God - hanging here from these gallows

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One day, as we returned from work, we saw three gallows, three black ravens, erected on the Appelplatz. Roll call. The SS surrounding us, machine guns aimed at us: the usual ritual. Three prisoners in chains – and, among them, the little pipel, the sad-eyed angel.

The SS seemed more preoccupied, more worried, than usual. To hang a child in front of thousands of onlookers was not a small matter. The head of the camp read the verdict. All eyes were on the child. He was pale, almost calm, but he was biting his lips as he stood in the shadow of the gallows.

This time, the Lagerkapo refused to act as executioner. Three SS took his place.

The three condemned prisoners together stepped onto the chairs. In unison, the nooses were placed around their necks.

“Long live liberty!” shouted the two men.

But the boy was silent.

“Where is merciful God, where is He?” someone behind me was asking.

At the signal, the three chairs were tipped over.

Total silence in the camp. On the horizon, the sun was setting.

“Caps off!” screamed the Lageralteste. His voice quivered. As for the rest of us, we were weeping.

“Cover your heads!”

Then came the march past the victims. The two men were no longer alive. Their tongues were hanging out, swollen and bluish. But the third rope was still moving: the child, too light, was still breathing…

And so he remained for more than half an hour, lingering between life and death, writhing before our eyes. And we were forced to look at him at close range. He was still alive when I passed him. His tongue was still red, his eyes not yet extinguished.

Behind me, I heard the same man asking:

“For God’s sake, where is God?”

And from within me, I heard a voice answer:

“Where is He? This is where – hanging here from this gallows…”

Night, by Elie Weisel, 1960 Chapter 4, Pages 64-65

"Many editions of Night, have a Foreword by Francois Mauriac who argues that the image of seeing God hanged in the concentration camp was alluding to the crucifixion.

More likely Wiesel was alluding to the Talmudic passage under discussion here." A Corpse Left Hanging Overnight Is a “Cursing of God”: Prof. Rabbi Marty Lockshin TheTorah.com

(כב) וְכִֽי־יִהְיֶ֣ה בְאִ֗ישׁ חֵ֛טְא מִשְׁפַּט־מָ֖וֶת וְהוּמָ֑ת וְתָלִ֥יתָ אֹת֖וֹ עַל־עֵֽץ׃ (כג) לֹא־תָלִ֨ין נִבְלָת֜וֹ עַל־הָעֵ֗ץ כִּֽי־קָב֤וֹר תִּקְבְּרֶ֙נּוּ֙ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֔וּא כִּֽי־קִלְלַ֥ת אֱלֹקִ֖ים תָּל֑וּי וְלֹ֤א תְטַמֵּא֙ אֶת־אַדְמָ֣תְךָ֔ אֲשֶׁר֙ ה' אֱלֹקֶ֔יךָ נֹתֵ֥ן לְךָ֖ נַחֲלָֽה׃ {ס}

(22) If any party is guilty of a capital offense and is put to death, and you impale the body on a stake, (23) you must not let the corpse remain on the stake overnight, but must bury it the same day. For an impaled body is an affront to God: you shall not defile the land that your God ה' is giving you to possess.

Now when a man has sin-guilt, [resulting in] a sentence of death,
and is put to death,
and you hang him up [hang him up: As a deterrent.] on a wooden-stake, E. Fox

ותלית אתו על עץ. רַבּוֹתֵינוּ אָמְרוּ, כָּל הַנִּסְקָלִין נִתְלִין, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר "כִּי קִלְלַת אֱלֹהִים תָּלוּי", וְהַמְבָרֵךְ ה' בִּסְקִילָה (סנהדרין מ"ה):
ותלית אתו על עץ [AND IF THERE BE IN A MAN A SIN DESERVING THE JUDGMENT OF DEATH] THOU SHALT HANG HIM ON A TREE — Our Rabbis said, All those who have to be put to death by stoning must afterwards be hanged, for it is said here (v. 23) “for cursing of God ends in hanging”, and we are told that one who curses God is punished with stoning (cf. Leviticus 24:15—16; Sanhedrin 45b).

(א) כי קללת אלקים תלוי. זִלְזוּלוֹ שֶׁל מֶלֶךְ הוּא, שֶׁאָדָם עָשׂוּי בִּדְמוּת דְּיוֹקָנוֹ, וְיִשְׂרָאֵל הֵם בָּנָיו; מָשָׁל לִשְׁנֵי אַחִים תְּאוֹמִים שֶׁהָיוּ דּוֹמִים זֶה לָזֶה, אֶחָד נַעֲשָׂה מֶלֶךְ וְאֶחָד נִתְפַּס לְלִסְטִיּוּת וְנִתְלָה, כָּל הָרוֹאֶה אוֹתוֹ אוֹמֵר הַמֶּלֶךְ תָּלוּי. כָּל קְלָלָה שֶׁבַּמִּקְרָא לְשׁוֹן הָקֵל וְזִלְזוּל, כְּמוֹ (מלכים א ב') "וְהוּא קִלְלַנִי קְלָלָה נִמְרֶצֶת":

(1) כי קללת אלקים תלוי FOR HE THAT IS HANGED IS A קללת אלקים — i.e., a degradation of the Divine King, for man is made in His image and the Israelites are His children. A parable! It may be compared to the case of two twin brothers who very closely resembled each other: one became king and the other was arrested for robbery and was hanged. Whoever saw him on the gallows thought that the king was hanged (Sanhedrin 46b). — Wherever the term קללה occurs in Scripture it has the meaning of bonding in light esteem and despising, as e.g., (1 Kings 2:8) “[Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite of Bahurim] who cursed me with a severe curse (קללני קללה נמרצת)” (cf. II Samuel 16:5—8).

ויברא אלקים את האדם בצלמו. בִּדְפוּס הֶעָשׂוּי לוֹ, שֶׁהַכֹּל נִבְרָא בְּמַאֲמָר וְהוּא נִבְרָא בַּיָּדַיִם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר וַתָּשֶׁת עָלַי כַּפֶּכָה (תהילים קל"ט); נַעֲשָׂה בְחוֹתָם כְּמַטְבֵּעַ הָעֲשׂוּיָה עַל יְדֵי רֹשֶׁם שֶׁקּוֹרִין קוי"ן בלע"ז וְכֵן הוּא אוֹמֵר תִּתְהַפֵּךְ כְּחֹמֶר חוֹתָם (איוב ל"ח):

ויברא אלהים את האדם בצלמו SO GOD CREATED THE MAN IN HIS IMAGE —in the type that was specially made for him, for everything else was created by a creative fiat, whilst he was brought into existence by a creative act (literally, by hand), as it is said (Psalms 139:5) “And Thou hast laid thy hand upon me.” He was made by a seal as a coin that is made by a die that is called in old French coin. It is similarly said, (Job 28:14) “it is changed as clay under the seal” (Sanhedrin 38a).

ותלית אתו ...

והמשל בשני האחים התאומים יש לו סוד, איננו כאשר חשב הרב בישראל שנקראו בנים למקום. ועל דרך הפשט יאמר: כי יהיה באיש חטא גדול שראוי להמיתו עליו ולתלותו על עץ לגודל חטאו, אף על פי כן לא תלין נבלתו על העץ, כי הארור מכל האדם והמקולל בהם הוא התלוי, אין בכל המיתות מיתה מנוולת ובזויה כמוה, ואין ראוי שנטמא הארץ ותהיה קללת האלקים בארץ הקדושה, כי שם ציווה את הברכה חיים עד העולם. ולכן צוה יהושע (יהושע י כ): ויורידום מעל העצים. ועל דעתי, הענין בבני שאול המוקעים (שמואל ב כא) מפני שלא היו תלויים בבית דין של ישראל ולא מיד ישראל כלל, אבל דוד נתנם לגבעונים לעשות בהם כרצונם, והם אשר הוקיעום ולא רצו לקברם, לפרסם נקמתם מהם והנשארים ישמעו וייראו. וכאשר נתך עליהם מים מן השמים, אז ידע דוד שנמחל עונם, ונעתר אלקים לארץ, כי פקד ה' את הארץ במטר ויכלה הרעב, ואז צוה וקברו אותם עם אבותם, לכבוד המלכות, לא לחיובו כלל, שלא נצטוינו אלא שלא נטמא אנחנו את הארץ במי שנתלה אותו. והנה, ה' לא רצה עוונם בתלייתם מיד, להודיע כי ה' אוהב גרים, כדברי רבותינו (יבמות עט). ורבי אברהם אמר (אבן עזרא על דברים כ״א:כ״ג): על דרך הפשט, כי אלקים פועל, והקללה תבוא אל מקום קרוב מהתלוי, ויש לו סוד מודבק בנפש, על כן לא תטמא את אדמתך. והנה, המלין תלוי על העץ עובר בלא תעשה ועשה. ורבותינו (סנהדרין מו) דרשו כן בכל המלין את מתו שלא לכבודו: "מה עץ שהוא נוול אף כל שהוא נוול". והנה, לדעתם כי קללת אלקים תלוי לומר, אע"פ שזה ראוי לנוולו לגודל חטאו לא תעשה כן, כי קללת אלקים תלוי. ועל המשל של שני אחין יהיה כל המלין בטעם הזה, וכן הקללה שהזכיר רבי אברהם ממנה יהיה בכל בית אשר יהיה שם מת, ועל כן יטמא (במדבר יט יד) כל הבא אל האהל וכל אשר באהל.

AND THOU SHALT HANG HIM. ...

And the parable concerning the twin brothers contains a secret; it does not refer, as the Rabbi (Rashi) thought, to the Israelites who are called the children of G-d.
In line with the simple meaning of Scripture the verse is stating: “If a man has committed a great sin for which he is deserving of death and of hanging on a tree because of the grievous nature of his sin, nevertheless his body shall not remain all night upon the tree, for the most accursed and blasted of all people is the hanged.

Among all forms of death, there is none as ugly and despicable like it [this degradation of the human body], and it is not fitting that we defile the Land and that G-d’s curse be within the Holy Land, for there the Eternal commanded the blessing, even life forever.

Therefore Joshua commanded and they took them down off the trees.
In my opinion the affair of Saul’s children who were left hanging was because they were not hanged by a court of Israel, nor by any Israelite. Rather, David who turned them [the seven members of Saul’s family] over to the Gibeonites to do as they pleased with them, and it was they who hanged them....

David bore no guilt at all [in the entire affair], for we were commanded only that we not defile the Land by allowing someone whom we hanged [to remain on a gallows overnight]. ...

Thus whoever allows the body [of a criminal] to hang overnight transgresses both a negative commandment [his body shall not remain all night upon the tree] and a positive commandment [but thou shalt surely bury him the same day].

Our Rabbis have likewise interpreted that the same law applies to all other dead, that whoever suffers his dead to remain overnight, except in order to render it honor, [violates the above commandments]. Just as [leaving the criminal hanging overnight upon] “the tree” is a form of disgrace, so all forms of disrespect [shown to the dead are also forbidden]. Now, according to the opinion of the Rabbis [that this law applies equally to every deceased, we must say] that the phrase ki kilelath Elokim talui states that “although this criminal is deserving of disgrace” because of his great sin, nevertheless you shall not do so. And the parable of the two brothers [mentioned above] applies to everyone who suffers his dead to remain overnight. So also the curse [emanating from a corpse] to which Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra referred, applies to every house where there is a dead person, and therefore he defiles everyone that cometh into the tent, and every thing that is in the tent.

(ד) כָּל הַנִּסְקָלִין נִתְלִין, דִּבְרֵי רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר. וַחֲכָמִים אוֹמְרִים, אֵינוֹ נִתְלֶה אֶלָּא הַמְגַדֵּף וְהָעוֹבֵד עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה. הָאִישׁ תּוֹלִין אוֹתוֹ פָּנָיו כְּלַפֵּי הָעָם, וְהָאִשָּׁה פָּנֶיהָ כְלַפֵּי הָעֵץ, דִּבְרֵי רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר. וַחֲכָמִים אוֹמְרִים, הָאִישׁ נִתְלֶה וְאֵין הָאִשָּׁה נִתְלֵית. אָמַר לָהֶן רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר, וַהֲלֹא שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן שָׁטָח תָּלָה נָשִׁים בְּאַשְׁקְלוֹן. אָמְרוּ לוֹ, שְׁמֹנִים נָשִׁים תָּלָה, וְאֵין דָּנִין שְׁנַיִם בְּיוֹם אֶחָד. כֵּיצַד תּוֹלִין אוֹתוֹ, מְשַׁקְּעִין אֶת הַקּוֹרָה בָאָרֶץ וְהָעֵץ יוֹצֵא מִמֶּנָּה, וּמַקִּיף שְׁתֵּי יָדָיו זוֹ עַל גַּבֵּי זוֹ וְתוֹלֶה אוֹתוֹ. רַבִּי יוֹסֵי אוֹמֵר, הַקּוֹרָה מֻטָּה עַל הַכֹּתֶל, וְתוֹלֶה אוֹתוֹ כְּדֶרֶךְ שֶׁהַטַּבָּחִין עוֹשִׂין. וּמַתִּירִין אוֹתוֹ מִיָּד. וְאִם לָן, עוֹבֵר עָלָיו בְּלֹא תַעֲשֶׂה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (דברים כא) לֹא תָלִין נִבְלָתוֹ עַל הָעֵץ כִּי קָבוֹר תִּקְבְּרֶנּוּ כִּי קִלְלַת אֱלֹקִים תָּלוּי וְגוֹ'. כְּלוֹמַר, מִפְּנֵי מָה זֶה תָלוּי, מִפְּנֵי שֶׁבֵּרַךְ אֶת הַשֵּׁם, וְנִמְצָא שֵׁם שָׁמַיִם מִתְחַלֵּל:

(4) The corpses of all those who are stoned are hung after their death; this is the statement of Rabbi Eliezer.

And the Rabbis say: Only the corpse of the blasphemer, who has cursed God, and the corpse of the idol worshipper are hung. [i.e. not cursed by Gopd, but one who cursed God gs]

The corpse of a man is hung facing the people, but the corpse of a woman, out of modesty, is hung with facing the tree; this is the statement of Rabbi Eliezer. And the Rabbis say: the corpse of a man is hung, but the corpse of a woman is not hung. ...

How do they hang the corpse of one who was put to death by stoning? They sink a post into the earth with a piece of wood jutting out, forming a T-shaped structure. And the court appointee then places the dead man’s two hands one upon the other, ties them, and hangs him by his hands. Rabbi Yosei says: The post is not sunk into the ground; rather, it leans against a wall, and he hangs the corpse on it the way that butchers do with meat. The dead man hangs there for only a very short time, and then they immediately untie him. And if he was left hanging overnight, a prohibition is transgressed, as it is stated: “His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but you shall bury him that day, for he that is hung is a curse of God” (Deuteronomy 21:23). That is to say: Were the corpse left hanging on the tree overnight, people would ask: For what reason was this one hung after he was put to death? They would be answered: Because he blessed God, a euphemism for blasphemy. And therefore the name of Heaven would be desecrated were the dead man’s corpse to remain hanging, reminding everybody of his transgression.

(ה) אָמַר רַבִּי מֵאִיר, בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁאָדָם מִצְטַעֵר, שְׁכִינָה מַה הַלָּשׁוֹן אוֹמֶרֶת כִּבְיָכוֹל, קַלַּנִי מֵרֹאשִׁי, קַלַּנִי מִזְּרוֹעִי. אִם כֵּן הַמָּקוֹם מִצְטַעֵר עַל דָּמָם שֶׁל רְשָׁעִים שֶׁנִּשְׁפַּךְ, קַל וָחֹמֶר עַל דָּמָם שֶׁל צַדִּיקִים. וְלֹא זוֹ בִלְבַד, אֶלָּא כָּל הַמֵּלִין אֶת מֵתוֹ, עוֹבֵר בְּלֹא תַעֲשֶׂה. הֱלִינוֹ לִכְבוֹדוֹ לְהָבִיא לוֹ אָרוֹן וְתַכְרִיכִים, אֵינוֹ עוֹבֵר עָלָיו.

(5) Rabbi Meir said: The phrase “for he that is hung is a curse [kilelat] of God” should be understood as follows: When a man suffers in the wake of his sin, what expression does the Divine Presence use? I am distressed [kallani] about My head, I am distressed about My arm, meaning, I, too, suffer when the wicked are punished. From here it is derived:

If God suffers such distress over the blood of the wicked that is spilled, even though they justly deserved their punishment, it can be inferred a fortiori that He suffers distress over the blood of the righteous.

And the Sages said not only this, that an executed transgressor must be buried on the same day that he is killed, but they said that anyone who leaves his deceased relative overnight with-out burying him transgresses a prohibition. But if he left the deceased overnight for the sake of the deceased’s honor, e.g., to bring a coffin or shrouds for his burial, he does not transgress the prohibition against leaving him unburied overnight.

כלומר מפני מה זה תלוי מפני שבירך כו': תניא אומר ר"מ משלו משל למה הדבר דומה לשני אחים תאומים בעיר אחת אחד מינוהו מלך ואחד יצא לליסטיות צוה המלך ותלאוהו כל הרואה אותו אומר המלך תלוי צוה המלך והורידוהו: אמר ר' מאיר כו': מאי משמע אמר אביי כמאן דאמר קל לית אמר ליה רבא א"כ כבד עלי ראשי כבד עלי זרועי מיבעי ליה אלא אמר רבא כמאן דאמר קיל לי עלמא האי מיבעי ליה לגופה א"כ נימא קרא מקלל מאי קללת ואימא כוליה להכי הוא דאתא א"כ נימא קרא קלת מאי קללת ש"מ תרתי: ולא זו בלבד כו': א"ר יוחנן משום ר"ש בן יוחי מנין למלין את מתו שעובר עליו בל"ת ת"ל כי קבר תקברנו מכאן למלין את מתו שעובר בלא תעשה
§ The mishna teaches: That is to say: Were the dead man’s corpse to remain hanging, reminding everyone of his transgression, people would ask: For what reason was this one hung? They would be answered: Because he blessed God, a euphemism for blasphemy, and the name of Heaven would be desecrated. It is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Meir says: The Sages told a parable: To what is this matter comparable? It is comparable to two brothers who were twins and lived in the same city. One was appointed king, while the other went out to engage in banditry. The king commanded that his brother be punished, and they hanged his twin brother for his crimes. Anyone who saw the bandit hanging would say: The king was hanged. The king, therefore, commanded that his brother be taken down, and they took the bandit down. Similarly, people are created in God’s image, and therefore God is disgraced when a corpse is hung for a transgression that the person has committed. The mishna teaches that Rabbi Meir said that the phrase “For he that is hung is a curse [kilelat] of God” should be understood as follows: When a man suffers in the wake of his sin, the Divine Presence says: I am distressed [kallani] about My head, I am distressed about My arm. The Gemara asks: From where is this inferred? How does Rabbi Meir understand the word kilelat? Abaye says: When a man is hung after he is put to death, God is like one who said: I am not light [kal leit], meaning: My head is heavy for Me, My arm is heavy for Me. God is in distress when He has to administer punishment. Rava said to him: If so, he should have said explicitly: My head is heavy for Me, My arm is heavy for Me. Rather, Rava said: When a man is hung after he is put to death, God is like one who said: The world is light for me [kil li alma], meaning: I am light, and therefore the world is heavy for Me, and I am in distress. The Gemara asks: This word “kilelatis needed for what it itself teaches, namely that a blasphemer is hung after he has been stoned. How, then, can it be interpreted as alluding to God’s distress at the death of a transgressor? The Gemara answers: If so, the verse should have stated: One who curses [mekallel ]. What is the meaning of kilelat? It serves to teach the statement taught by Rabbi Meir. The Gemara asks: If so, say perhaps that the entire verse comes for this purpose, to underscore the dignity of the transgressor, who was created in God’s image, and not to teach the halakha governing a blasphemer. The Gemara responds: If so, the verse should have stated: Lightness [kilat]. What is the meaning of kilelat? Conclude two conclusions from it: Conclude that the blasphemer is hung after he has been stoned, and conclude that God is distressed at the death of a transgressor. § The mishna teaches that everyone, not only an executed transgressor, must be buried on the day of his death, if that is at all possible. Rabbi Yoḥanan says in the name of Rabbi Shimon bar Yoḥai: From where is it derived that one who leaves his deceased relative overnight without burying him transgresses a prohibition? The verse states: “But you shall bury him [kavor tikberennu]” (Deuteronomy 21:23), doubling the verb for emphasis. From here it is derived that one who leaves his deceased relative overnight without burying him transgresses a prohibition.
(כו) וַיַּכֵּ֨ם יְהוֹשֻׁ֤עַ אַֽחֲרֵי־כֵן֙ וַיְמִיתֵ֔ם וַיִּתְלֵ֕ם עַ֖ל חֲמִשָּׁ֣ה עֵצִ֑ים וַיִּהְי֛וּ תְּלוּיִ֥ם עַל־הָעֵצִ֖ים עַד־הָעָֽרֶב׃ (כז) וַיְהִ֞י לְעֵ֣ת ׀ בּ֣וֹא הַשֶּׁ֗מֶשׁ צִוָּ֤ה יְהוֹשֻׁ֙עַ֙ וַיֹּֽרִידוּם֙ מֵעַ֣ל הָעֵצִ֔ים וַיַּ֨שְׁלִכֻ֔ם אֶל־הַמְּעָרָ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר נֶחְבְּאוּ־שָׁ֑ם וַיָּשִׂ֜מוּ אֲבָנִ֤ים גְּדֹלוֹת֙ עַל־פִּ֣י הַמְּעָרָ֔ה עַד־עֶ֖צֶם הַיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּֽה׃ {ס}
(26) After that, Joshua had them put to death and impaled on five stakes, and they remained impaled on the stakes until evening. (27) At sunset Joshua ordered them taken down from the poles and thrown into the cave in which they had hidden. Large stones were placed over the mouth of the cave, [and there they are] to this very day.

ולא תטמא את אדמתך על דעת ...

ומן הלאו הזה קבר יהושע מלכי כנען ביומן, אף על פי שאין בתלייתן הקללה שהזכירו רבותינו במגדף ועובד עבודה זרה, אבל היה בהם משום טומאת הארץ. או שחשש לקללת אלקים מן המשל של שני האחים, כאשר פירשתי.

AND THOU DEFILE NOT THY LAND. ...

It is by reason of this negative commandment that Joshua buried the Canaanite kings during the day of their execution, although, in their hanging, there would not have been the curse which our Rabbis mentioned with regards to the blasphemer and idol-worshipper. Rather, it was on account of the uncleanness of the Land [which their hanging would have caused] or because he was apprehensive of the desecration of G-d on the basis of the parable of the two brothers, as I have mentioned.

לָא תָבִית נִבְלַת גּוּשְׁמֵיהּ עַל קֵיסָא אֲרוּם מִקְבַּר תִּקְבְּרוּנֵיהּ בְּיוֹמָא הַהוּא אֲרוּם קִילוּתָא קֳדָם אֱלָהָא לְמִצְלוֹב גְּבַר אֱלָקֵן חוֹבוֹי גָרְמוּ לֵיהּ וּמִן בִּגְלַל דִּבְדִיוּקְנָא דַיְיָ אִתְעֲבֵד תְּקַבְּרוּנֵיהּ עִם מִטְמוֹעַ שִׁמְשָׁא דְּלָא יְקִילִין בִּרְיָיתָא בֵּיהּ וְלָא תְטוּפוּן בִּנְבֵילְתְּהוֹן דְּחַיָּיבָא יַת אַרְעֲכוֹן דַּיְיָ אֱלָהָכוֹן יָהִיב לְכוֹן אַחֲסָנָא

his dead body shall not remain upon the beam, but he shall be certainly buried on the same day; for it is execrable before God to hang a man, but that his guilt gave occasion for it; and because he was made in the image of God, you shall bury him at the going down of the sun, lest wild beasts abuse him, and lest you overspread your land, which the Lord your God giveth you to possess, with the dead bodies of criminals.

Paul of Tarsus, whose main Bible was some form of the Septuagint, made use of this idea as part of a complicated explanation of the theological need for the crucifixion. In his Epistle to the Galatians, he argues that no one can rely on the “works of the law” (i.e., on mitzvot) to be saved, and only Jesus’ crucifixion effects salvation:

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who hangs on a tree” (Galatians 3:13).

In other words, by allowing himself to be crucified, Jesus absorbed God’s curse for all other people as a way of protecting humanity. Paul interprets “tree” as “cross” and “hanging” as “crucifixion.” * Syntactically speaking, for Paul, as for the Septuagint, the curse in the verse comes from God.

* See the note by Shaye J. D. Cohen in the Jewish Annotated New Testament, second edition (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017), p. 380, which points out that two Dead Sea Scrolls (11QSTemple and 4QpNahum) also view Deut 21:23 as a reference to crucifixion. See also J. Louis Martyn, Galatians, Anchor Bible (New York: Doubleday, 1997), p. 278, note 187: “In Qumran, Deut 21:23 was read as a reference to crucifixion as the form of punishment appropriate to an Israelite cursed by God for a heinous crime.” In medieval Jewish polemical texts, Jesus is often referred to as התלוי—the hanged (i.e., crucified) one.

See: A Corpse Left Hanging Overnight Is a “Cursing of God”: Prof. Rabbi Marty Lockshin TheTorah.com

לא תלין נבלתו על העץ. ...

ונראה לי כי כיון שחטאו של אדם גרם שלא היתה לו לינה בגן עדן הוא שכתוב (תהילים מ״ט:י״ג) ואדם ביקר בל ילין, היה ראוי שהתורה לא תחוש על לינתו אלא ילין ויתבזה, אבל התורה והמצות מיוסדים על אדושם החכמה, והטעם מפרש בכתוב קללת אלקים תלוי.

לא תלין נבלתו על העץ, ...

It seems to me that seeing Adam’s sin had been the cause that he did not spend the night in Gan Eden as we know from Psalms 49,13 אדם ביקר בל ילין, “Adam does not even spend a single night in the precious place” (as interpreted in Sanhedrin 38),

man should not have qualified for all this consideration, but, on the contrary, his body deserved to be displayed overnight. The Torah teaches us with this legislation that despite such considerations it applies different yardsticks in its immeasurable wisdom as explained by the words כי קללת אלו-הים תלוי, “someone left hanging is a curse in the eyes of G’d.”

In Isalm

However, in Islam starting from the time of Prophet Adam, the dead are buried on the same day they die except when the person dies at night because it is wrong to bury the dead at night in Islam.

Leaving a corpse for long before burying is another way of suffering the dead and increasing the pains of their loved ones because the more they see their loved one lying lifelessly, the more they feel bad

The teachings of Prophet Mohammed explains that there are three things we do not postpone in Islam. Asalat, najazat and almout according to hadeeth fiquiwathe page 380.

It may cause more havoc — Ustaz Akintoye Ismaeel Adewale (An Islamic Instructor, Engineer)

It is not permissible for Muslims to delay the burial in order for the maximum number of relatives to see the deceased, which is common practice among other communities.

Once death is evident, the body should be prepared and taken out of the house for prayer and burial as soon as possible. In this way, contact with the dead body is minimised, which keeps the grief and hurt of seeing the dead down to a minimum. Abu Hurayrah related that the Prophet (May Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said “Hasten the funeral rites” hadeeth Sahih Al-Bukhari vol.2,p.225.

See: Why Muslims hasten to bury the dead? By ADERONKE QDEYERI