Pisqa’ 221⁵²

1. “Now, if a man commits a sin worthy of the sentence of death, then he shall be put to death” (Dt. 21:22)— A man is hanged, but a woman cannot be hanged.

footnotes: ⁵² H:231-233; JN2:127-129.

Didn’t Shimon b. Shatach hang women in Ashkelon [on charges of witchraft]?

He hung eighty women, and didn’t sentence two **on a single day!**⁵³ Actually, that was an extreme measure, designed to instruct others, [but it is not a legal precedent]!

footnotes: ⁵³ // M. San.6:4.

2. “And you shall hang him” (Dt. 21:22)— is it possible to say that all who are stoned should be hanged?

“For the hanged one is an affront to God” (Dt. 21:22)— after an inclusive clause, [“you shall hang him”], the verse limits the rule [calling it “an affront”]? Look—we learn this from the case of the reviler⁵⁴ literally, “blasphemer.” (e.g., Nu. 15:30). Just as the reviler is distinctive, in attacking a fundamental principle [e.g., divine justice] and is hanged, shouldn’t anyone attacking a fundamental principle, also be hanged?

Just as the reviler is distinctive, in being stoned and then hanged, shouldn’t all who are stoned likewise be hanged?⁵⁵ Is it possible to say that He should be hanged alive—Imperial-style?⁵⁶ The Teaching states: “Then he shall be put to death, and you shall hang him from a wood” (Dt. 21:22)— [the hanging, unlike a Roman crucifixion, is not a form of torture].

footnotes: ⁵⁴ Heb: hamegadeif; ⁵⁵ // M. San. 6:4. ⁵⁶ That is, crucified.

Him— implying that his clothes are not hung [with the body]. Him— implying that witnesses [who testified falsely against him] are not hanged [after their execution]. Him— implying that colluding witnesses [who have been exposed as such] are not hanged [after their execution]. Him— And not two on a single day!

“From a wood” (Dt. 21:22)— Is it possible that wood can refer either to an uprooted tree or to a tree still attached to the earth? The Teaching states: “You shall quickly bury it” (Dt. 21:23)— the tree is buried with him. On this basis you can teach: [He is hanged] on an uprooted tree, but not to one still attached to the earth.

3. On what basis do I know that if you permit his body to hang until morning, you transgress a proscription? The Teaching states: “Do not permit his corpse to over-night on the wood” (Dt. 21:23). If you delay burial till morning, for the sake of his dignity —to bring him a coffin or shroud— is it possible that you transgress a proscription? The Teaching states: “On the wood” (Dt. 21:22)— just as wood is distinctive, in that it is an element of his disgrace, so, too, anything that disgraces him [should be proscribed]. This excludes delaying burial till morning for the sake of his dignity, since this is not an element of his disgrace [but an effort to handle the corpse with respect].

4. “Do not permit his corpse to over-night on the wood” (Dt. 21:23)— this is a proscriptive commandment. “You shall quickly bury it” (Dt. 21:23)— This is a prescriptive commandment. So, how do they treat the corpse [in obedience to both the prescription and proscription]? They wait until night-fall and hang him [thus fulfilling the proscription]. Then they immediately untie [and bury] him, [in fulfillment of the prescription.] But were the corpse to over-night there, they would be transgressing a proscription. For it is said: “Do not permit his corpse to over-night on the wood” (Dt. 21:23).

“For the hanged one is an affront to God” (Dt. 21:22)—

Why is this guy hanging there? Because he reviled the [Holy] Name! And thus, [preservation of the reviler’s memory] **profanes the Name of Heaven.**⁵⁷

footnotes: ⁵⁷ Cf. M. San.6:4.

5. A man is stoned naked, but a woman is not stoned naked.

It is the same for a man and a woman, except that they hang a man facing toward the people with his back towards the wood. But a woman faces the wood, **while her back is towards the people.**⁵⁸ A man holds a single cloth in front of himself, while a woman holds two cloths— one in front of herself, **and one from behind, .**⁵⁹ For her entire body is **an enticement to sin.**⁶⁰ 221.5 is lacking in several mss. Cf. F:254-255, n.16.

footnotes: ⁵⁸ //M.San. 6:3. Cf. T. San. 9:6. ⁵⁹ //M. San.6:4. ⁶⁰ Pisqa’

7. “And don’t pollute the soil which HASHEM your God is giving you for an inheritance” (Dt. 21:23)— **in this matter, the court receives a warning.**⁶¹ 171.1 for other appearances of this trope in Sifre.

footnotes: ⁶¹ Cf. Pisqa’