ארבע מיתות בית דין

Both monetary and capital cases have examination and inquiry, as it is written (Leviticus 24:22) "You shall have one justice." What is the difference between monetary cases and capital cases: monetary cases[are tried] with three [judges], and capital cases, with twenty-three. Monetary cases are opened either [with arguments] to acquit or to convict, and capital cases open [with arguments] to acquit but do not open [with arguments] to convict. Monetary cases are decided by one either to acquit or to convict; capital cases are decided by one to acquit or by two to convict. In monetary cases, [the verdict] can change between acquittal and conviction; in capital cases [the verdict] can change to acquittal but cannot change to conviction. In monetary cases, all can rule for acquittal or conviction; in capital cases, all can rule for acquittal but all cannot rule for conviction. In monetary cases, one who convicts can acquit and one who acquits can convict; in capital cases, one who convicts can acquit, but one who acquits cannot turn and convict. Monetary cases can be tried in the day and can finish in the night; capital cases are tried in the day and must finish in the day. Monetary cases finish on the same day for either acquittal or conviction; capital cases finish on the same day for acquittal and the next day for conviction, therefore there cannot be trials on Friday evening or the evening before a holiday.

How do we press the witnesses in a capital case? We bring them in [to the court's chambers] and press them: "Perhaps what you say [isn't eyewitness testimony] is but your own assessment, or from rumors, or your witnessing an actual witness testify, or your reporting what a trustworthy said. Or perhaps you were unaware that by the end we'd interrogate you, with examination and inquiry. Know that capital cases are not like monetary ones. In monetary cases, [a false witness] can return the money and achieve atonement. But in capital cases, the blood of [the victim [and all his future offspring hang upon you until the end of time. For thus we find in regard to Cain, who killed his brother, "The bloods of your brother scream out!" (Genesis 4:10) - the verse does not say blood of your brother, but bloods of your brother, because it was his blood and also the blood of his future offspring [screaming out]! [Another explanation of the verse: for his blood was splattered over the trees and rocks [there was more than one pool of blood]. [The judges' speech continues] "It was for this reason that man was first created as one person [Adam], to teach you that anyone who destroys a life is considered by Scripture to have destroyed an entire world; and anyone who saves a life is as if he saved an entire world." And also, to promote peace among the creations, that no man would say to his friend, "My ancestors are greater than yours." And also, so that heretics will not say, "there are many rulers up in Heaven." And also, to express the grandeur of The Holy One [blessed be He]: For a man strikes many coins from the same die, and all the coins are alike. But the King, the King of Kings, The Holy One [blessed be He] strikes every man from the die of the First Man, and yet no man is quite like his friend. Therefore, every person must say, “For my sake ‎the world was created.”‎ [The judges' speech continues:] "Maybe you [the witnesses] will now say, 'What do we need this, and all this anxiety for [let's not come forward even with true testimony]!' But Scripture has already spoken: "If he be a witness - having seen or known - if he does not express it, he shall bear his sin." (Lev. 5:1) Maybe you will now say, 'What do we need this, to be responsible for another man's death?' But Scripture has already spoken: "When the wicked are destroyed there is rejoicing." (Prov. 11:10)"

They would examine [the witnesses] with seven inquiries: "In which week?", "In which year?", "In which month?", "On which day of the month?", "On which day [of the week]?", "At which hour?", and, "In which place?". Rabbi Yose says: "On which day?", "At which hour?", "In which place?", "Do you recognize him?", "Did you warn him?". For one who worships idols: Whom [i.e. which idol] did he worship?", "How did he worship it?".

The more one examines [the witnesses], the more he is praiseworthy. Once, Ben Zakkai examined regarding the stalks of figs. What is the difference between inquiries and examinations? [If in response to] inquiries one [witness] says, "I do not know," their testimony is nullified. [If in response to] examinations one [witness] says, "I do not know," and even if two say, "We do not know," their testimony stands. Both [with respect to] inquiries and examinations, when [the two witnesses' responses] contradict one another, their testimony is nullified.

[If] one [witness] says, "on the second of the month," and one says, "on the third of the month," their testimony stands, since one is aware of the intercalation of the month, and the other is unaware of the intercalation of the month. [If] one says, "on the third" and one says, "on the fifth," their testimony is nullified. [If] one says, "at the second hour," and one says, "at the third hour," their testimony stands. [If] one says, "at the third hour" and one says, "at the fifth hour," their testimony is nullified. Rabbi Yehudah says, it stands. One says, "at the fifth hour" and one says, "at the seventh hour," their testimony is nullified, since at the fifth [hour], the sun is in the east; whereas at the seventh [hour], the sun is in the west.

After, they bring in the second [witness] and examine him. If it is found that their words are aligned, they open with [arguments for] acquittal. If one of the witnesses says, "I have something to say on acquittal," or one of the students says, "I have something to say on conviction," they silence him. If one of the students says, "I have something to say on acquittal," they raise him up and seat him among them; and he would not descend from there the whole day. If his words have substance, they listen to him. And even if [the accused] says, "I have something to say on my own acquittal," they listen to him, but only if his words have substance.

If they found him innocent, they dismiss him. If not, they move his judgment to the next day. They would go together, pair by pair; and they would decrease [the amount of] food [they would eat]; and they would drink no wine all day; and they would deliberate all night; and on the morrow, early, they would rise and come to the court. The [judge arguing] to acquit says, "I [argued to] acquit and my [opinion remains] in place"; and the [judge arguing] to convict says, "I [argued to] convict and my [opinion remains] in place." One who has offered an argument to convict may [subsequently] offer an argument to acquit, but one who has offered an argument to acquit may not retract [and subsequently] offer an argument to convict. If they had erred, the two judicial scribes remind them. If they found him innocent, they dismiss him. If not, they stand to vote. [If] twelve acquit and eleven convict, he is acquitted. If twelve convict and eleven acquit; and even if eleven acquit, eleven convict, and one says, "I do not know"; or even if twenty-two acquit or convict and one says "I do not know," they add [more] judges. How many do they add? [They add judges] two at a time until there are seventy-one. [If] thirty-six acquit and thirty-five convict, he is acquitted. [If] thirty-six convict and thirty-five acquit, the judges argue one against another until one [judge] from those who voted to convict is convinced by the words of those who voted to acquit.

Once the verdict is reached, they bring him out to stone him. The stoning area was outside the courthouse, as it says, (Leviticus 24:14) "Bring out he who has cursed." One would stand before the entrance to the courthouse, his scarf in his hand; and another would ride on a horse before them at a distance, in order to see him. [If] one says, "I have an argument for acquittal," then he waves the scarf, and the horse runs to stop him. And even if [the accused] says, "I have an argument for my [own] acquittal," then he is returned; and this may happen even four or five times, so long as there is substance to his words. If he is acquitted, he is dismissed; and if not, he is brought out to be stoned. And an announcer comes out before him and announces, "So-and-so son of so-and-so is being brought out to be stoned for having committed such-and-such transgression, and so-and-so and so-and-so are his witnesses. Anyone who has any knowledge as to his innocence should come and argue for him."

[Once the accused] was about ten cubit from the stoning area, they say to him, "Confess," for such is the way of those sentenced to death to confess, for all who confess have a share in the World to Come. For thus we find with respect to Achan, to whom Joshua said, (Joshua 7:19) "'My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the L-RD, the God of Israel, and make confession unto Him.'... And Achan answered Joshua, and said: 'Of a truth I have sinned against the L-RD, the God of Israel.'" And from where [do we know] that his confession atoned for him? As it says, (Joshua 7:25), "And Joshua said: 'Why hast thou troubled us? the Lord shall trouble thee this day,'" today you are troubled, but you are not troubled in the World to Come. And if he does not know how to confess, they say to him: "Say, 'May my death serve as an atonement for all my iniquities.'" Rabbi Yehudah says, if he knows he was [convicted by] false testimony, he says, "May my death serve as an atonement for all my iniquities, excepting this iniquity." [The Sages] said to him, if so, all [sentenced to death] will say this in order to cleanse themselves [i.e. clear their name].

[Once] he was four cubits from the stoning area, they remove his clothing. [If it is] a man, his front is covered; [if it is] a woman, her front and her back are covered, according to Rabbi Yehudah. But the Sages say, a man is stoned naked, but a woman is not stoned naked.

The stoning area's height was that of two men. One of the witnesses pushes him on his loins. If he is turned on his heart, they turn him [over,] on his loins. If he dies from this, [the court] has discharged [its obligation]. If not, the second [witness] picks up the stone and puts it on his heart. If he dies from this, [the court] has discharged [its obligation]. If not, he is pelted with stones by all of Israel, as it says, (Deuteronomy 17:7) "The hand of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people." All who are stoned are hanged, according to Rabbi Eliezer. But the Sages say, the only [offenders] who are hanged are the blasphemer and the idolator. A man is hanged with his face toward the people, and a woman with her face toward the gallows, according to Rabbi Eliezer. But the Sages say, a man is hanged, but a woman is not hanged. Rabbi Eliezer said to them, Did Shimon ben Shetach not hang women in Ashkelon? They said to him, he hanged eighty women, and we do not [even] judge two [capital cases] in one day! How do they hang him? They sink the beam into the ground, and [a piece of] wood protrudes from it, and one places his hands together, and hangs him. Rabbi Yose says, the beam leans on a wall, and they hang him the way that butchers do. And then they undo him [from the gallows] immediately. If he stayed there overnight, [the court] violates a negative commandment on his account, as it says, (Deuteronomy 21:23), "His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt surely bury him the same day; for he that is hanged is a reproach unto God...." That is to say: why has he been hanged? Because he 'blessed' [i.e. cursed] God, and God's name has become desecrated.

The Gemara asks: Even if the witnesses retracted their testimony, what of it? It is still clear that the condemned man is to be executed, as the halakha is that once a witness has stated his testimony, he may not then state a revision of that testimony. In other words, a witness’s retraction of his testimony has no validity. The Gemara answers: No, it is necessary to state that the condemned man is executed even when the witnesses retracted their testimony and gave an explanation for having lied in their initial statement. This is like that incident involving Ba’aya the tax collector, where it was discovered that witnesses had falsely accused the son of Rabbi Shimon ben Shataḥ in revenge for the son’s having sentenced to death for sorcery the witnesses’ relatives.

Said Rabbi Meir, when a human being is in distress, what expression does the Divine Presence use, as it were? "My head is in pain, My arm is in pain." If so, the Omnipresent feels distress over the blood of the wicked that is spilled; how much more so [does He] over the blood of the righteous. And furthermore, anyone who leaves a dead body hanging overnight transgresses a negative commandment. But if one leaves a body hanging overnight for the sake of its honor, to bring it a coffin or shroud, he does not transgress [a negative commandment]. And such a body [i.e. that of one stoned to death] would not be buried in the grave of his ancestors. Rather, two grave-sites were set for the courthouse, one for those put to death by decapitation and strangulation, and one for those put to death by stoning and burning.

When the flesh decomposed, they collect the bones and bury them in their proper place. And the relatives come and greet the judges and the witnesses, as if to say, we hold nothing against you, since [we know that] your verdict was just. And they would not [observe rituals of] mourn[ing], but they would grieve, since grief is only in the heart.

Four [forms] of capital punishment were given over to the courts: stoning, burning, decapitation, and strangulation. Rabbi Shimon says, burning, stoning, strangulation, and decapitation. This is the law [i.e. procedure] concerning those to be stoned.

The law [i.e. procedure] concerning those to be burned [is as follows]: They would set him into manure up to his knees, and put a stiff scarf inside a soft one, and wrap it around his neck. One would pull [one end] towards him and one would pull [the other end] towards him, until he [who was being executed] opened his mouth. Then [one] would light a wick and throw it into his mouth, and it would descend into his bowels and burn his entrails. Rabbi Yehudah says, if he died by their hands [e.g. were he strangled by the cloth], they would not have fulfilled the commandment of [execution by] burning; rather [the procedure should be carried out as follows]: they open his mouth with pincers by force, and light the wick, and throw it into his mouth, and it would descend into his bowels and burn his entrails. Rabbi Eliezer ben Tzadok said, there was once a priest's daughter who committed adultery; they placed bundles of branches around her and burned her. The [Sages] said to him, [this happened] because the court at that time was not expert.

The law [i.e. procedure] concerning those to be decapitated [is as follows]: they would cut off his head with a sword as the government does. Rabbi Yehudah says, this is disgraceful; rather [the procedure should be carried out as follows]: they rest his head on a block and cut it with a hatchet. The [Sages] said to him, there is no death more disgraceful than that. The law [i.e. procedure] concerning those to be strangled [is as follows]: They would set him into manure up to his knees, and put a stiff scarf inside a soft one, and wrap it around his neck. One would pull [one end] towards him and one would pull [the other end] towards him, until his soul departed.

These are [executed by] stoning: [a male] who sleeps with his mother, with the wife of his father, with his daughter-in-law, with a male, [or] with an animal; a woman who causes an animal to sleep with her; the blasphemer; the idolater; one who gives of his children to Molekh [a particular form of idolatry], the ba'al 'ov [necromancer] and yid'oni [soothsayer]; one who desecrates the Sabbath; one who curses his father or mother; one who sleeps with a betrothed maiden; the mesit [one who entices an individual to commit idolatry]; the mediach [one who entices a city to commit idolatry]; the sorcerer; and the wayward and rebellious son. One who sleeps with his mother - [he] is liable [for violating two prohibitions, for the prohibition of sleeping with his] mother and for [the prohibition of sleeping with] his father's wife. Rabbi Yehudah says, he is only liable for [sleeping with] his mother. One who sleeps with his father's wife- [he] is liable for his father's wife and for a married woman, whether [the act occurs] in his father's lifetime or after his father's death, whether [she is his father's wife] through betrothal or through completed marriage. One who sleeps with his daughter-in-law- [he] is liable for his daughter-in-law and for a married woman, whether in his sons's lifetime or after his son's death, whether [she is his son's wife] through betrothal or through completed marriage. One who sleeps with a male or with an animal, or a woman who causes an animal to sleep with her- [even] if a person has sinned, how has the animal sinned [such that it also receives execution by stoning]? Rather, since [the animal] caused a person to commit an offense, Scripture therefore said, [the animal] should be stoned. Another explanation: [the animal is stoned] so that the animal not be passing through the market-place and [lead people to] say, "This is the one that caused so-and-so to be stoned."

And these are [executed by] burning: one who sleeps with with a woman and her daughter, and a priest's daughter who commits adultery. Included in the [prohibition] of "a woman and her daughter" are: his daughter, his daughter's daughter, his son's daughter, his wife's daughter, her daughter's daughter, his mother-in-law, the mother of his mother-in-law, and the mother of his father-in-law. And these are [executed by] decapitation: a murderer and the occupants of a wayward city [a city whose inhabitants are mostly idolatrous Jews]. A murderer who struck his neighbor with stone or iron, or held him down into water or into fire such that he is unable to ascend from there, and [the victim] dies—he is liable. [If he] pushed him into water or into fire such that he is able to ascend from there, and he dies—he is exempt. [If he] set a dog on him or he set a snake on him, he is exempt. [If he] caused the snake to bite him, Rabbi Yehudah maintains he is liable, and the Sages maintain he is exempt. One who strikes his fellow, whether with a stone or with his fist, and they evaluated that the victim will die, and [his condition] improved from what it was, then later it became more severe, and he dies—he is liable. Rabbi Nechemiah says, he is exempt, because there is a basis for the matter [i.e. the claim that his death did not result from the blow].

[If] a murderer became mixed into a [group of] other people, they are all exempt. Rabbi Yehudah says, they bring them into the dome [a jail]. [If] many people mix with one another, [all of whom] are liable for execution, they are [all] executed with the least severe [form of execution]. [If] those who are to be stoned become mixed up with those who are to be burned, Rabbi Shimon says, they are to be stoned, since burning is the more severe. And the Sages say, they are to be burned, since stoning is the more severe. Rabbi Shimon said to them, if burning were not the more severe, it would not be given [as punishment] to a priest's daughter who committed adultery! They said to him, if stoning were not the more severe, it would not be given to to the blasphemer and the idolator! [If] those to be decapitated become mixed with those to be strangled, Rabbi Shimon says, [they are to be executed] with a sword [i.e. decapitated]. And the Sages say, by strangulation.

One who is liable for two [forms of] execution is given the more severe. [If] he commits a transgression which incurs two death penalties, he is given given the more severe. Rabbi Yosi says, he is given [the one that accords with] the first obligation that comes upon him [i.e. he is given the form of execution warranted by the first transgression he committed].

One who is lashed [as punishment for a transgression] and then repeats [that transgression], the court puts him in the dome and feeds him barley until his stomach bursts. One who kills someone in the absence of witnesses, they put him in the dome and feed him sparing bread and scant water.