why is this man hanged? " " He is a blasphemer." Hence the name of Heaven is violated. [Said R. Mair: When a man is in trou- ble, in what language does the Shekinah lament over him? Qalleni meiraushi, qalleni miz'raay.* Now, if the Omnipo- tent grieves over the blood of the wicked which was shed, so much the more about the blood of the upright !] And not only of him who was executed it was said that he should not remain over night? But even every one who leaves unburied his corpse over night transgresses the negative commandment. However, if he left it over night for the sake of its honor, as for instance to prepare for it a coffin or shroud, he does not trans- gress. The one executed was not buried in the cemetery of his parents, but two cemeteries were prepared by the court, one * We cannot find in the English idiom any equivalent for this. In the German translation of the Mishna (Berlin, 1823) it is translated in accordance with Rashi. *' Wie lasst sich gleichsam die Gottheit bei soicher Gelegenheit aiis? Mein Kopf ist mir zu schwer ! Meine Arme sind mir zu schwer ! " notwithstanding that such is objected to by Rabha in the Gemara farther on, and his explanation is : As one who is in trouble says, " The world is ignominous to me." And all this is taken from the term " qillelath elohim" [Deut. xx. 23], (translated by Leeser " dishonor of God "), which one reads, " qal leth," literally, " not easy," and the other " qollal-eth," liter- ally, "an ignominy" (according to Thosphath and Hananel). And therefore i^ seems to us better to give the original expression of the Mishna, without any explan- ation, leaving the matter to the reader, as we could not omit it, according to our method. 142 THE BABYLONIAN TALMUD. for those who were slain with a sword and choked, and one for those who were stoned and burned. After the flesh of the corpse was consumed, the relatives gathered the bones and buried them in their right place. And the relatives came, and greeted in peace the judges, as well as the witnesses, to show they had nothing in their heart against them, as the judgment was just. The relatives also did not lament for him loudly, but mourned in their heart. GEMARA : The rabbis taught : If the verse read, " If a man committed a sin, he shall be hanged," we would say that he should be hanged until death occurs, as the government does; but it reads, " He shall be put to death and hanged," which means he shall be put to death and thereafter hanged. How was it done? They kept him till near sunset, condemned him, killed him, and then hanged him; one hangs him up, and the other immediately loosens the knot, as his hanging was only to fulfil the commandment. The rabbis taught : It is written, " on a tree," from which ought to be inferred that it makes no difference if the tree was still attached to the ground or not. Therefore is it written, " Thou shalt surely bury him," from which it is to be under- stood that everything should be already prepared for the bury- ing. And if the tree were still attached to the ground, it could not be considered prepared, as the tree was not as yet cut off. R. Jose, however, maintains that this verse excludes also a beam which is put in the ground, as it is not considered prepared., for the tree was not as yet taken out from the ground. But the sages say that the taking out is not to be considered. " Why is he hanged f Because he is a blasphemer." There is a Boraitha : R. Mair used to say : There is a parable. To what can this be compared? To two twin brothers, one of whom was selected for a king and the other became a robber, and was hanged at the command of the king. Now, people who saw him hanged would say that the king was hanged, and therefore the king commanded the corpse to be taken off (i.e., as man was created in the image of God). " And not only for him zvho 7vas executed," etc. R. Johanan in the name of R. Simeon b. Jochi said : Where is to be found an allusion to this in the Torah? In " thou shalt surely bury him." King Sabur questioned R. Hama: Whence do you de- duce from the Torah that one must be buried? And the latter remained silent — without answer. Said R. Aha b. Jacob: The TRACT SANHEDRIN (SUPREME COUNCIL). 143 world is transferred into the hands of fools. Why did he not answer from the above-cited verse? Because the above is to be explained that it means a coffin and shroud are to be pre- pared for him. But let him say : Because all the upright were buried. This is only a custom, and not a command of the Torah. And why not say: Because the Holy One, blessed be He, buried Moses? It may be said that this also was not to change the custom. Come and hear [I Kings, xiv. 13] : " And all Israel shall mourn for him, and bury him." This, also, was not to change the custom. But is it not written [Jer. xvi. 4] : "They shall not be lamented for; nor shall they be buried"? Them Jeremiah cautioned, that with them should be a change of custom. The schoolmen propounded a question : Is the burying be- cause the corpse shall become disgraced if not buried, or is it because of atonement? And what is the difiference? If one says, " I do not wish to be buried," if it is because of the dis- grace, he must not be listened to; but if it is for atonement, he should be listened to, as he says, " I don't want any atonement." Come and hear! " Because all the upright were buried." And if the reason should be for atonement, do, then, the upright need atonement? Yea, as it reads [Eccl. vii. 20]: "For no