## Sifrei Devarim Paragraph 205

###### Sifrei Devarim 205:1
[Sifrei Devarim 205:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sifrei%20Devarim/r/205:1)

(דברים כא א) **כִּי יִמָּצֵא** – וְלֹא בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁמָּצוּי. מִכָּן אָמְרוּ (סוטה ט ט): מִשֶּׁרַבּוּ הָרַצְחָנִים בָּטְלָה עֶגְלָה עֲרוּפָה, מִשֶּׁבָּא אֶלְעָזָר בֶּן דִּינַאי וּתְחִינָה בֶן פְּרִישָׁה. [״בֶּן פְּרִישָׁה״] הָיָה נִקְרָא – חָזְרוּ לִקְרוֹתוֹ ״בֶּן הָרַצְחָן״.

**Trans. by Marty Jaffee, 2015:**
**Pisqa’ 205**³⁴⁵
1. “*Should you find* a murder-victim” (Dt. 21:1)—
but not at a time
when abandoned victims are plentiful.
On this basis they taught:
**When murderers became common,**
**they abolished the rite of the Beheaded Calf**.³⁴⁶
**This was when Elazar b. Dinai showed up,**
**followed by Tekhinah b. Perishah.**
**Known also as “the Boy Wonder,”**
**he became notorious as “the Son of the Murderer.”**³⁴⁷ XX 6.

footnotes:
³⁴⁵ H:220-221; JN2:98-100.
³⁴⁶ =M. Sotah 9:9; T. Sotah 14:1.
³⁴⁷ =M. Sotah 9:9. For details about the traditions of these obscure figures, see Albeck, 3:392-393, and Josephus, Antiquities


###### Sifrei Devarim 205:2
[Sifrei Devarim 205:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sifrei%20Devarim/r/205:2)

**חָלָל** – וְלֹא חָנוּק. **חָלָל** – וְלֹא מְפַרְפֵּר.

**Trans. by Marty Jaffee, 2015:**
**“A murder victim” (Dt. 21:1)—stabbed, but not strangled**
**“A murder victim” (Dt. 21:1)—but not still writhing.**


###### Sifrei Devarim 205:3
[Sifrei Devarim 205:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sifrei%20Devarim/r/205:3)

**בָּאֲדָמָה**, וְלֹא טָמוּן בַּגַּל.

**Trans. by Marty Jaffee, 2015:**
**“On the ground” (Dt. 21:1)—but not buried under debris.**


###### Sifrei Devarim 205:4
[Sifrei Devarim 205:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sifrei%20Devarim/r/205:4)

**נֹפֵל** – וְלֹא תָלוּי בָּאִילָן.

**Trans. by Marty Jaffee, 2015:**
**“Fallen” (Dt. 21:1)—but not hanging from a tree.**


###### Sifrei Devarim 205:5
[Sifrei Devarim 205:5](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sifrei%20Devarim/r/205:5)

**בַּשָּׂדֶה** – וְלֹא צָף עַל פְּנֵי הַמַּיִם.

**Trans. by Marty Jaffee, 2015:**
**“In a field” (Dt. 21:1)—but not floating in the water.**³⁴⁸

footnotes:
³⁴⁸ =M. Sotah 9:2.


###### Sifrei Devarim 205:6
[Sifrei Devarim 205:6](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sifrei%20Devarim/r/205:6)

**אֲשֶׁר ה׳ אֱלֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵן לְךָ** – לְרַבּוֹת עֵבֶר הַיַּרְדֵּן.

**Trans. by Marty Jaffee, 2015:**
**“Which HASHEM your God is giving you” (Dt. 21:1)—**
**including murder victims found in the Trans-jordan.**³⁴⁹

footnotes:
³⁴⁹ //T. Sotah 9:1.


###### Sifrei Devarim 205:7
[Sifrei Devarim 205:7](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sifrei%20Devarim/r/205:7)

רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר אוֹמֵר: בְּכֻלָּם הָיוּ עוֹרְפִים! אָמַר לוֹ רַבִּי יוֹסֵי בְּרַבִּי יְהוּדָה: וְכִי אֵינוֹ אֶלָּא חָנוּק וּמֻשְׁלָךְ בַּשָּׂדֶה, שֶׁמָּא הָיוּ עוֹרְפִים? אֶלָּא בְּכֻלָּם אִם הָיָה חָלָל – עוֹרְפִים.

**Trans. by Marty Jaffee, 2015:**
2. **R. Elazar says:**
**They used to behead the calf**
**for any abandoned murder victim.**
**Said R. Yose b. R. Judah to him:**
**Now, if he was only strangled**
**and then abandoned in a field,**
**would they conduct the rite?**
**No, they would behead the calf**
**only for stabbing victims.**³⁵⁰

footnotes:
³⁵⁰ Cf. T. Sotah 9:1.


###### Sifrei Devarim 205:8
[Sifrei Devarim 205:8](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sifrei%20Devarim/r/205:8)

**לֹא נוֹדַע מִי הִכָּהוּ**, הָא אִם נוֹדַע מִי הִכָּהוּ, וַאֲפִלּוּ אֶחָד מֵהֶן רָאָהוּ – לֹא הָיוּ עוֹרְפִים.

**Trans. by Marty Jaffee, 2015:**
“And no one knows who stabbed him” (Dt. 21:1).
Thus—if it is known who stabbed him,
and even of one [of the elders] had only seen him,
they would not conduct the rite.


###### Sifrei Devarim 205:9
[Sifrei Devarim 205:9](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sifrei%20Devarim/r/205:9)

רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא אוֹמֵר: מִנַּיִן רָאוּהוּ בֵּית דִּין שֶׁהָרַג, וְלֹא הָיוּ מַכִּירִים אוֹתוֹ – לֹא הָיוּ עוֹרְפִים? תַּלְמוּד לוֹמַר: ״וְעָנוּ וְאָמְרוּ יָדֵינוּ לֹא שָׁפְכֻה אֶת הַדָּם הַזֶּה״ וְגוֹ׳.

**Trans. by Marty Jaffee, 2015:**
**R. Akiva says:**
**How do I know that**
**if the court witnessed the murder,**
**but could not identify the assailant,**
**they would not conduct the rite?**
**The Teaching states:**
**“Our hands have not spilled this blood!**
**Neither have *our eyes* seen it!” (Dt. 21:7).**³⁵¹

footnotes:
³⁵¹ CF. T.Sotah 9:2.


###### Sifrei Devarim 205:10
[Sifrei Devarim 205:10](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sifrei%20Devarim/r/205:10)

(דברים כא ב) **וְיָצְאוּ זְקֵנֶיךָ**, **זְקֵנֶיךָ** – שְׁנַיִם, **וְשֹׁפְטֶיךָ** – שְׁנַיִם, אֵין בֵּית דִּין שָׁקוּל – מוֹסִיפִים עֲלֵיהֶם עוֹד אֶחָד, הֲרֵי כָּאן חֲמִשָּׁה, דִּבְרֵי רַבִּי יְהוּדָה. רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן אוֹמֵר: **זְקֵנֶיךָ וְשֹׁפְטֶיךָ** – שְׁנַיִם, אֵין בֵּית דִּין שָׁקוּל – מוֹסִיפִים עֲלֵיהֶם עוֹד אֶחָד, הֲרֵי כָּאן שְׁלֹשָׁה.

**Trans. by Marty Jaffee, 2015:**
3. **“Then, your *elders* shall go out” (Dt. 21:2)—**
**the plural, *elders*, implies two.**
**“And your *justices*” (Dt. 21:2)—**
**here are two more.**
**Now, a court cannot yield a split decision,**
**so they add one more justice,**
**and now there are five:**
**words of R. Judah.**³⁵²
R. Shimon says:
“Your *elders* and your *justices*” (Dt. 21:2)—
one of each, yielding two.
**Now, a court cannot yield a split decision,**
**so they add one more justice,**
**And now there are three!**³⁵³

footnotes:
³⁵² //M. Sotah 9:1.
³⁵³ Cf. M. Sotah 9:1.


###### Sifrei Devarim 205:11
[Sifrei Devarim 205:11](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sifrei%20Devarim/r/205:11)

**וּמָדְדוּ אֶל הֶעָרִים**, מִן הֶחָלָל אֶל הֶעָרִים, וְלֹא מִן הֶעָרִים אֶל הֶחָלָל. מִכָּן אָמְרוּ: נִמְצָא רֹאשׁוֹ בְּמָקוֹם אֶחָד וְגוּפוֹ בְּמָקוֹם אַחֵר – מוֹלִיכִים אֶת הָרֹאשׁ אֵצֶל הַגּוּף, דִּבְרֵי רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר. רַבִּי עֲקִיבָה אוֹמֵר: הַגּוּף אֵצֶל הָרֹאשׁ. נִמְצָא סָמוּךְ לַסְּפָר, אוֹ לְעִיר שֶׁיֵּשׁ בָּהּ גּוֹיִם, אוֹ לְעִיר שֶׁאֵין בָּהּ בֵּית דִּין – לֹא הָיוּ מוֹדְדִים. אֵין מוֹדְדִים אֶלָּא לְעִיר שֶׁיֵּשׁ בָּהּ בֵּית דִּין!

**Trans. by Marty Jaffee, 2015:**
4. “And they measured to the cities” (Dt. 21:2)—
measuring from the victim to the cities,
but not from the cities to the victim.
On this basis they taught:
**If his head was found lying in one place,**
**and his body was found lying in another place,**
**they bring the head to the body:**
**words of R. Eliezer.**
**R. Akiva says:**
**They bring the body to the head!** ³⁵⁴
**If the victim is found close to**
**the border [of a gentile population],**
**or near a city where there are gentiles,**
**or near a city in which there is no [Israelite] court,**
**they would not measure to these cities.**
**They measure only to one**
**In which there is an [Israelite] court.**³⁵⁵

footnotes:
³⁵⁴ = M. Sotah 9:3.
³⁵⁵ Cf. T. Sotah 9:1.